Honored Persons

 

Helmut Kohl

Helmut Kohl (born April 3, 1930 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, † June 16, 2017) was a German politician of the CDU. Kohl took over the party chairmanship of the CDU in 1972. Ten years later, in 1982, he became sixth Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany and led a CDU / CSU / FDP coalition from 1982 to 1998. Kohl is considered "turnaround chancellor": He experienced the fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989 in the office of the Federal Chancellor. Kohl made decisive progress in the process of German reunification in 1989/1990. The rapid unification of the GDR with the BDR on October 3, 1990 is quite controversial, in hindsight. There were political forces that found reunification too fast or even for two states. What is not controversial: Helmut Kohl stood up - together with the French President Francois Mitterand - for the European Union. It is considered to be an engine of European integration, which led to the formation of the European Union and the introduction of the euro in the 1990s. Most recently, Kohl made headlines after his death: When he died on 16 June 2017 at the age of 87 years, Kohl was the first person in the history of the EU with a mourning act honored EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker as " State Act ". Kohl's family and many Germans refused a state ceremony.