German unifier Kohl dies at 87
FORMER German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, architect of German reunification, died yesterday aged 87.
He brought East and West Germany together after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, despite resistance from British Premier Margaret Thatcher and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
Mr Kohl died at home in Ludwigshafen in western Germany and EU flags flew at half-mast in Brussels.
Former Prime Minister Sir John Major called him a “towering figure” in European history.
He said: “Helmut had a huge personal presence, with a heart to match: He was a strong and true friend. I was immensely fond of him and will miss him.”
In the US George Bush senior praised “a friend of freedom and one of the greatest leaders in post-war Europe”. Brussels chief Jean-Claude Juncker paid tribute to his “mentor, friend, the essence of Europe”.
Mr Kohl served from 1982 to 1998 and was a driving force behind the European single currency, convincing Germans to ditch the mark.
In 2000 he quit as chairman of the Christian Democratic Union party over illegal cash donations.