Horst Köhler is a German politician who served as President of Germany from 2004 to 2010. As the candidate of the two Christian Democratic sister parties, the CDU and the CSU, as well as the liberal FDP, Köhler was elected to his first five-year term by the Federal Convention on 23 May 2004 and was subsequently inaugurated on 1 July 2004. He was reelected to a second term on 23 May 2009. Just a year later, on 31 May 2010, he resigned from his office in a controversy over a comment on the role of the German Bundeswehr in light of a visit to the troops in Afghanistan. During his tenure as president, whose office is mostly concerned with ceremonial matters, Köhler was a highly popular politician, with approval rates above those of both Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and later Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Köhler in 2004
Köhler as head of the IMF, discussing debt relief for developing countries with the musician Bono
Horst Köhler and Václav Havel, 2000
Horst Köhler in Brackenheim after unveiling a bronze statue of Theodor Heuss
The president of Germany, officially titled the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany, is the head of state of Germany.
President of Germany
Bellevue Palace, Berlin (primary seat)
Hammerschmidt Villa, Bonn (secondary seat)
Former President Joachim Gauck and his partner Daniela Schadt
