Bavarian politician Hubert Aiwanger found dead in Berlin hotel

Aiwanger was Bavaria's Economy Minister and the chairman of the right-wing populist Free Voters Party. The circumstances surrounding his death are still unclear. Bavarian politician Hubert Aiwanger was found dead in a hotel in Berlin on Wednesday, according to German media reports.

He was 55 years old. He had been scheduled to deliver a speech at the opening of his party's Berlin office, but canceled his appearance due to health reasons, German news agency dpa reported. Aiwanger's body was found on Wednesday evening at the "Neuer Fritz" Hotel on Friedrichstrasse in Berlin-Mitte, according to Bild .

Bavarian state premier, the Christian Social Union's Markus Söder, has said he is "deeply shocked" by the news of his deputy's death. Born in Lower Bavaria in southern Germany , Aiwanger was elected to the Bavarian State Parliament in 2008 with the Free Voters and became their parliamentary group leader. In 2018, his party formed a coalition with the center-right CSU, the Bavarian sister party of the ruling CDU.