Helmut Kohl

Helmut Kohl joined the CDU in 1946, led Rhineland-Palatinate from 1969 and chaired the federal CDU from 1973. After leading the opposition from 1976, he became chancellor in 1982 through a constructive vote of no confidence against Helmut Schmidt and governed until 1998, the longest tenure of any postwar German chancellor. His Ten-Point Plan of November 1989 set out a path toward unity, and Germany was reunified in October 1990. His government was voted out in 1998, and a party donations scandal followed in 1999.

Supporters regard Kohl as the chancellor of reunification and a leading European statesman; the EU named him an honorary citizen of Europe in 1998. Critics argue that the economic terms of reunification contributed to high unemployment in the east, and some economists questioned the timing of monetary union. His admission in 1999 that he had accepted illegal party donations, and his refusal to name the donors, damaged his reputation and led him to give up the CDU honorary chairmanship. His 1998 defeat was the first time voters removed a sitting federal government, and he accepted responsibility and stepped down as party leader.