By james art 
Berlin – Horst Köhler, both head of the International Monetary Fund, which became a popular German president before stunning the country, reconciling himself in a valve because of commentary on the country’s military, he died. He was 81.
Kohler, who was the head of the state from 2004 to 2010, died Saturday morning in Berlin after a short illness surrounded by his family, the cabinet of current German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in a statement.
Kohler was little known to most Germans and an unknown first -line policy before winning the presidency. His nomination was welcomed by Bild’s daily mass circulation, entitled “Horst Who?”
However, he built ratings with high popularity once in work, something he achieved in part, positioning himself as an outsider to the country’s political elite.
Sometimes he refused to sign bills in law due to constitutional problems and did not always become a popular government of the chancellor Angela Merkel, whose choice was for the presidency – to a large extent ceremonial work, but is often regarded as a source of moral authority.
Köhler was elected before Merkel came to power, at a time when Germany struggles to reconcile the reforms of the labor market and the reduction of the state of social care. He said the Germans should not rest in past achievements and said he was “deeply convinced that Germany has the strength to change.”
In July 2005, Köhler agreed to dissolve parliament and Grant, who was fighting then Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, unusual early elections. He declares that Germany faces the “giant challenges” and that “our future and the future of our children are set.”
Merkel won power, but almost blown away a huge poll lead after her conversation about a deeper reform turned off the voters. Köhler also spoke less than the economic changes in the shorter years and was highly critical of the financial markets during the banking and economic crisis -describing them as a “monster” that was not tamed yet.
Against the backdrop of criticism that he seemed to say a little, after winning a second term, Köhler resigned dramatically sharply on May 31, 2010. He pointed out criticism of a radio interview, which he gave after a visit to German troops in Afghanistan.
In this broadcast, he said that for a country with the dependence of Germany on exports, the military unfolds can be “necessary … to protect our interests, such as free trade routes”.
This was taken by many related to Germany’s unpopular mission in Afghanistan, although he later stated that he was referring to the patrols to combat piracy off the coast of Somalia.
Many wondered if this was the real reason for the sometimes Koehler’s resignation with thin-skinned ones, with critics speculating that he was simply tired of a lack of support from Merkel-for whom his resignation was embarrassment.
In foreign policy, Kohler won praise that he was trying to draw attention to Africa’s needs. He became the second German president to turn to Israel’s parliament, telling Knesset: “I worship my head with shame and humility in front of the victims of the Holocaust.
Kohler also drew attention to relations with Eastern neighbor Poland, which made him the first foreign destination at both his terms and said he would like to become as important a partner for Germany as France.
Kohler, son of ethnic German farmers from Romania, was born on February 22, 1943 in Skierbieszow, in an occupied by Nazi Poland. His family fled to Germany after the war – first in Leipzig in what became Communist East Germany, then in West Germany in 1954.
Before rising to the presidency, Kohler had a long record as an effective backstage employee.
Since the beginning of the 1980s, he has been working for more than a decade at the Ministry of Finance at Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who once called him a “treasure” and relies on him in economic diplomacy.
He helped to prepare the legal framework for the single currency in Europe, the euro, and played a role in the negotiation of the German unification in 1990.
Later, he is the president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
In 2000, Kohler emerged as a backup choice of Schroeder for the IMF management. He won US support after Berlin’s first candidate, Deputy Finance Minister Cayo Koch-User, was rejected by the United States as too light.
Later, the Secretary of the US Department of Finance praised Kohler’s mandate, saying that “he transforms the institution in terms of his transparency … and works to develop better crisis prevention instruments and more effective management and more effective management instruments “.
Merkel, then the opposition leader of Germany, returned it to Germany as its surprising election for the Presidency four years later, providing its election from a parliamentary assembly.
In a letter of condolences to Kohler’s wife, Eva Louise, President Steinmeier wrote on Saturday that “many people in our country will mourn with you. Because in Horst Köhler we lost a highly respected and extremely popular person who has achieved great things – for our country and in the world. ”
“It was first and foremost his accessibility, his contagious laugh and his optimism, his faith in the power of our country and in the energy and creativity of its people, who won him so many hearts. But it was also his often clear and by no means It is by no means clear and by no means clear and by no means clear and in any case in any case. Steinmeier.
Kohler survived his wife, daughter Ulrike and son Yochen.
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