Former German president Horst Köhler dies at 81 after illness
As announced by the presidential office in Berlin, the former Federal President of Germany, Horst Köhler, passed away at 81 early on Saturday morning.
Horst Köhler, a noted financial expert, served as President of Germany from 2004 to 2010. He passed away in Berlin on Saturday morning following a short illness, as reported by the office of the current President of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
The CDU politician, who was 81 years old, was surrounded by family at the time of his death.
Horst Köhler, a financial expert and former President of Germany, died at the age of 81.
Köhler also served as the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund. His contributions to international finance were significant, and his expertise in this field was widely acknowledged.
He left behind a rich professional and personal legacy. He served as President until 31 May 2010. He prepared and led many international economic negotiations, including meetings of the G7 group and the monetary union between East Germany and West Germany. He also negotiated the financial conditions for the withdrawal of the Soviet Army from Germany.
He was born in Skierbieszów near Zamość into a peasant family. He was one of eight siblings. His parents were Bessarabian Germans who lived in the city of Riscani, which was part of Romania at the time and is now in Moldova, until World War II.
As a result of the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact agreements, Bessarabia was annexed by the USSR, and the German population was relocated to the Reich as part of the so-called Heim ins Reich action. Thus, the family ended up in Skierbieszów.
In 1945, they had to flee from the Red Army again. They settled around Leipzig, where they took up a small farm. Eight years later, the Köhlers fled through West Berlin to West Germany.
After four years in refugee camps, the Köhlers settled in Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg. There, Köhler completed his secondary education and began his university studies after 18 months of basic military service and 6 months of extended service.
In 1969, he graduated with economics and political science degrees in Tübingen. From 1969 to 1976, he worked academically at his alma mater, and in 1977, he obtained a doctorate in economics.
