Former German President and IMF Head Horst Koehler passes away at age 81

Horst Koehler, a renowned international policymaker with a special focus on Africa and a former German president from 2004 to 2010, passed away on Saturday at the age of 81 following a brief illness, according to a statement from the federal presidential office.

Before relocating to Ludwigsburg, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Koehler, who was born in 1943 in German-occupied Poland, lived with his family in refugee camps for the most of his early years.

After communist authority ended in 1990, Koehler, a Christian Democrat and professional economist, became deputy finance minister under former Chancellor Helmut Kohl. He was instrumental in introducing the West German mark to East Germany.

After serving as the International Monetary Fund’s managing director for four years in 2000, Koehler was nominated for president in 2004.

He was not hesitant to challenge the administration while in office, dismissing parliament in 2005 to hold fresh elections and criticizing then-Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2007 of failing to adequately prepare the nation for globalization.

He was attacked for saying in a radio broadcast that the German army’s overseas military activity also benefited the nation’s economic interests, and he resigned a year into his second term.

But even though Koehler was almost unknown before to taking office, he soon established himself as one of Germany’s most well-liked politicians in polls.

In a statement released on Saturday, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier stated, “He won so many hearts because he believed in the strength of our country and in the energy and creativity of its people.”