- Conference Speakers
Topics:
- International
- Leadership
- Politics
Helmut Kohl
Dr Helmut Kohl, born in Ludwigshafen on 3 April 1930; Roman Catholic, married (1960-2001) to Hannelore Kohl, née Renner, two sons, widowed.
Went to primary and grammar school, gained general higher education qualification in 1950. From 1950 to 1958 studied law, sociology, political science and history at the universities of Frankfurt am Main and Heidelberg. Research assistant in the department of politics at the Alfred Weber Institute of the University of Heidelberg, Gained a Ph.D in 1958 (doctoral thesis on Political Development in the Palatinate and the Resurrection of the Parties after 1945). From 1959 to 1969 worked as a clerk for an employers' association.
Since 1947: member of the CDU. 1966 to 1973: CDU chairman in Rhineland-Palatinate. 1966: member of the national executive of the CDU. 1969: deputy chairman of the CDU national executive. From 1973 to 7 November 1998: chairman of the CDU national executive.
1960 to 1966: member and chairman of the CDU group on Ludwigshafen city council. 1959 to 1969: member of the state parliament in Rhineland-Palatinate. 1963 to 1969: chairman of the CDU group in the Rhineland-Palatinate parliament. 1969 to 1976: Minister-President of Rhineland-Palatinate.
Member of the German Bundestag from 1976 to 2002, from December 1976 to October 1982 leader of the Opposition as chairman of the CDU/CSU group in the Bundestag. From 1 October 1982 to 27 October 1998 Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Awards include: Grand Cross first class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany special edition; Grand Cross first class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany; International Charlemagne Prize of the City of Aachen (together with Francois Mitterrand); honorary citizen of the City of Berlin; honorary citizen of Europe, conferred by the European Council of Heads of State and Government of the European Union; Presidential Medal of Freedom – the highest US civil honour, conferred by Bill Clinton, President of the United States of America; named Statesman of the Year by the EastWest Institute New York, award presented by George Bush, former US President; George Bush Award for Exzellence in Public Service, award presented by George Bush Presidential Library Foundation; the first of Alcide-de-Gasperi-Award (as the first award-winner); Cross of Terra Mariana 1st class of Estonia, awarded by the government of Estonia; European Award Charles V.; Dr. h.c. mult.; honorary professor of Tongji University, Shanghai
