Wolfgang Schäuble, who passed away last night at the age of 81, as finance minister was the central figure during the management of the European debt crisis.

According to his article Associated Presswhich describes the Germany’s then finance minister’s troubled relationship with Greece since the early days of Europe’s debt crisisSchäuble pushed for stricter rules on the keeping government deficits under control.

The article states that Berlin was initially opposed to bailing out Greece and other indebted countries with critics blaming Germany’s reluctance for the worst effects of the crisis.

Germany, main lender, left its mark on the rescue effort, insisting on tough economic decisions, such as budget cuts in exchange for aid to troubled countries. In 2012, Schäuble insisted that European countries “they are on the right track, reducing their deficits, improving their productivity and therefore their competitiveness”.

“This is the decision and we cannot save any country through a supposed generosity or solidarity”, he said. “This is not stubbornness – it is an understanding that democratic majorities only make unpleasant decisions when there is no easier alternative.”

When the left-wing Greek government under Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was elected in 2015 on a pledge to roll back painful spending cuts and tax hikes demanded by creditorsSchäuble took a hard line, the Associated Press continues in its article.

Later that year, Schäuble suggested Greece could take a five-year “time out” from the euro with Angela Merkel opposing a so-called “Grexit”.