Köhler joined the civil service in 1976, when he was employed in the Federal Ministry of Economics. In 1981, he was employed in the Chancellery of the state government in Schleswig-Holstein. He served there under Prime Minister Gerhard Stoltenberg. In 1982, Köhler was made head of the Ministers office in the Federal Ministry of Finance. He rose to head of department in 1987, with responsibility for financial policy and federal industrial interests. In 1989, he became head of the department for currency and credit.
He is a member of the CDU since 1981. He was Secretary of State in the Federal Ministry of Finance from 1990 to 1993. In that capacity, he served as a "sherpa" (personal representative) for Chancellor Helmut Kohl, preparing G7. He also served as the primary German negotiator in the Maastricht Treaty negotiations.
Between 1993 and 1998 he served as President of the association of savings banks in Germany. In 1998, he was appointed president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. He settled in London, where the headquarters of the bank is located.
Köhler was appointed managing Director and Chairman of the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2000. The government of Gerhard Schröder nominated him. This was because their first nominee, Caio Koch-Weser, was rejected by the United States.
He lived in Washington, D.C., from 2000 to 2004.
On 4 March 2004, Köhler resigned his positions, because he was nominated as presidential candidate. Köhler defeated Gesine Schwan on the first ballot by 604 votes to 580. 20 votes were cast for minor candidates, while one elector was absent because of a heart attack. Köhler succeeded Johannes Rau as President on 1 July 2004, for a five-year term. Germany's presidency is a largely ceremonial office. However, it is also invested with considerable moral authority. From 2004 until early 2006, Charlottenburg Palace was the seat of the President of Germany. This was because Schloss Bellevue has been renovated.
Upon his election, Köhler said that "Patriotism and being cosmopolitan are not opposites". Presenting his visions for Germany, Köhler also said that "Germany should become a land of ideas".
In July 2005, he suspended the Bundestag at Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's request. Schröder had lost a motion of confidence in the Bundestag. This led to early election for the Bundestag in September 2005.
In October 2006, he made a far-reaching decision by vetoing a bill. It would transfer Germany's Air Safety Administration Deutsche Flugsicherung into private ownership. The Bundestag passed this legislation but as President, Köhler was authorized to not sign it into law if, in his opinion, it contravenes the constitution. In December 2006, he did not sign the Consumer Information Law, because the constitution does not allow the federal government to instruct municipal authorities. This can only be done by the German states. There had only been six previous occasions when Germany's president had chosen to reject bills. In most instances less important legislation was involved. His vetoes were the first notable examples in recent German history.
In his 2007 Christmas address to the nation, Köhler urged the government to push ahead more quickly with reforms. He was also critical of the introduction of the minimum wage in the postal sector, stating that "a minimum wage that can not be paid by competitive employers destroys jobs".
On 22 May 2008, Köhler said, that he wants to be the candidate for a second term as president. On 23 May 2009, he was re-elected by the Federal Assembly, and was sworn into office for a second term on 1 July 2009.
In November 2009, Köhler refused to sign the "Zugangserschwerungsgesetz" (Access Impediment Act) into law without further information. The law, which aims to make it more difficult to access sites on the World Wide Web with child pornography, is considered by many legal experts to be unconstitutional.
On 31 May 2010, Köhler announced his resignation as President of Germany. This came after German politicians criticised comments made by Köhler in relation to overseas military deployments:
He came under criticism for his statement that Germany’s military missions abroad also served to secure trade. He afterwards stated that his comments referred to piracy off the coast of Somalia. Köhler stated that there was no substance to accusations that in the interview he had overstepped his formal role by favouring an unconstitutional position. After getting no support in the dispute, Köhler stepped down on 31 May 2010. He made a statement saying "I declare my resignation from the Office of President, with immediate effect." The resignation was considered a "surprise". The following days he was criticized for not being able to handle criticism while being a rigorous critic himself. His unprecedented act of immediate resignation was also considered showing a lack of respect for his position.
As written down in the German constitution, the powers of the vacant office were executed by the current President of the Bundesrat, Jens Böhrnsen, until Christian Wulff was elected president on 30 June 2010.
Horst Köhler is married to Eva Köhler, a teacher. They have two children, a daughter Ulrike (born in 1972) and a son Jochen (born in 1977). His daughter, who suffers from retinitis pigmentosa, became blind as a teenager. Horst Köhler is a member of the Evangelical Church in Germany.
2012
2012 (MMXII) was a .
The year 2012 was the International Year of Cooperatives and the Alan Turing Year.
John Williams
John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932) is an American composer and conductor. He has composed many soundtracks for blockbuster movies such as "Star Wars", "Superman", "Jaws", "Jaws 2", "Indiana Jones", "Home Alone", "", "Jurassic Park", "", "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets", "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban", and "Lincoln".
William was born in Long Island, New York on February 8, 1932. He studied at the University of California, Los Angeles and at the Julliard School. His parents were Esther and Johnny Williams.
He is best known for his scores (soundtracks) for movies such as "Jaws", "Jaws 2", "Star Wars", "Superman", "E.T.", "Indiana Jones", "Home Alone", "", "Schindler's List", "Jurassic Park", "", "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets", "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban", and "Lincoln". He conducted the Boston Pops Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and conducts for them a few times each year especially around Christmas time.
Williams has composed music for all but two of Steven Spielberg's movies ("Duel" and "The Color Purple").
For Barack Obama's presidential inauguration on January 20, 2009, John Williams made a special arrangement of the Shaker hymn "Air and Simple Gifts". It was performed by four musicians: the violinist Itzhak Perlman, the cellist Yo-Yo Ma, the clarinetist Anthony McGill and the pianist Gabriela Montero.
Williams also created the theme music for four Olympic Games, NBC Sunday Night Football, the NBC Nightly News, the Statue of Liberty's rededication, the television series "Lost in Space" and "Land of the Giants", and the original, not as well known calypso-based theme song to "Gilligan's Island".
Williams did the music for "". This was John Williams last time doing the soundtrack for the "Star Wars" films. He made a cameo appearance as a bartender in the movie
Williams was married to actress Barbara Ruick from 1956 until her death from a cerebral hemorrhage in 1974. They had three children: Jennifer, Joseph and Mark. In 1980, he married Samantha Winslow. They live in Los Angeles, California.