Here’s a look at the life of former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl.
Personal:
Birth date: April 3, 1930
Death date: June 16, 2017
Birth name: Helmut Michael Kohl
Birth place: Ludwigshafen am Rhine (in Rhineland-Palatinate), Germany
Father: Hans Kohl, a civil servant
Mother: Cacilie (Schnur) Kohl
Marriages: Maike (Richter) Kohl (May 8, 2008-present); Hannelore (Renner) Kohl (June 27, 1960-July 5, 2001, her death)
Children: with Hannelore: Peter and Walter
Education: University of Frankfurt; University of Heidelberg, Ph.D., 1958
Religion: Roman Catholic
Other Facts:
Kohl worked for German reunification, campaigning in East Germany for the CDU party and getting NATO and the Soviet Union’s approval.
Timeline:
1947 – Begins working in the Christian Democratic Union.
1959-1976 – Serves in the legislature of the West German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
1969-1976 – Serves as minister-president of Rhineland-Palatinate.
June 12, 1973-September 27, 1998 – Chairman of the Christian Democratic Union.
October 1976-October 2, 1990 – A member of the Bundestag, West Germany’s lower house of parliament.
October 1, 1982-October 2, 1990 – Chancellor of West Germany.
1988 – Along with then French President Francois Mitterrand, Kohl receives the Charlemagne Award for efforts towards European unification.
October 3, 1990 – West and East Germany are reunified.
October 3, 1990-September 27, 1998 – Chancellor of Germany.
October 3, 1990-September 12, 2002 – A member of Bundestag, Germany’s lower house of parliament.
1992 – Chairman of the Group of Seven.
October 1998 – Is named Honorary Citizen of Europe for his work in the integration of Europe.
April 20, 1999 – Is awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by US President Bill Clinton at the White House.
November 30, 1999 – Admits that he accepted anonymous political donations between 1993 and 1998, totaling more than $1 million. Acceptance of such funds is a crime under German law.
2000 – A criminal investigation is launched about the illegal fundraising. Kohl refuses to discuss details of the funds and is harshly criticized for his role in the scandal.
February 8, 2001 – The criminal investigation into illegal fundraising is dropped, and Kohl agrees to pay a fine of 300,000 German marks ($142,000).
November 2004 and 2005 – Publishes memoirs, “Memories: 1930-1982” and “Memories: 1982-1990.”
December 2004 – Kohl is in Sri Lanka on vacation when the tsunami hits and is rescued by the Sri Lankan Air Force.
April 3, 2006 – Receives the Class One order of the Terra Mariana Cross from the government of Estonia for his support of Estonia’s bid for independence.
February 28, 2008 – Is hospitalized after falling and fracturing a hip at his house in Ludwigshafen.
October 31, 2009 – Meets with former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev and former US President George H.W. Bush in Berlin to mark the upcoming 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
March 1, 2016 – German tabloid Bild reports that Kohl is suing ghostwriter Heribert Schwan, publisher Random House and author Tilman Jens over an unauthorized biography of the former chancellor, asking for five million euros in damages and claiming breach of trust. Germany’s top court in 2015 sided with Kohl against Schwan, ruling that the biographer could not use quotes from conversations the two held for the purpose of Kohl’s official memoir and banning further print runs.
June 16, 2017 – Kohl dies at the age of 87.
