Horst Kohler President of Germany Date of Birth: 22.02.1943 Country: Germany

1. Biography of Horst Köhler
2. Childhood and Education
3. Political Career

Biography of Horst Köhler

Horst Köhler, a German economist and politician, was born on February 22, 1943, in the city of Haydenshtayn (now Skerbeshuv), in the area of Poland occupied by German forces. He was born into the family of Eduard and Elisabeth Köhler, who were descendants of Bessarabian Germans from the Moldavian village of Rishkany.

Childhood and Education

In 1944, Horst's family moved to Leipzig, and in 1953, they fled from the Soviet regime to West Berlin, where they lived in a refugee camp until 1957. Eventually, the Köhler family settled in the city of Ludwigsburg. Horst managed to complete the gymnasium program within a few years and in 1963, he enrolled in a military academy. He graduated two years later as a reserve lieutenant.

From 1965 to 1969, Köhler studied at the Eberhard Karls University in Tübingen, where he obtained a doctorate in political economy and political science. He then worked as an assistant at the Institute for Applied Economic Analysis until 1976.

Political Career

Köhler moved to Bonn, where he worked at the Federal Ministry of Economics until 1981. In 1981, he became a member of the Christian Democratic Union party. The following year, he started working at the Federal Ministry of Finance, and later in the Office of Public Management.

In 1987, Köhler became the head of the department responsible for financial policy and federal industrial interests. In 1989, he was appointed as the head of the department for currency and credit operations. From 1990 to 1993, Köhler served as the Deputy Minister of Finance and the administrator of the Ministry of Finance. He also represented the Chancellor as an economic representative at all economic meetings and conferences within the G7.

Afterward, from 1993 to 1998, Köhler held the position of President of the German Savings Banks Association and was elected as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in London. In 2000, Köhler relocated from London to Washington, D.C. after being elected as the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He left this position in 2004 when he was elected by the Federal Assembly to become the ninth Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany.

On July 1, 2004, Köhler began his duties as the President, and after five years, he nominated himself for a second term.