Tribute article on Wolfgang Schäuble for Die Zeit by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB

3 January 2024

When I think of Wolfgang Schäuble, the first image I see is him sitting across from me at the table of the French cabinet in the Élysée Palace, the first German finance minister to participate in such a meeting. I see him sitting at the negotiating table in Brussels, at one of our many meetings that ran long into the night. I hear the straight talker who never shied away from difficult decisions. I remember the dedicated public servant, a master of diplomacy with the intellectual ability to understand opposing viewpoints. I see a natural statesman with the courage to stand by his convictions as well as the pragmatism to recognise the world as it is. And I see a man of loyalty and kindness.

The recent passing of my dear friend and colleague saddens me deeply, and my heart goes out to his family. Yet I take comfort in remembering his remarkable achievements for Europe. I…