Helmut Josef Michael Kohl was a German politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 and Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to 1998. Kohl's 16-year tenure is the longest of any German chancellor since Otto von Bismarck, and oversaw the end of the Cold War, the German reunification and the creation of the European Union (EU). Furthermore, Kohl's tenure of 16 years, 26 days is the longest for any democratically elected chancellor of Germany.
Kohl in 1996
Kohl as the CDU Rhineland-Palatinate state party chairman
Kohl in 1969
Kohl at the CDU national party convention in Hamburg, 1973
The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, is the head of the federal government of Germany, and the commander-in-chief of the German Armed Forces during wartime. The chancellor is the chief executive of the Federal Cabinet and heads the executive branch. The chancellor is elected by the Bundestag on the proposal of the federal president and without debate.
Chancellor of Germany
Willy Brandt speaking at an SPD meeting in Dortmund, 1983
The cabinet bench in the Reichstag building (to the left of the flag) with the raised seat of the chancellor in the front row
Robert Habeck, the current Vice Chancellor of Germany
