former german minister guido westerwelle has died. he was the first openly gay cabinet minister and campaigned relentlessly for human rights. >> the key campaign was when the ftp one almost 50% of the vote in german elections -- fdp won almost 50% of the vote in german elections in 2009. he publicly acknowledged he was gay back then. his partner is a successful sports manager. former foreign minister -- was his political mentor, and he came into close contact with powerful world leaders. at first he appeared uncertain in his new role, but as time went on, he became increasingly confident. after completing a doctoral degree, he practiced briefly as a law your before going into politics -- as a law your in -- a lawyer before going into politics. in the 2014 general elections, the fdp failed to make it into the german parliament, the bundestag, for the first time since world war ii. he was no longer a prominent political figure. in 2014, he announced he had leukemia and completely withdrew from public life. reliable, controversially dire