The sad news reached us in the early hours of the morning today: Horst Köhler, our country’s ninth Federal President, has passed away. I was deeply saddened to hear this news, and I am certain that many people in Germany are mourning their Federal President today. Our thoughts right now are with his wife and their children, with his relatives and friends.
With Horst Köhler’s passing, we have lost a most appreciated and extremely popular person who achieved great things – for our country and around the world. After being elected to the office of Federal President in 2004, he quickly gained great recognition and plenty of affection.
Above all, it was his kindness, his infectious laugh and his optimism, his belief in the strength of our country, in the energy and creativity of its people, that helped him to win so many hearts and minds.
But it was also his often clear and certainly not always convenient admonishments and pronouncements that earned him recognition.
Horst Köhler brought a wealth of international experience to the office as Federal President – as head of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in London, for example, and as the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund in Washington –and was appreciated and respected around the world as a result.
Horst Köhler firmly believed that ethical maxims and practical politics belong together and are compatible. When he said “I love our country”, this underscored his commitment to a patriotism that was as passionate as it was enlightened. He shaped a fresh image of our country as a “land of ideas”, an image that has not been forgotten to this day.
Horst Köhler was a fierce advocate for a more child- and family-friendly society. In foreign policy, he promoted international cooperation, free global trade and a fair approach to Africa, a continent that he was passionate about and knew so well. He held the profound conviction that Europe needed to cast off its colonial thought patterns and treat the countries of Africa as equal partners in order to tackle global challenges and find solutions together with them. He was way ahead of his time in this regard.
With the Eva Luise and Horst Köhler Foundation, he and his wife worked from 2006 to improve medical treatment for people suffering from rare diseases.
As much as he was able to win over many people with his relaxed, at times unconventional manner, he did not make things easy for himself. He was a very conscientious person, and his words and deeds were generally preceded by long and deep reflection and discussion.
He was also being quite serious when, time and again, he warned against forgetting those in most urgent need of help and solidarity, indeed genuine care, whether around the world or here in our own country.
Horst Köhler’s profound Christian faith was his source of strength – a source that he never needed to emphasise as it was second nature to him.
We can only be deeply grateful that we were privileged enough to have had Horst Köhler as the ninth Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany. He gave this country a great deal. We will remember him as a great asset for our country.
Thank you very much.
