Helmut Josef Michael Kohl ( born 3 April 1930) is a German statesman, who served as Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 (of West Germany 1982-90 and of the reunited Germany 1990-98) and as the chairman of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to 1998. From 1969 to 1976, Kohl was the 3rd Minister President of Rhineland-Palatinate.
Kohl's 16-year tenure was the longest of any German Chancellor since Otto von Bismarck, and by far the longest of any democratically elected Chancellor. Kohl oversaw the end of the Cold War, and is widely regarded as the main architect of the German reunification. Together with French President François Mitterrand, Kohl is also considered to be the architect of the Maastricht Treaty, which established the European Union (EU).
Kohl has been described as "the greatest European leader of the second half of the 20th century" by U.S. Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton With the death of Helmut Schmidt in November 2015, he became the oldest living former German chancellor.
"George Bush was for me the most important ally on the road to German unity."
"The future will belong to the Germans... ...when we build the House of Europe. In the next two years, we will make the process of European integration irreversible. This is a really big battle but it is worth the fight."
Helmut Kohl
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