State memorial ceremony for Wolfgang Schäuble at the German Bundestag

On Monday, 22 January 2024, by order of Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the German Bundestag held a state memorial ceremony in remembrance of former President of the Bundestag, Dr Wolfgang Schäuble, who died on 26 December 2023. The ceremony, which was attended by Wolfgang Schäuble's family, the Federal President, and other representatives of the constitutional bodies alongside numerous guests of honour, was opened by Bundestag President Bärbel Bas with a speech in front of the Members of the Bundestag.
The chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Friedrich Merz, and the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, spoke during the ceremony of Schäuble's service to Germany and Europe. The date of the state memorial ceremony, 22 January, marks the anniversary of the signing of the Elysée Agreement in 1963, which laid the foundation for the friendship between Germany and France, and as such is closely linked with Wolfgang Schäuble's work as a great European. Prior to the ceremony in the plenary chamber, a Protestant memorial service was held in the Berlin Cathedral.