Manfred Rommel, the long-serving mayor of Stuttgart and only son of Germany’s most famous second World War commander, has died. He was 84.

The City of Stuttgart said Rommel, who served as mayor from 1975 to 1996, died on Thursday of unspecified causes he was born in 1928 to Lucie-Maria Rommel and Erwin Rommel, who eventually 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.

Field Marshal Rommel, who was respected by both his own troops and his enemies, was forced to commit suicide when Manfred was 15 after being implicated in the plot to kill Adolf Hitler.