Former German President Horst Köhler dies at 81 – DW – 02/01/2025

Former German President Horst Köhler died in Berlin on Saturday morning after a short illness, the office of the current German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in a press release.

Köhler, who was president between 2004 and 2010, was surrounded by family at the time of his death, according to the press release. He was 81 years old.

Steinmeier says Germany has lost a “deep and thoughtful” person

“We have lost a very estimated and extremely popular person who has achieved great things – for our country and in the world,” Steinmeier wrote in a letter of condolences he sent to the widow of Köhler, Eva Luise Köhler.

“When Horst Köhler was elected Federal President in 2004, he was practically unknown to a wider audience,” wrote Steinmeier on Saturday, adding “at what speed he then acquired so much recognition and sympathy”

Everything “he said and did it was generally preceded by long and deep reflections and discussions,” wrote Steinmeier.

Who was Horst Köhler?

Köhler was an economist and former director general of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) before turning to politics and taking the mainly ceremonial of the German president.

He was a new relative coming, and when he became president, German Ball Tabloid praised him with the title “Horst who?”

He was also a close ally of the former Chancellor Angela Merkel who put pressure for his presidency in 2004.

Köhler finally built popularity ratings raised once in work, but his presidency ended after resigning in 2010 for criticisms following controversial comments he made during a trip to Afghanistan.

In the years that followed, Köhler has remained involved in work in foreign affairs, projects concerning development in Africa and climate change.

RM / WMR (AP, DPA, KNA)