Germany’s former Foreign Minister, Guido Westerwelle, died at the age of 54 after suffering from cancer.

Westerwelle was diagnosed in June 2014 with acute leukemia.

He held the office of Minister of Foreign Affairs between 2009 and 2011 and, at the same time, served as Angela Merkel’s Vice Chancellor until 2013.

Guido Westerwelle was the first openly gay man to hold high office in Germany.

In a civil partnership himself, Westerwelle was a huge supporter of marriage equality and frequently criticized the German government for not granting same-sex couples the same rights as their straight counterparts.