Former German president Horst Kohler dies aged 81

Horst Kohler, a former head of the International Monetary Fund who became a popular German president before stunning the country by resigning abruptly in a flap over comments about the country’s military, has died aged 81.

Mr Kohler, who was head of state from 2004 to 2010, died on Saturday morning in Berlin after a short illness, surrounded by his family, the office of current German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in a statement.

He was little-known to most Germans and a stranger to front-line politics before he won the presidency. His nomination was greeted by the mass-circulation daily Bild with the headline: “Horst Who?”

However, he built up high popularity ratings once in the job, something that he achieved in part by positioning himself as an outsider to the country’s political elite.

Mr Kohler occasionally refused to sign bills into law due to constitutional concerns and did not always make himself popular with the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose choice he was for the presidency — a largely ceremonial job, but often seen as a source of moral authority.

He was elected before Ms Merkel came to power, at a time when Germany was struggling to come to terms with labour market reforms and welfare state cuts.

He said Germans must not rest on past achievements, and said he was “deeply convinced Germany has the strength for change”.

In July 2005, Mr Kohler agreed to dissolve parliament and grant struggling then-Chancellor Gerhard Schroder an unusual early election.

He declared that Germany faced “giant challenges” and that “our future and the future of our children is at stake”.

Ms Merkel won power, but nearly blew a huge poll lead after her talk of deeper reform turned off voters. Mr Kohler also talked less of economic change in later years and was strongly critical of financial markets during the banking and economic crisis – describing them as a “monster” that had not yet been tamed.

Amid criticism that he appeared to have little to say after winning a second term, Mr Kohler resigned in dramatically abrupt fashion on May 31 2010. He cited criticism over a radio interview he gave following a visit to German troops in Afghanistan.

In that broadcast, he said that for a country with Germany’s dependency on exports, military deployments could be “necessary … in order to defend our interests, for example free trade routes”.

That was taken by many as relating to Germany’s unpopular mission in Afghanistan, although Mr Kohler’s office later said he was referring to anti-piracy patrols off the coast of Somalia.

Many wondered whether that was the real reason for the sometimes thin-skinned Mr Kohler’s resignation, with critics speculating that he had simply become fed up with a lack of backing from Ms Merkel – for whom his resignation was an embarrassment.

In foreign policy, Mr Kohler won praise for trying to draw attention to the needs of Africa. He became the second German president to address Israel’s parliament, telling the Knesset: “I bow my head in shame and humility before the victims” of the Holocaust.

He also paid attention to relations with eastern neighbour Poland, making it the first foreign destination of both of his two terms and saying he would like the country to become as important a partner for Germany as France.

In a letter of condolence to Mr Kohler’s wife, Eva Louise, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier wrote: “Many people in our country will mourn with you. For in Horst Kohler we have lost a highly esteemed and extremely popular person who achieved great things – for our country and in the world.

“It was above all his approachability, his infectious laughter and his optimism, his belief in the strength of our country and in the energy and creativity of its people that won him so many hearts. But it was also his often clear and by no means always comfortable admonitions and speeches that won him recognition.”

Mr Kohler is survived by his wife, daughter Ulrike and son Jochen.