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Bavaria holds state funeral for Hubert Aiwanger

Free Voters leader and economics minister died suddenly at 55 in a Berlin hotel, chancellery never said whether the public could attend

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Nach dem überraschenden Tod des bayerischen Politikers Hubert Aiwanger von den Freien Wählern hat sich der Bürgermeister seiner Heimatstadt Rothenburg an der Laaber geäußert. Er bezeichnete Aiwanger als einen «nahbaren Politiker», der sehr engagiert gewesen sei.© DPA Nach dem überraschenden Tod des bayerischen Politikers Hubert Aiwanger von den Freien Wählern hat sich der Bürgermeister seiner Heimatstadt Rothenburg an der Laaber geäußert. Er bezeichnete Aiwanger als einen «nahbaren Politiker», der sehr engagiert gewesen sei.© DPA wp.de
Von Benjamin Köhler, Digitalstratege & Redakteur14.11.2026, 08:30 Uhr Von Benjamin Köhler, Digitalstratege & Redakteur14.11.2026, 08:30 Uhr abendblatt.de
Hubert Aiwanger wurde 55 Jahre alt. An diesem Samstag soll er mit einem Staatsakt gewürdigt werden.© Getty Images | Johannes Simon Hubert Aiwanger wurde 55 Jahre alt. An diesem Samstag soll er mit einem Staatsakt gewürdigt werden.© Getty Images | Johannes Simon abendblatt.de
Hubert Aiwanger (Freie Wähler) und seine Partnerin Tanja Schweiger.© Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/dpa | Karl-Josef Hildenbrand Hubert Aiwanger (Freie Wähler) und seine Partnerin Tanja Schweiger.© Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/dpa | Karl-Josef Hildenbrand abendblatt.de

Bavaria has said farewell to Hubert Aiwanger, the Free Voters leader and economics minister who died suddenly at 55 in a Berlin hotel on 4 November. A requiem mass led by Cardinal Reinhard Marx opened at Munich's Frauenkirche at 10:30 on Saturday morning, followed at noon by a state act in the same church.

Aiwanger built the Free Voters — a party that grew out of local voters' associations — into a Bavarian coalition party, serving as economics minister and deputy to minister president Markus Söder. His death ten days earlier caused dismay across Germany. The order of ceremony ran to the minute: the coffin carried from the church at 12:30, mourners taking their leave on the Domplatz, then a mourning reception hosted by Söder in the Munich Residenz at 13:30. High-ranking guests from politics, business and society were expected, though as late as Friday it remained open who would speak at the state act. The cathedral's vocal ensemble and orchestra performed under Domkapellmeisterin Lucia Hilz, with the singer Katja Stuber.

In his hometown of Rottenburg an der Laaber in Lower Bavaria, people laid flowers and photographs in front of his parliamentary office. The town's mayor described him as an approachable politician who had been very committed. Aiwanger's partner, the Regensburg district administrator Tanja Schweiger, announced on Instagram that his burial would take place "at home" after the official ceremonies — in Rahstorf, the Rottenburg district where he lived. She left open whether the burial would happen the same day, and at which cemetery.

The State Chancellery had not publicly said whether visitors without an invitation could attend. Bayerischer Rundfunk carried the ceremonies live on television and online from 10:30 to 13:00.