Former Federal Interior Minister Gerhart Baum has passed away at the age of 92, according to a report by the WDR, citing Baum’s wife.
Baum was considered one of the most important representatives of the left-liberal wing of the FDP. He continued to appear in the public eye until the end, including a speech in the parliament in September to mark the 75th anniversary of the Bundestag’s founding. Even in the aftermath of the coalition’s collapse, he had voiced sharp criticism of his party’s course.
Baum was a member of the German Bundestag from 1972 to 1994. Between 1972 and 1978, he served as parliamentary state secretary under the then-Federal Interior Ministers Hans-Dietrich Genscher and Werner Maihofer. He then held the responsibility for the ministry from June 1978 to September 1982, before stepping down after the collapse of the social-liberal coalition.