Helmut Kohl.

At age 12, Helmut Kohl helped recover the charred bodies of neighbors from the rubble of bombed Ludwigshafen during World War II. That experience instilled a horror of war and shaped his political drive for peace and unity. He was born on 3 April 1930 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein into a conservative Catholic family. After the war, he studied politics and law at Heidelberg University, earning a doctorate. He entered politics in Rhineland-Palatinate, becoming the youngest state minister-president at age 39.

Kohl became national chairman of the Christian Democratic Union CDU in 1973. In 1982, after the Free Democrats left the ruling coalition, he took the chancellorship, replacing Helmut Schmidt. He won four consecutive federal elections 1983, 1987, 1990, 1994. His central achievement was the 1990 reunification of East and West Germany, which he negotiated with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and US President George H.W. Bush. He also drove the Maastricht Treaty 1992 that created the European Union. The economic costs of reunification led to a downturn, and his popularity waned. He lost the 1998 election to Gerhard Schröder.

Kohl married Hannelore Renner in 1960; they had two sons, Walter and Peter. Hannelore suffered from severe photosensitivity and committed suicide in 2001. In 2008, Kohl married Maike Richter, his long-time companion. His political career dominated public attention, and his wife’s suicide in 2001 was a personal tragedy.

Helmut Kohl reunited Germany in 1990 and strengthened European integration. He received the Charlemagne Prize in 1988 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1999. His 16-year chancellorship left a lasting mark on post-war Europe, but the CDU donation scandal complicated his legacy. He was named an honorary citizen of Europe and several cities. Kohl’s greatest achievement remains the peaceful unification of Germany, which he described as the blessing of a late birth.