Thomas Schäfer (; 22 February 1966 – 28 March 2020) was a German lawyer and politician for the

Christian Democratic Union of Germany The Christian Democratic Union of Germany ( , CDU ) is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is the major party of the centre-right in German politics. Friedrich Merz has been federal chairman of the CDU since 31 ...

(CDU). He was Minister of Finance of

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

between 2010 and 2020.

Early life and education

Schäfer was born in

Hemer Hemer () is a town in the Märkischer Kreis district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Hemer is located at the north end of the Sauerland near the Ruhr (river), Ruhr river. The highest elevation, at , is in the ''Balver Wald'' in t ...

and grew up in

Biedenkopf Biedenkopf () is a spa town in western Hesse, Germany with a population of 13,491 (2020). Geography Location The town of Biedenkopf lies in the west of Marburg-Biedenkopf district. Ringed by mountains reaching up to above sea level – the ...

. After completing the

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

in 1985, he trained as a banker at the . He studied law at the

University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg () is a public research university located in Marburg, Germany. It was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Prote ...

, graduating in 1997. From 1995 to 1998, Schäfer taught private and public law at the in Marburg.Dr. Thomas Schäfer
(in German) Hessisches Finanzministerium From 1998 onward he worked as a lawyer for the

Commerzbank The Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft (shortly known as Commerzbank AG or Commerzbank ) is a European Financial institution, banking institution headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, Germany. It offers services to private and entrepreneurial c ...

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

. In 1999, he earned a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

under the supervision of .

Political career

in 1980, Schäfer joined the CDU/

CSU CSU may refer to: Universities and university systems United States * Columbia Southern University, in Orange Beach, Alabama * California State University system * Colorado State University, in Fort Collins, Colorado * Connecticut State Univers ...

youth organisation

Junge Union The Junge Union Deutschlands (English: Young Union of Germany) or JU is the joint youth organisation of the CDU/CSU coalition in Germany. Membership is limited to individuals between 14 and 35 years of age. The Junge Union claims to be the large ...

and was a board member from 1985 to 1999. After the

1999 Hessian state election The 1999 Hessian state election was held on 7 February 1999 to elect the members of the 15th Landtag of Hesse. The outgoing government was a coalition of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and The Greens led by Minister-President Hans Eichel. The ...

, Schäfer led the office of Christean Wagner, the minister of justice in

, and from 2002 the office of Minister President

Roland Koch Roland Koch (born 24 March 1958) is a German jurist and former conservative politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He was the 7th Minister President of Hesse from 7 April 1999, immediately becoming the 53rd President of the Bund ...

. From November 2005 until 2009, he was secretary of state for Jürgen Banzer, minister of labour, family and health. During the

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

, he coordinated state efforts to rescue

Opel Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Gr ...

, based in

Rüsselsheim am Main Rüsselsheim am Main (, ) is the largest city in the Groß-Gerau district in the Rhein-Main region of Germany. It is one of seven special status cities (implementing several functions that counties normally provide) in Hessen and is located on t ...

, in conjunction with the other three states where Opel had plants. In February 2009, he became secretary of state for , the minister of finance. In August 2010, Schäfer became Hesse's state minister of finance, the head of the , under the new minister president,

Volker Bouffier Volker Bouffier (born 18 December 1951) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who served as Minister President of the German state of Hessen from 31 August 2010 to 31 May 2022. From 1 November 2014 until 31 October 201 ...

. He was a member of the

Hessischer Landtag The Landtag of Hesse () is the unicameral Landtag, parliament of the State of Hesse in the Federal Republic of Germany. It convenes in the Stadtschloss, Wiesbaden, Stadtschloss in Wiesbaden. As a legislature it is responsible for passing law ...

, the state parliament, from 2014 onward. In 2018, he was re-elected, this time directly. He was regarded as a likely successor to Bouffier. On 27 March 2020, he announced, together with the minister of economy, Tarek Al-Wazir, the state's financial help in the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

for

freelancers ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

and small businesses. Schäfer stated, "The fight against the Corona crisis will not fail because of money." ("")

Death

On the morning of 28 March 2020, his body was found next to the

Cologne–Frankfurt high-speed rail line The Cologne–Frankfurt high-speed rail line () is a high-speed line in Germany, connecting the cities of Cologne and Frankfurt. Its route follows the Bundesautobahn 3 for the greater part, and currently the travel time is about 62 minutes. Th ...

near

Hochheim am Main Hochheim am Main (, ; Old English: Hockamore) is a town in the Main-Taunus district of the German state of Hesse. It is located near the right bank of the river Main three miles above its confluence with the Rhine, as well as on the German Timbe ...

, and police speculated that he had killed himself.German state finance minister Thomas Schäfer found dead

Deutsche Welle (; "German Wave"), commonly shortened to DW (), is a German state-funded television network, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the Federal Government of Germany. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite tele ...

. 28 March 2020. Schäfer's death came "as a shock", as days prior he had expressed that his work was "a pleasure and an honour". He was known as a jovial man with good humor, though he had visibly lost weight for "some time". According to Bouffier, Schäfer was concerned about managing the financial response to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. He was survived by his wife and two children. His successor as minister of finance is

Michael Boddenberg Michael Boddenberg (born 15 July 1959) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who has been serving as Minister of Finance of Hesse since 3 April 2020. Career Born in Troisdorf, Boddenberg completed school in 1978. He t ...

.Amtseinführung / Michael Boddenberg wird neuer Finanzminister
(in German)

31 March 2020

References

External links

*
Dr. Thomas Schäfer
Landtag Hessen

(in German) 30 August 2010 ''

Der Spiegel (, , stylized in all caps) is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of about 724,000 copies in 2022, it is one of the largest such publications in Europe. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Schafer, Thomas 1966 births 2020 deaths Ministers of finance of Hesse Ministers of the Hesse State Government Members of the Landtag of Hesse People from Marburg-Biedenkopf Christian Democratic Union of Germany politicians German bankers 20th-century German lawyers University of Marburg alumni 21st-century German politicians Suicides by train Suicides in Germany 2020 suicides