Horst Köhler: Former Federal President died

Horst Köhler (1943-2025) is dead. The economist was the ninth Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany from July 1, 2004 until its resignation on May 31, 2010. As on February 1, Köhler died early Saturday morning at the age of 81 after a short, serious illness with his family. Information on the funeral service will be announced at a later date.

Köhler was elected Federal President on May 23, 2004 and was confirmed in office five years later. His surprising resignation in 2010 was a bang in German politics. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (69) recognized his predecessor in a condolence letter to Eva Luise Köhler (78) as “a stroke of luck for our country”. Köhler “gave a lot to this country”.

Köhler was a studied economist who started a civil servant career in the Federal Ministry of Economics in 1976. He became State Secretary in 1990 in the Federal Ministry of Finance, which was then led by Theo Waigel (85). In 1993 he moved to the financial world, became President of the European Bank for reconstruction and development in London and later head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

In 2004 Köhler became the successor to Johannes Rau (1931-2006) – he was the first Federal President to be not a party politician. The trigger for his resignation was Köhler’s interview in the Deutschlandradio Kultur, which he had given after visiting German soldiers in Masar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan. In it, he also justified the Bundeswehr missions abroad with the maintenance of German business interests, whereupon he received harsh criticism. Köhler saw his office damaged and stepped back with immediate effect.

“Until the recent past, Horst Köhler still perceived public appointments and remained a voice in political Berlin, which was highly valued by many highly valued,”, the Federal Presidential Office in his message on February 1. “With a deliberate confidence, he argued for a better future for all people.” In 2021 he took over the patronage of the first nationwide citizens’ council for climate policy. With his wife, he launched a foundation for researching rare diseases in 2006. He also dealt with Africa, including as a UN special representative for the West Sahara conflict from 2017 to 2019.

Horst Köhler leaves his wife Eva Luise Köhler, with whom he had been married since 1969 and received two children.