Schaefer, 54, was found dead near a railway track on Saturday. The prosecutor’s office said they believe Schaefer died by suicide. Hesse is home to Germany’s financial capital Frankfurt, where major lenders like Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank have their headquarters. The European Central Bank is also located in Frankfurt.

A visibly shaken Bouffier recalled that Schaefer, who was Hesse’s finance chief for 10 years, had been working “day and night” to help companies and workers deal with economic effects of the pandemic. Schaefer has long been considered the likely successor to Bouffier.

Germany is one of the Covid-19 hotspots in Europe with about 58,000 cases and more than 450 deaths.