The vice president of the German parliament collapsed and died before a television broadcast



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Thomas Oppermann, vice president of the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag) and one of the most respected politicians in the German Social Democratic Party (SPD), died unexpectedly, it was announced in Berlin on Monday.

The 66-year-old politician Sunday night collapsed a few minutes before the start of a live television interview and died after being taken to the hospital. The exact cause of his death is unknown.

Thomas Oppermann has served in the legislature for three decades, including 15 years in the Bundestag, where as group leader of the SPD and later group leader he was as passionate about debates as he was as Vice Speaker of the House, Wolfgang noted in his speech. , politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).

Thomas Oppermann, Vice President of the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag), one of the most respected politicians of the German Social Democratic Party (SPD) (Berlin, February 17, 2014)Source: MTI / EPA / DPA / Bernd Von Jutrczenka

In the Presidency of the Bundestag, where work takes place in a climate of trust and cross-border cooperation between political groups,We have lost a colleague with calm and outstanding legal experience and vast political experience that we will miss very much in this legislative cycle, which is not only challenging due to the pandemic. Wolfgang Schäuble added.

On behalf of the government, among others, Chancellor Angela Merkel also expressed her condolences to the family of the Social Democratic politician. The CDU politician stressed that Thomas Oppermann has always been a “fair and trustworthy partner” in the time he led the coalition governments, in the 2005-2009, 2013-2017 cycles and the current cycles that began in 2017, and As vice president of the Bundestag, he worked steadily “for our parliament in these turbulent times.”

Thomas Oppermann was one of the best known and popular politicians in Germany. Through his direct and friendly nature and his outstanding public speaking, he often appeared in public. Even the most distant parliamentary party from the SPD was respected in the ranks of Alternative Germany (AfD), to the right of the CDU and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU).

Thomas Oppermann was a waistline Social Democrat who left a great void behind said Beatrix von Storch, deputy leader of the AfD group.

In addition to his partisan political activities, Thomas Oppermann has worked in various social organizations and has spoken out on a number of issues, such as the chairmanship of the ethics committee of the German Football Federation (DFB) which advocates a cap on the remuneration of professional footballers.

His party was greeted with the news of his death. “Our country has lost an experienced politician, the Bundestag a prominent vice president, and the SPD has lost a passionate and militant comrade. We have all lost a friend and we are sad,” wrote Deputy Foreign Minister Olaf Scholz on Twitter for the 2021 elections..



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