about 300 people in Oppenau. Kaufmann injured a bodyguard, and severely injured Schäuble's spinal cord and face. Schäuble was left paralysed from the attack and has used a wheelchair ever since. The would-be assassin was declared mentally ill by the judges, and committed to a clinic because of psychoneurosis. He was released in 2004. Meanwhile, Schäuble returned to work within three months, even while he was still living in a rehabilitation unit, learning to manoeuvre while paralysed below the waist. For his last rally in the 1990 elections, Chancellor Helmut Kohl travelled to Offenburg, where Schäuble made his first public appearance after the assassination attempt to a crowd of about 9,000. In May 2010, on his way to Brussels for an emergency meeting of European Union finance ministers, Schäuble found himself in the intensive care unit of a Belgian hospital, battling complications from an earlier operation and an allergic reaction to a new antibiotic. At that point, the German news media speculated about his resignation, and even his chances of survival. However, Chancellor Angela Merkel twice declined Schäuble's offer to step down during a period of ill health in 2010. Selected works Schäuble has written a number of books including Der Vertrag. Wie ich über die deutsche Einheit verhandelte (The treaty: How I conducted the negotiations on German unification, 1991); Und der Zukunft zugewandt (Looking to the future, 1994); Und sie bewegt sich doch (And yet it moves, 1998); Mitten im Leben (In the prime of life, 2000); Scheitert der Westen? Deutschland, Die neue Weltordnung (Is the West failing? Germany and the new world order, 2003) and Zukunft mit Maß. Was wir aus der Krise lernen können (Future of moderation: What we can learn from the crisis, 2009). 60 Jahre Grundgesetz: Verfassungsanspruch und Wirklichkeit, in: Robertson-von Trotha, Caroline Y. (ed.): 60 Jahre Grundgesetz. Interdisziplinäre Perspektiven (= Kulturwissenschaft interdisziplinär/Interdisciplinary Studies on Culture and Society, Vol. 4), Baden-Baden 2009 References External links Wolfgang Schäuble: "Muslims Should Feel at Home in Germany" |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- 1942 births Living people Finance ministers of Germany German Lutherans Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg Heads of the German Chancellery Interior ministers of Germany Members of the Bundestag for Baden-Württemberg Politicians from Freiburg im Breisgau Politicians with paraplegia Presidents of the Bundestag Shooting survivors German