Walter Lübcke

Walter Lübcke (22 August 1953 – 2 June 2019) was a German local politician in Hesse and a member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). On 2 June 2019, he was assassinated at his home by a neo-Nazi extremist. Stephan Ernst was arrested on 15 June and confessed to the crime on 25 June. The Federal Prosecutor's Office classified the murder as a political assassination.

Early life and education

After attending primary and secondary school in Edertal, Lübcke finished a two-year vocational training in Bad Wildungen in 1969 to briefly work in a local bank afterwards. During his voluntary military service between 1975 and 1983, he completed his human resources management training and later worked as an assistant in the press office of the art exhibition documenta 7. Concurrently, Lübcke studied at the University of Kassel from 1981 to 1986, graduating with a degree in economics. In 1991, he successfully defended his doctoral dissertation on "The early economic planning attempts in the Soviet Union: 1924–1928; Socialism between utopia and pragmatism".

Walter Lübcke was member of the Evangelical Church in Germany.

Career

Lübcke served as the municipal-oversight president of the governmental district (Regierungsbezirk) of Kassel, one of three in the federal state of Hesse, for 10 years.

He was known for his pro-migrant views. He received death threats after stating at a public gathering that people were free to leave the country if they opposed helping those claiming asylum.