BREITBART
Germany’s former president Horst Koehler, who served as head of state from 2004 to 2010, died on Saturday aged 81 after a brief illness, officials announced.
“With the death of Horst Koehler, we have lost a highly esteemed and extremely popular person who achieved great things — for our country and in the world,” President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in a letter to Koehler’s widow.
He passed away in Berlin in the early hours, surrounded by his family.
Koehler, an economist by training, was the first German president who was not a career politician.
Before becoming president he was the head of the International Monetary Fund in Washington.
He also held other roles in the civil service and banking.
He became Germany’s head of state, a mostly ceremonial role, after being put forward by then opposition leader Angela Merkel, who went on to become chancellor.
Steinmeier said that when he was elected, Koehler was “virtually unknown” to the public but quickly gained “much recognition and sympathy”.
He was elected for a second term in 2009…
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