Manfred Rommel | Son of field marshal, 84

Manfred Rommel, 84, the longtime mayor of Stuttgart and only son of Germany's most famous World War II military commander, died Thursday of unspecified causes.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert said Friday that she considered Mr. Rommel a "remarkable" politician and notable member of her party. He was mayor of Stuttgart from 1975 to 1996.

Mr. Rommel was born in 1928 to Lucie-Maria Rommel and Erwin Rommel, who rose to field marshal rank and was widely known as the "Desert Fox" for his deft command of Nazi Germany's troops in North Africa.

When Manfred Rommel was 15, his father - respected by his own troops as well as his enemies - committed suicide after being implicated in the plot to kill Adolf Hitler. - AP