Following the demise of former Chancellor Helmut Kohl |20 June 2017

President Faure sends condolence message to Germany

President Danny Faure has expressed his condolences to the German President, Frank-Walter Steinmeier on behalf of the government and people of the Republic of Seychelles following the demise of the longest serving post-war Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Helmut Kohl.

In his message, President Faure described Mr Kohl as a towering figure of the contemporary European political landscape and a true statesman who not only oversaw German reunification but also paved the way for deeper European integration.

“The world mourns the loss of a statesman and the modern architect of peace, prosperity and the European project. He will be remembered as one of the greats of our time,” said President Faure in his message.  

A towering postwar figure who reunified Germany after 45 years of Cold War antagonism, Mr Kohl propelled a deeply held vision of Europe’s integration and earned plaudits from Moscow and Washington for his deft handling of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

He died on Friday June 16, 2017 at his home in Ludwigshafen, Germany, the Rhine port city where he was born. He was 87.