Former German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble has died at the age of 81, his family announced to the German News Agency (DPA) on Wednesday.
Wolfgang Schäuble, who helped negotiate German reunification in 1990, was a central figure in the austerity-heavy efforts to lift Europe out of its debt crisis more than two decades later.
His family told the German News Agency (DPA) that Schäuble, who was 81 years old, died at his home on Tuesday evening.
Wolfgang Schäuble became Chancellor Angela Merkel's finance minister in October 2009, shortly before the revelation of Greece's growing budget deficit that sparked the crisis that swept the European continent and threatened to destabilize the global financial system.
A long-time supporter of greater European unity, he has helped lead a years-long effort aimed at deepening integration and establishing a tougher set of rules. However, Germany has been criticized for its emphasis on austerity and its apparent lack of generosity.
After eight years as finance minister, Schäuble cemented his status as an elder statesman when he became speaker of the German parliament – the final step in his long front-line political career.
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