Hans-Christian Ströbele, who passed away on August 29 following a long illness, was an accomplished lawyer and one of Germany’s best-known Green politicians, serving in parliament for over two decades. His seriousness, alertness, and willingness to express dissent irrespective of what was trendy — or even what others might have expected from him — was widely acknowledged across the media and political spectrum.

In Berlin media, in the city’s cafés and at late-summer festivals, many fondly remembered the white-haired, ever-friendly Ströbele, often seen on his bicycle in the German capital’s Kreuzberg neighborhood. He was always open for a conversation, whether about day-to-day issues or major political events.

More than anything, however, the people of Berlin knew him as someone who always turned up to demonstrations across the city, riding along on his bike, stopping here and there, talking with police, demonstrators, and spectators alike, until his illness eventually slowed him down.