COVID-19: German Finance Minister Kills Himself After ‘Disappointment’ Over Economic Downturn

Mumbai: The finance minister of Germany’s Hesse state, Thomas Schaefer, apparently committed suicide on Sunday after expressing his “disappointment” to handle the economic decline from a rapidly spreading coronavirus.

Schaefer, 54, was found dead on Saturday near a railway track in Hochheim near Frankfurt. The Wiesbaden prosecution’s office said they believe he died by suicide, Al Jazeera reported.

“We are in shock, we are in disbelief and above all, we are extremely unhappy,” state governor Volker Bauffier said in a recorded statement.

Police and prosecutors said factors including interrogating witnesses and their own comments on the scene led them to conclude that Scheffer killed himself.

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Hesse is home to Frankfurt, Germany’s financial capital, where major lenders such as Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank are headquartered. The European Central Bank is also located in Frankfurt.

A visibly shaken buffet recalled that Shaffer, who had been Hesse’s finance chief for 10 years, was working “day and night” to help companies and workers deal with the economic impact of the epidemic.

“Today we must admit that he was very concerned,” said Bauffier, who is also a close associate of Chancellor Angela Merkel.

“It is precise during this difficult time that we will need someone like him,” he said.

Schaefer belonged to Merkel’s centre-right CDU party and is survived by his wife and two children.

Coronavirus has so far infected more than 60,000 people in Germany, while around 600 have died due to infectious infections.

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