Germany: One of Germany's most controversial politicians died yesterday during a parachute jump in what police suspect was suicide.
Mr Jürgen Möllemann (57), the former deputy leader of the liberal Free Democratic Party, died as police raided several premises linked to him in connection with tax fraud investigations.
Minutes before his death, a court had stripped Mr Möllemann of his parliamentary immunity, three months after he resigned in disgrace from the FDP after a series of scandals.
The exact circumstances of his death remained unclear yesterday evening, but a police spokesman said yesterday that suicide was "very possible".
An eyewitness told German television that during a 10-man jump from 4,000 feet, near the western city of Marl, Mr Möllemann had "removed his parachute and didn't open the reserve parachute". The eyewitness said that Mr Möllemann had apparently switched off an automatic trigger for the reserve parachute.
Mr Möllemann was first elected to the Bundestag in 1972. Between 1987 and 1991 he was education and economic minister and served as deputy chancellor under Dr Helmut Kohl.
His political career began to unravel after his plan to return the FDP to government at last September's general election backfired spectacularly.
Days before the election, Mr Möllemann distributed a leaflet to his constituents in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, saying that Israel was "trampling over international law" in its treatment of Palestinians.
He said the hard-line stance of Israeli Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon - and the "arrogant and hateful manner" of a prominent German Jewish leader - were fuelling anti-Semitism in Germany. He also defended a party colleague who accused the Israelis of "employing Nazi methods" against the Palestinians.
The remarks were incendiary and Mr Paul Spiegel, leader of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, called Mr Möllemann's comments "the worst insult a political party has delivered in the history of the Federal Republic since the Holocaust".
Mr Möllemann resigned as the FDP's deputy leader after the election, but only left the party last March when he faced certain expulsion, and served as an independent member of the federal parliament, the Bundestag.
Politicians observed a minute's silence in the Bundestag chamber yesterday afternoon as flags flew at half-mast outside.
"This is not a moment for political differences but sympathy," said Mr Guido Westerwelle, the FDP leader who cut ties with his former deputy after the election disaster. "Our sympathy goes to his family, his wife and three daughters."
A visibly shocked Chancellor Schröder said: "I knew Jürgen Möllemann well and valued him as a person even when things were not going well for him."
