“I want to get home as soon as possible.”
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Helmut Kohl
Helmut Josef Michael Kohl was a German politician who served as chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998. He was leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to 1998 and oversaw the end of the Cold War, German reunification, and the creation of the European Union (EU). Kohl's 16-year tenure is the longest in German post-war history and is the longest for any elected chancellor of German…
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politics · Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 · politician · historian · political scientist · Chancellor of Germany · also Helmut Kohl, Helmut Josef Michael Kohl, Kohl, Dr. Helmut Kohl
Born 3 April 1930 · Died 16 June 2017 · Q2518
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2026· 3 entries
“s apartment, which he described as”
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Citizen app: Person Stole Items From Kohl's
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2021· 1 entry
Published “Highly accurate protein structure prediction with AlphaFold” in Nature — cited 44,000 times.
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2020· 1 entry
Published “nnU-Net: a self-configuring method for deep learning-based biomedical image segmentation” in Nature Methods — cited 9,395 times.
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2017· 5 entries
Died 2017-06-16.
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“As long as there is a wall, barbed wire and orders to shoot, there can be no talk of normality in Germany.”
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“We Germans have learned from history. We are a peace-loving, freedom-loving people. For us, love of our native country, love of freedom, and the spirit of being a good neighbor always belong together.”
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“I am not the one trying to speed things up. We are being driven.”
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“The Berlin Wall is perhaps the most visible expression of the moral gulf between free democracy and totalitarian dictatorship.”
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2016· 1 entry
Kohl sued Random House, his former ghost writer Heribert Schwan and co-author Tilman Jens for publishing without his consent 116 comments allegedly made by Kohl during interviews in 2001 and 2002 and published in an unau
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2014· 1 entry
Called Legacy: The Kohl Protocols
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2012· 1 entry
For building a "wall" around Helmut Kohl and controlling him; as a result he had also become estranged from many former friends disliked by his new wife
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2011· 2 entries
Also criticised Merkel for committing to nuclear power phaseout by 2022, following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, saying that a nuclear phase-out would "make the world a more dangerous place", that risks are
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Kohl, despite frail health, began giving a number of interviews and issued statements in which he sharply condemned his successor Angela Merkel, whom he had formerly mentored, on her policies in favour of strict austerit
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2010· 1 entry
Had a gall bladder operation in Heidelberg, and heart surgery in 2012
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2009· 1 entry
Awarded Hanns Martin Schleyer Prize (2009).
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2008· 1 entry
After suffering serious head trauma, Kohl, then aged 78, married Maike Richter, a former Chancellery employee who was 44 years old; they had no children
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2005· 2 entries
Awarded Point Alpha Prize (2005).
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Awarded Decoration for Exceptional Merits (2005).
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2002· 2 entries
Awarded honorary doctorate of CEU San Pablo University (2002).
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Kohl left the Bundestag and officially retired from politics
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1999· 3 entries
Won Presidential Medal of Freedom presented by Bill Clinton (1999).
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Awarded Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg (1999).
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When it was discovered that the CDU had received and kept illegal donations during Kohl's leadership
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1998· 7 entries
Awarded Order of the White Eagle (Third Polish Republic) (1998).
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Awarded honorary citizen of Europe (1998).
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Awarded Grand Cross special issue of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, special issue (1998).
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But resigned from the position in 2000 in the wake of the CDU donations scandal, which damaged his reputation domestically
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Kohl was named Honorary Citizen of Europe by the European heads of state or government for his extraordinary work for European integration and cooperation, an honour previously only bestowed on Jean Monnet
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Career landmark: member of the German Bundestag (1998–2002).
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Kohl became the second person after Konrad Adenauer to receive the Grand Cross in Special Design of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
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1997· 2 entries
Awarded German Leo Baeck Award (1997).
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Kohl received the Vision for Europe Award for his efforts in the unification of Europe
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1996· 3 entries
Awarded Princess of Asturias Award for International Cooperation (1996).
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Awarded Eric M. Warburg Award (1996).
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Kohl received the Prince of Asturias Award in International Cooperation from Felipe of Spain
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1994· 1 entry
Career landmark: member of the German Bundestag (1994–1998).
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1993· 1 entry
Kohl confirmed, via treaty with the Czech Republic, that Germany would no longer bring forward territorial claims as to the pre-1945 ethnic German Sudetenland
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1992· 1 entry
Awarded European handicraft prize (1992).
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1990· 2 entries
Awarded Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding (1990).
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Career landmark: member of the German Bundestag (1990–1994).
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1989· 3 entries
A partial retirement plan was introduced under which elderly employees could work half-time and receive 70% of their former salary, "and be credited with 90% of the full social insurance entitlement
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Special provisions were introduced for the older unemployed
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Kohl's handling of the East German issue would become the turning point of his chancellorship
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1988· 1 entry
Awarded Charlemagne Prize (1988).
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1987· 2 entries
Career landmark: member of the German Bundestag (1987–1990).
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Kohl hosted East German leader Erich Honecker – the first ever visit by an East German head of state to West Germany
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1986· 2 entries
Won Robert Schuman Medal (1986).
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A child-rearing allowance was introduced to benefit parents when at least one was employed
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1985· 2 entries
Alongside European leaders from 16 other countries, they founded Eureka: a research and development network of national funding ministries and agencies (distinct from the European Union) that fund and support collaborati
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Kohl and US President Ronald Reagan, as part of a plan to observe the 40th anniversary of V-E Day, saw an opportunity to demonstrate the strength of the friendship that existed between Germany and its former foe
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1984· 3 entries
Awarded Order of Karl Valentin (1984).
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An early retirement scheme was introduced that offered incentives to employers to replace elderly workers with applicants off the unemployment register
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A Mother and Child Fund was established, providing discretionary grants "to forestall abortions on grounds of material hardship," and in 1986, a 10 Bn DM package of Erziehungsgeld (childcare allowance) was introduced, al
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1983· 1 entry
Career landmark: member of the German Bundestag (1983–1987).
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1982· 2 entries
Kohl was elected Chancellor through a constructive vote of no confidence, forming a coalition government with the FDP
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Career landmark: Federal Chancellor of Germany (1982–1998).
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1980· 1 entry
Career landmark: member of the German Bundestag (1980–1983).
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1979· 1 entry
Awarded Grand Cross 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (1979).
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1977· 1 entry
Career landmark: substitute member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (1977–1977).
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1976· 2 entries
Career landmark: Chairman of the CDU/CSU Bundestag fraction (1976–1982).
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Career landmark: member of the German Bundestag (1976–1980).
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1975· 2 entries
Awarded Pipe Smoker of the Year (1975).
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Awarded Great Cross with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (1975).
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1973· 4 entries
Awarded Knight Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (1973).
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Awarded Grand Cross of Honor for Services to the Republic of Austria (1973).
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And even more dramatically when, in late 1975, his party made him a candidate for the chancellery
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Career landmark: leader of the Christian Democratic Union (1973–1998).
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1971· 1 entry
Kohl was a candidate for his succession
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1970· 1 entry
Awarded Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (1970).
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1969· 1 entry
Career landmark: Minister-President of Rhineland-Palatinate (1969–1976).
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1967· 1 entry
Agreeing to hand the post over to Kohl after two years, halfway into the legislative period
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1966· 1 entry
Kohl and the incumbent minister-president and state party chairman, Peter Altmeier, agreed to share duties
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1963· 2 entries
Took over as chairman, a position he held until he became Minister-President in 1969
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They had two sons, Walter Kohl (born 1963) and Peter Kohl (born 1965).
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1960· 1 entry
Was also elected to the municipal council of Ludwigshafen, where he served as leader of the CDU party until 1969
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1959· 2 entries
Career landmark: member of Landtag of Rhineland-Palatinate (1959–1976).
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And from 1969 to 1976 was minister president of the Rhineland-Palatinate state
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1958· 2 entries
And worked as a business executive before becoming a full-time politician
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Kohl received his doctorate in history for his dissertation Die politische Entwicklung in der Pfalz und das Wiedererstehen der Parteien nach 1945 ("The Political Developments in the Palatinate and the Reconstruction of P
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1956· 1 entry
Kohl became a fellow at the Alfred Weber Institute of Heidelberg University under Dolf Sternberger where he was an active member of the student society AIESEC
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1954· 1 entry
Kohl became vice-chair of the Junge Union in Rhineland-Palatinate, being a member of the board until 1961
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1953· 2 entries
Kohl joined the board of the Palatinate branch of the CDU
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Delaying the ceremony until he was financially stable
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1951· 1 entry
Kohl switched to Heidelberg University, where he studied history and political science
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1950· 1 entry
Kohl began to study law in Frankfurt am Main, spending two semesters commuting between Ludwigshafen and Frankfurt
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1947· 1 entry
Kohl was one of the co-founders of the Junge Union-branch in Ludwigshafen, the CDU youth organisation
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1946· 1 entry
Kohl joined the recently founded CDU, becoming a full member once he turned 18 in 1948
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1930· 2 entries
Born 1930-04-03.
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Was only involved in the war as a Flakhelfer and escaped the possibility of involvement in Nazi atrocities by virtue of being too young at the time
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