GENEVA — 1987 · Suspicious Death
The Death of Uwe Barschel
Uwe Barschel, former premier of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, was found dead, fully clothed, in the bathtub of room 317 at Geneva's Beau-Rivage hotel on 11 October 1987. He had resigned weeks earlier after being linked to a smear campaign against his election rival, and was due to testify before a parliamentary committee the next day. A post-mortem found a lethal quantity of drugs. Swiss authorities treated it as suicide, but some toxicologists and his family argued for murder, and many theories, including alleged arms-trade links, circulated. Lübeck prosecutors reopened inquiries in 2011; the cause remains disputed.
- Date
- 1987
- Place
- Canton of Geneva, Switzerland, Geneva, CH
- Category
- Suspicious Death
- Case Status
- Unsolved
- Coordinates
- 46.2100, 6.1490 ↗
Timeline of Events
- September 1987Barschel resigned over a smear scandal.
- 11 October 1987He was found dead in a Geneva hotel room.
- 1987-1988Post-mortem showed drug poisoning; suicide was favoured.
- 2011Lübeck prosecutors re-examined the case.
Sources
- The Washington Post — '87 death of politician still intrigues Germans washingtonpost.com ↗
- TIME — West Germany: A Mystery in The Bath time.com ↗
- The Irish Times — Mossad accused over 1987 death of German politician irishtimes.com ↗
- The Washington Post
- TIME
- The Irish Times
Source grade B: at least one verifiable linked source. If you spot a mistake or something missing, report it with "Suggest a correction" in the app.
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🕯️ This record was prepared with respect, in memory of those who lost their lives.