COVID-19: German Minister commits suicide amid the outbreak
FRANKFURT, 29th March: With the increasing stress due to the outbreak of the deadly pandemic around the world many countries are falling apart by being severely damaged in the health and economy sector.
According to reports, Thomas Schaefer, the finance minister of Germany’s Hesse state, has committed suicide apparently after becoming “deeply worried” over how to cope with the economic fallout from the coronavirus, state premier Volker Bouffier said Sunday. (Reported in The Times Of India)
Schaefer, who was 54 years old, was found dead near a railway track on Saturday. The Wiesbaden prosecution’s office said they believe he committed suicide.
“We are in shock, we are in disbelief and above all we are immensely sad,” Bouffier said in a recorded statement.
Germany’s financial capital Frankfurt is based in the Hesse state, where major lenders like Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank have their headquarters. The European Central Bank is also located in Frankfurt.
Schaefer, who was Hesse’s finance chief for 10 years, had been working “day and night” to help companies and workers deal with the economic impact of the pandemic.
“Today we have to assume that he was deeply worried,” said Bouffier, a close ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Popular and well-respected, Schaefer had long been touted as a possible successor to Bouffier.
Like Bouffier, Schaefer belonged to Merkel’s center-right CDU party. He leaves behind a wife and two children.
Stay tuned to Baaghi TV for further updates.
