Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl has died, German newspaper Bild reported. He was 87 years old.

 Kohl, the architect of German reunification, was the first chancellor after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

 In 1989, Kohl proposed to reunite Germany and the reunification occurred in October 1990, according to Sputnik News.

 Kohl was born on April 3, 1930 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany. </s> BERLIN >> Helmut Kohl, the physically imposing German chancellor whose reunification of a nation divided by the Cold War put Germany at the heart of a united Europe, has died at 87.

Kohl’s Christian Democratic Union Party posted on Twitter: “We are in sorrow. #RIP #HelmutKohl.”

The German newspaper Bild reported that Kohl died Friday at his home in Ludwigshafen.

Kohl’s 16-year tenure as chancellor stretched from 1982 to 1998.

He combined a dogged pursuit of European unity with a keen instinct for history following the November 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall. Kohl spearheaded, less than a year later, the end of Germany’s division at the front line of the Cold War.

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton once described Kohl as “the most important European statesman since World War II.” </s> High Profile Former Germany Chancellor Helmut Kohl Is Dead, Dies At Age 87

Kohl’s Christian Democratic Union party posted on Twitter: “We are in sorrow. (hash) RIP (hash) HelmutKohl.” The daily newspaper Bild reported that Kohl died on Friday at his home in Ludwigshafen.

Over his 16 years at the country’s helm from 1982 to 1998 — first for West Germany and then for all of a united Germany — Kohl combined a dogged pursuit of European unity with a keen instinct for history. Less than a year after the November 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall, he spearheaded the end of Germany’s decades-long division into East and West, ushering in a new era in European politics.

It was the close friendships that Kohl built up with other world leaders that helped him persuade both anti-communist Western allies and the leaders of the collapsing Soviet Union that a strong, united Germany could finally live at peace with its neighbours.

“Helmut Kohl was the most important European statesman since WWII,” Bill Clinton, the former US president, said in 2011, adding that Kohl answered the big questions of his time “correctly for Germany, correctly for Europe, correctly for the United States, correctly for the future of the world.”

The post High Profile Former Germany Chancellor Helmut Kohl Is Dead, Dies At Age 87 appeared first on Ngyab.

This post was syndicated from Ngyab. Click here to read the full text on the original website.

Do you something awesome to share with the world? Click here to share

Do you ever have any question about anything you wish to ask and get answer? Click here to ask

Also, Like us on facebook </s> The EU will pay an unprecedented tribute Saturday to former German chancellor Helmut Kohl, one of the architects of modern Europe, in a ceremony attended by a host of leaders.

Kohl, who oversaw German reunification and was a driving force in Europe's integration, died on June 16 at age of 87.

Ceremonies at the European Parliament begin a day of commemoration and mourning, culminating in his burial in the German town of Speyer.

At his widow's request, there will be no state funeral in Germany.

The former chancellor's coffin will be brought to the parliament chamber in the French city of Strasbourg where his successor, Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and former US president Bill Clinton will give speeches.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev will represent Russia at the ceremony, which will also be attended by British Prime Minister Theresa May and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The speeches and a short film to be played to the chamber will focus on Kohl's role in German unification after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and on his close cooperation with France's Francois Mitterrand in shaping the European Union.

It is the first time that the European Parliament has paid tribute to a leader in such a way.

The idea for a ceremony was proposed by European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker, whom Kohl affectionately called "junior" when the Luxemburger became prime minister at the age of 41.

On Kohl's death, Juncker described him as "my mentor, my friend (and) the very essence of Europe".

The parliament building in the city on the Franco-German border will be ringed by steel. More than 2,000 police will be on duty to protect the visiting dignitaries.

After the ceremony in Strasbourg, Kohl's coffin will be taken by helicopter to the German city of Ludwigshafen where it will be transferred to a boat and taken down the Rhine to the southwest town of Speyer for his funeral service.

The arrangements have been clouded by criticism from Kohl's elder son. In an interview with Die Zeit weekly he called the plans "unworthy" of his father's role in Germany's history.

Walter Kohl, whose mother was the late chancellor's first wife Hannelore Kohl, criticised the lack of a state funeral, which was refused by Kohl's second wife Maike Kohl-Richter.

Kohl married Kohl-Richter, 34 years her husband's junior, when he was 78.

One of the reasons for her refusal was lingering anger at Merkel's treatment of her former mentor.

Merkel ousted Kohl from the leadership of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and urged the party to drop him when he became embroiled in a party funding scandal.

Walter Kohl wants his father's coffin to be taken to the German capital for "a national homage, an ecumenical requiem and a military farewell ceremony" near the Brandenburg Gate, where the German leader witnessed the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Because of a long-running feud with his stepmother, who jealously guards her husband's political legacy, Walter Kohl had not had contact with his father for many years and said he learned of his death from a radio report.

He says he will not take part in the burial in Speyer. </s> Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, the architect of German reunification, died on Friday, the mass-selling newspaper Bild reported. He was 87.

Bild reported in its online edition that Kohl died in the morning in his home in Ludwigshafen, in western Germany.

"We mourn," Kohl's Christian Democratic Union party (CDU) tweeted with a picture of the former chancellor.

Germany's longest serving post-war chancellor from 1982 to 1998, Kohl was a driving force behind the introduction of the euro currency, convincing sceptical Germans to give up their cherished deutschemark.

An imposing figure who formed a close relationship with French President Francois Mitterrand in pushing for closer European integration, Kohl had been frail and wheelchair-bound since suffering a bad fall in 2008.

At home, he is celebrated above all as the father of German reunification, which he achieved after the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall despite resistance from partners such as British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

He won voters in communist East Germany by promising them "flourishing landscapes".

Shortly after leaving office, Kohl's reputation was tarnished by a financing scandal in his centre-right party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), now led by Chancellor Angela Merkel. Kohl mentored Merkel early in her career, appointing her to her first ministerial post. </s> World leaders are attending a ceremony at the European Parliament in Strasbourg to commemorate the life of Helmut Kohl, the former chancellor of Germany and the main architect of its reunification.

Kohl, who died on June 16 aged 87, is the first person to be honored with an official memorial event by the European Union.

Dignitaries have been paying respects at his coffin, which was draped in the EU flag.

During his 16-year term as Germany's leader, from 1982 to 1998, Kohl was a major driving force behind closer European integration.

"Helmut Kohl was a true European and a friend. Europe owes him a lot," said European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, the only current leader in Europe to have worked alongside him.

Junker said the ceremony at the European Parliament's seat in the French city of Strasbourg, close to the border with Germany, was the choice of Kohl himself.

Speakers at the ceremony include the current German and French leaders Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron, respectively, as well as Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, former U.S. President Bill Clinton, and former Spanish President Felipe González.

Kohl will be buried in the German town of Speyer later in the day.

Based on reporting by AP, dpa, AFP, and the BBC </s> Helmut Kohl: former chancellor and father of German reunification dies aged 87

Former German chancellor Helmut Kohl — the architect of German reunification — has died at his home in Ludwigshafen, western Germany, at the age of 87.

"A life has ended and the person who lived it will go down in history," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, speaking from Rome.

"It will take some time, however, until we can truly judge what we have lost in him. Helmut Kohl was a great German and a great European."

"We mourn," Mr Kohl's Christian Democratic Union party (CDU) tweeted with a picture of the former chancellor.

Germany's longest serving post-war chancellor, from 1982 to 1998, Mr Kohl was a driving force behind the introduction of the euro currency, convincing sceptical Germans to give up their cherished deutschemark.

An imposing figure who formed a close relationship with French president Francois Mitterrand in pushing for closer European integration, Mr Kohl had been frail and wheelchair-bound since suffering a bad fall in 2008.

At home, he is celebrated above all as the father of German reunification, which he achieved after the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall despite resistance from partners such as British prime minister Margaret Thatcher and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

He won voters in communist East Germany by promising them "flourishing landscapes".

In a 2012 tribute, former US president Bill Clinton described Mr Kohl as one of post-war Europe's defining statesmen.

For all his accomplishments as chancellor, Kohl's life was tinged by controversy and personal tragedy after he left office in 1998 as Germany's longest-serving leader since Bismarck.

In 2000, he was forced to resign as honorary chairman of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the party he had led for 25 years, after admitting to receiving $1.31 million in illegal cash donations during his time as chancellor, which he doled out to local party organisations.

He refused to reveal where the money had come from, saying he had given the donors his "Ehrenwort," or word of honour, not to disclose their names.

The scandal made him a virtual pariah in his own party for years.

Angela Merkel, the shy physicist from communist East Germany whom Mr Kohl had plucked from obscurity to join his cabinet after the fall of the Berlin Wall, turned on him at a crucial moment during the scandal, ensuring his exile.

A year after he was dropped by the CDU, Mr Kohl's first wife Hannelore, who suffered from a debilitating allergy to light, committed suicide.

In an appearance at the German Historical Museum in Berlin in 2012 to mark 30 years since he became chancellor, Mr Kohl reminded his audience of why he had championed European unity and urged EU leaders to continue on the path of closer integration despite the crisis of the euro.

"Europe can never sink into war again," he said. </s> German statesman Helmut Kohl, the architect of German reunification after the end of the Cold War, has died, his Christian Democratic Union party announced with a memorial message Friday. He was 87.

Kohl served as chancellor for 16 years — from 1982 to 1998 — and was Germany’s longest-serving leader since 1945.

He worked tirelessly for the reunification of West and East Germany, the countries separated in the ashes of World War II.

Kohl was born in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany, an industrial port city in what is now the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

He began working in the CDU in 1947. He served in the Rhineland-Palatinate legislature from 1959 to 1976, and served as minister-president of the same state from 1969 to 1976.

He was CDU chairman from 1973 to 1998. He was a member of the Bundestag, West German’s lower house of parliament from 1976 to 1990.

Kohl became chancellor of West Germany from 1982 and 1990 and became chancellor of Germany after reunification. </s> BERLIN (AP) - Helmut Kohl, the physically imposing German chancellor whose reunification of a nation divided by the Cold War put Germany at the heart of a united Europe, has died at 87.

Kohl's Christian Democratic Union Party posted on Twitter: "We are in sorrow. #RIP #HelmutKohl."

The German newspaper Bild reported that Kohl died Friday at his home in Ludwigshafen.

Kohl's 16-year tenure as chancellor stretched from 1982 to 1998.

He combined a dogged pursuit of European unity with a keen instinct for history following the November 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall. Kohl spearheaded, less than a year later, the end of Germany's division at the front line of the Cold War.

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton once described Kohl as "the most important European statesman since World War II."

FILE - The Aug. 29, 2001 file photo shows former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl of the Christian Democrats is illuminated by sunlight as he listens to the debate in the parliament, during a special session about the deployment of about 500 German troops for the NATO operation Essential Harvest in Macedonia. (AP Photo/Jockel Finck, file)

FILE - The July 17, 1990 file photo shows Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, center,sitting with West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, right, and German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher at a table in the garden of the guest house in Archiz during a break in their talks on the discussion of NATO-membership of United Germany, the most difficult topic in the negotiations to German unification. In the background are German government spokesman Hans Klein, West German Finance Minister Theo Waigel, sixth from left, Raissa Gorbacheva, Soviet Finance Minister Pavlov and Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze, third from right. The other persons are unidentified delegation members. (AP Photo/Roberto Pfeil, file)
Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl dies at the age of 87.