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Helmut Kohl
Image: dpa/picture allianceImage: dpa/picture alliance

Helmut Kohl

Helmut Kohl (1930-2017) served as Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 and as the chairman of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to 1998.

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All Content on this topic

Deutschland Dom zu Speyer

Helmut Kohl to be buried in Speyer

Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl will be buried in the southwestern German town of Speyer, not his smaller hometown.
PoliticsJune 20, 2017
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Helmut Kohl's partners in reunification pay tribute

Former US ambassador to Germany Robert Kimmitt remembers departed Chancellor Helmut Kohl
PoliticsJune 20, 201702:01 min
Felix Steiner

A funeral fit for a pharaoh

Felix Steiner
Helmut Kohl remains in death as he was in life: unique, headstrong, polarizing and not above bearing a grudge.
PoliticsJune 20, 2017
Merkel signing the condolence book for Kohl

Angela Merkel honors Helmut Kohl

Chancellor Merkel has honored her former mentor, Helmut Kohl, in a book of condolences for the former German leader.
PoliticsJune 18, 2017
Altbundeskanzler Helmut Kohl

The fighter: Helmut Kohl

Few chancellors have been as controversial as Helmut Kohl was. What remains of his political legacy?
PoliticsJune 17, 201726:02 min
Altbundeskanzler Helmut Kohl

Helmut Kohl - The Interview

In memory of Helmut Kohl, Deutsche Welle is broadcasting his last major television interview.
SocietyJune 17, 201742:29 min
Helmut Kohl Bad in der Menge

World leaders mourn loss of Helmut Kohl

World leaders are paying tribute to former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who has died at the age of 87.
PoliticsJune 17, 2017
Fotografie von Konrad Rufus Müller Ausstellung Über Schreibtische Kohl

Capturing Kohl on film

Photographer Konrad Rufus Müller looks back on the time he spent taking pictures of Helmut Kohl.
CultureJune 17, 201704:48 min
1990 Kohl signing reunification treaty, smiling

Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl dies, aged 87

Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl has died. In office for 16 years, he was the longest serving post-war chancellor.
PoliticsJune 16, 2017
Deutschland Helmut Kohl in Dresden

Online tributes

PoliticsJune 16, 201703:57 min
Altbundeskanzler Helmut Kohl

Helmut Kohl dead at 87

PoliticsJune 16, 201700:55 min
Altbundeskanzler Helmut Kohl

AfricaLink on Air - 16 June 2017

Helmut Kohl, the chancellor who reunited Germany dies at 87+++ Zambia churches demand release of opposition leader
PoliticsJune 16, 201730:00 min
Kudascheff Alexander Kommentarbild App

A great statesman

Alexander Kudascheff
DW's former editor-in-chief Alexander Kudascheff pays tribute to Helmut Kohl.
PoliticsJune 16, 2017
Helmut Kohl book and ghostwriter Heribert Schwan

Helmut Kohl wins case over 'unauthorized biography'

Heribert Schwan, principal author of the controversial book must pay the former chancellor one million euros.
Law and JusticeApril 27, 2017
Walter Kohl

Walter Kohl takes aim at Merkel

Walter Kohl, a son of the former chancellor, launched a personal attack on Merkel that may have political consequences.
PoliticsFebruary 24, 2017
Audioslideshow Helmut Kohl

Kohl's son part-blames Merkel for mom's suicide

Former Chancellor Kohl's son says Angela Merkel's political actions played a role in his mother's suicide.
PoliticsFebruary 22, 2017
Margaret Thatcher und Helmut Kohl

Thatcher's anti-German fears

Margaret Thatcher was warned of Germany's aggressive character in the run-up to German reunification, new files show.
HistoryDecember 30, 2016
Deutsche Welle Strack Christoph Portrait

Flashback to Kohl

Christoph Strack
Merkel at the helm of the CDU recalls the late days of former Chancellor Kohl, says Christoph Strack.
PoliticsDecember 6, 2016
07.09.2015 DW Doku + 2+4+X Mauer

A short history of German reunification

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, tensions were high as negotiations about Germany's future began.
SocietyOctober 4, 201642:32 min
A man takes down the British flag in Berlin

Who pays Brexit bill? Not Germany, Bavarian says

Savings, not more money from Germany, should make up the EU budget gap after the UK leaves, a Bavarian politician said.
June 30, 2016
Deutschland Viktor Orbán besucht Helmut Kohl

Orban: Hungary 'side by side with Berlin'

Hungarian PM Orban and Kohl have said they are fully in agreement with the aims of Merkel's refugee policy.
April 19, 2016
ehemaliger Bundeskanzler Helmut Kohl

Former Chancellor Kohl to meet with Hungarian PM

Angela Merkel's onetime mentor is meeting with her most vocal European critic.
April 19, 2016
Deutschland Alt-Bundeskanzler Helmut Kohl - Bundestagsuntersuchungsausschuss

Kohl: Europe can't take in so many refugees

The former German chancellor has raised concerns about the number of refugees entering Europe.
April 16, 2016
Spasovska Verica Kommentarbild App

A master of diplomacy

Verica Spasovska
Hans-Dietrich Genscher was an influential figure in postwar German history, DW's Verica Spasovska writes.
April 1, 2016
Heribert Schwan Vermächtnis

Helmut Kohl sues his ghostwriter

The ex-chancellor wants millions for breach of privacy, in his latest legal battle over a warts-and-all biography.
March 3, 2016
Helmut Kohl book

Helmut Kohl files lawsuit over new book

The former chancellor has sued the authors and publishers of a new book for printing unflattering remarks.
November 18, 2015
Altkanzler Helmut Kohl

Top court rules memoir recordings belong to Kohl

Germany's top court has ruled that Helmut Kohl is the rightful owner of audio recordings used to write his memoirs.
July 10, 2015
Deutschland Helmut Kohl Ex-Bundeskanzler

Kohl 'doing well considering the circumstances'

Following two operations, Germany's ex-Chancellor Kohl is "doing well considering the circumstances," his office says.
June 2, 2015
Helmut Kohl

Magazine: Helmut Kohl in hospital

Former chancellor of Germany Helmut Kohl is in intensive care in a Heidelberg hospital, magazine "Bunte" reports.
June 2, 2015

Talking Germany - Walter Möbius, Doctor and Author

Walter Möbius spent decades as head doctor at the Johanniter Hospital in Bonn. One of his patients was former Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who became a good friend. Now 77, he's retired but still a keen photographer. On Talking Germany, he talks about the lessons he learned from his years in the medical profession.
CultureMay 18, 201532:40 min
Helmut Kohl Buchvorstellung Aus Sorge um Europa

Court upholds ban on publishing Kohl's revealing comments

A German court has upheld a ruling that bans the publication of revealing comments by former Chancellor Helmut Kohl.
May 5, 2015
24.03.2015 DW-TV Feature DOKU Helmut Kohl 2003 sitzend Copyright ECO Media

Helmut Kohl turns 85

Germany's longest-serving chancellor, Christian Democrat Helmut Kohl, celebrates his 85th birthday, to national acclaim.
April 3, 2015
Heribert Schwan Vermächtnis

Court bans Kohl-quotations published in bestseller

Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl has won a legal case against his former ghostwriter.
November 13, 2014
Gorbachev (left) sitting next to his wife and "Wetten, dass" TV host Thomas Gottschalk

A special friendship: Gorbachev and the Germans

With his personable, open style, "Gorbi" won Germans' hearts even before the fall of the Berlin Wall.
PoliticsNovember 10, 201410 images
Audioslideshow Helmut Kohl Ära Kohl geht zu Ende

Kohl's unguarded comments

A book of candid interviews with former Chancellor Helmut Kohl is to be published this week.
October 6, 2014
8 German chancellors:top from left, German chancellors Konrad Adenauer, Christian Democratic Party (CDU), Chancellor from 1949 until 1963, Ludwig Erhard (CDU), 1963-1966, Kurt Georg Kiesinger (CDU), 1966-1969. Willy Brandt of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), 1969-1974, bottom from left, Helmut Schmidt (SPD), 1974-1982, Helmut Kohl (CDU) 1982-1998, Gerhard Schroeder (SPD), 1998 - 2005, and Angela Merkel (CDU), 2005

An overview of Germany's chancellors

Olaf Scholz is Germany's ninth chancellor. Who were his predecessors?
PoliticsSeptember 22, 20139 images
Helmut Kohl, Chairman of the West German Christian Democratic Party is shown in July 1977. (ddp images/AP Photo/Klaus Schlagmann)

Kohl wanted to deport Turks

Former Chancellor Helmut Kohl sought to deport half of Germany's Turkish population in four years. The revelation comes from declassified British documents.
August 2, 2013

The Eternal Chancellor - The CDU honors Helmut Kohl

He served longer as chancellor than anyone before or after him: Helmut Kohl. Thirty years ago the Christian Democrat moved into the chancellory and from there steered the history of the republic for the next 16 years. Kohl fell out of favor after admitting his involvement in a financial scandal, but now his party is honoring him for his life's work.
PoliticsDecember 27, 201206:22 min
Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl Photo: AP Photo/Michael Probst

Kohl: German chancellor, European statesman

Thirty years ago Helmut Kohl became Germany's sixth post-war chancellor, a position he held 16 years
October 1, 2012
German former Chancellor Helmut Kohl, his wife Maike Richter-Kohl (R) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrive for a reception in Berlin, September 27, 2012.

Kohl pushes for stronger Europe

Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl has used a gala in his honor to tell polticians to press on with the integration of Europe. The event coincided with the 30th anniversary of when Kohl was first elected chancellor.
September 27, 2012
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The Eternal Chancellor - The CDU honors Helmut Kohl

He served longer as chancellor than anyone before or after him: Helmut Kohl. Thirty years ago the Christian Democrat moved into the chancellory and from there steered the history of the republic for the next 16 years. Kohl fell out of favor after admitting his involvement in a financial scandal, but now his party is honoring him for his life's work.
PoliticsSeptember 27, 201206:39 min
Christian Wulff

Sitting tight

Germany's president may survive the loan scandal if he just sits tight. It's an old tradition.
January 23, 2012
Karlheinz Schreiber waving at his wife (not seen) in an Augsburg court in 2010.

Schreiber affair

A German court orders a partial retrial for former arms dealer Karlheinz Schreiber.
September 6, 2011
Former Chancellor Helmut Kohl, left, and Chancellor Angela Merkel, right

Water off a duck's back

Merkel rejects former Chancellor Kohl's criticism of Germany's 'unreliable' foreign policy.
August 25, 2011

Merkel bashing

DW's Peter Stützle says that while Merkel bashing is the flavor of the day, it's not here to last.
August 25, 2011
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski

Good neighbors?

The German-Polish cooperation and friendship treaty leaves a positive balance 20 years on.
June 17, 2011
Newspapers on a rack

Goodbye, Guido

The press weighs in on Guido Westerwelle's decision to resign as FDP chair and Vice Chancellor.
April 4, 2011
Milosevic on television at war-crimes tribunal, with an elderly woman covering her face as she cries and watches

The Balkan decision

In part two of a three-part series, Germany's wrenching decision to return to military action.
December 28, 2010
Berlin wall on Nov 10, 1989, with people climbing over it

Never again war

In this series, DW examines how Germany overcame historic taboos about deploying its military.
December 28, 2010
Horst Teltschik, foreign policy advisor to Helmut Kohl

A reunified Germany

After the wall fell, Gorbachev invited Kohl to the Caucasus, where they finalized reunification.
September 30, 2010