Helmut Kohl

Helmut Kohl
Kohl in 1996
Chancellor of Germany[a] (West Germany until 1990)
In office 1 October 1982 – 27 October 1998
President	Karl Carstens Richard von Weizsäcker Roman Herzog
Vice-Chancellor	Hans-Dietrich Genscher Jürgen Möllemann Klaus Kinkel
Preceded by	Helmut Schmidt
Succeeded by	Gerhard Schröder
Leader of the Christian Democratic Union
In office 12 June 1973 – 7 November 1998
General Secretary	Kurt Biedenkopf Heiner Geißler Volker Rühe Peter Hintze
Preceded by	Rainer Barzel
Succeeded by	Wolfgang Schäuble
Leader of the Opposition
In office 13 December 1976 – 1 October 1982
Chancellor	Helmut Schmidt
Preceded by	Karl Carstens
Succeeded by	Herbert Wehner
Leader of the CDU/CSU group in the Bundestag
In office 13 December 1976 – 4 October 1982
Chief Whip	Philipp Jenninger
First Deputy	Friedrich Zimmermann
Preceded by	Karl Carstens
Succeeded by	Alfred Dregger
Minister-President of Rhineland-Palatinate
In office 19 May 1969 – 2 December 1976
Deputy	Otto Meyer [de]
Preceded by	Peter Altmeier
Succeeded by	Bernhard Vogel
Parliamentary constituencies Member of the Bundestag for Rhineland-Palatinate In office 26 October 1998 – 17 October 2002 Preceded by Multi-member district Succeeded by Multi-member district Electoral list Christian Democratic Union In office 20 December 1990 – 26 October 1998 Preceded by Manfred Reimann [de] Succeeded by Doris Barnett Constituency Ludwigshafen In office 14 December 1976 – 20 December 1990 Preceded by Multi-member district Succeeded by Multi-member district Electoral list Christian Democratic Union Member of the Landtag of Rhineland-Palatinate In office 19 May 1959 – 21 December 1976 Preceded by Multi-member district Succeeded by Hans-Dieter Busch [de] (1977) Constituency Wahlkreis 6 (1959–1971) Wahlkreis 5 (1971–1975) Wahlkreis 3 (1975–1976)
Personal details
Born	Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (1930-04-03)3 April 1930 Ludwigshafen, Bavaria, German Reich
Died	16 June 2017(2017-06-16) (aged 87) Ludwigshafen, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
Resting place	Cathedral Chapter Cemetery, Speyer
Political party	Christian Democratic Union (1946–2017)
Spouses	Hannelore Renner ​ ​ (m. 1960; died 2001)​ Maike Richter ​ (m. 2008)​
Children	Walter Peter
Alma mater	Heidelberg University
Signature
Helmut Kohl's voice Kohl delivering remarks on US president Ronald Reagan's arrival at Bitburg Air Base Recorded 5 May 1985

Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (German: [ˈhɛlmuːt ˈkoːl] ^ⓘ; 3 April 1930 – 16 June 2017) was a German politician who served as chancellor of Germany from 1990 to 1998 and, prior to German reunification, as the chancellor of West Germany from 1982 to 1990. He was leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to 1998 and oversaw the end of the Cold War, the German reunification and the creation of the European Union (EU). Kohl’s 16-year tenure is the longest of any German chancellor since Otto von Bismarck, and is the longest for any democratically elected chancellor of Germany.

Born in Ludwigshafen to a Catholic family, Kohl joined the CDU in 1946 at the age of 16. He earned a PhD in history at Heidelberg University in 1958, and worked as a business executive before becoming a full-time politician. He was elected as the youngest member of the Parliament of Rhineland-Palatinate in 1959 and from 1969 to 1976 was minister president of the Rhineland-Palatinate state. Viewed during the 1960s and the early 1970s as a progressive within the CDU, he was elected national chairman of the party in 1973. After he had become party leader, Kohl was increasingly seen as a more conservative figure. In the 1976 and 1980 federal elections his party performed well, but the social-liberal government of social democrat Helmut Schmidt was able to remain in power. After Schmidt had lost the support of the liberal FDP in 1982, Kohl was elected Chancellor through a constructive vote of no confidence, forming a coalition government with the FDP. Kohl chaired the G7 in 1985 and 1992.

As Chancellor, Kohl was committed to European integration and especially to the Franco-German relationship; he was also a steadfast ally of the United States and supported Ronald Reagan's more aggressive policies to weaken the Soviet Union. Following the Revolutions of 1989, his government acted decisively, culminating in the German reunification in 1990. Kohl and French president François Mitterrand were the architects of the Maastricht Treaty which established the EU and the Euro currency.^[1] Kohl was also a central figure in the eastern enlargement of the EU, and his government led the effort to push for international recognition of Croatia, Slovenia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina when the states declared independence. He played an instrumental role in resolving the Bosnian War. Domestically Kohl's policies from 1990 focused on integrating former East Germany into reunified Germany, and he moved the federal capital from the "provisional capital" Bonn back to Berlin, although he never resided there because the government offices were only relocated in 1999. Kohl also greatly increased federal spending on arts and culture. After his chancellorship, Kohl became honorary chairman of the CDU in 1998 but resigned from the position in 2000 in the wake of the CDU donations scandal which damaged his reputation domestically.

Kohl received the 1988 Charlemagne Prize and was named Honorary Citizen of Europe by the European Council in 1998. Following his death, Kohl was honoured with the first-ever European act of state in Strasbourg.^[2] Kohl was described as "the greatest European leader of the second half of the 20th century" by US presidents George H. W. Bush^[3] and Bill Clinton.^[4]

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