Helmut Kohl was born on 3 April 1930 in Friesenheim. A German politician and leader of the Christian Democratic Union, Kohl served as chancellor of West Germany from 1982 and then of reunified Germany until 1998, the longest tenure of any postwar chancellor at that time. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 he moved quickly to pursue unification, securing the agreement of the Soviet Union and the Western allies, and Germany was reunited in October 1990. With the French president François Mitterrand he pushed for deeper European integration, leading to the Maastricht Treaty and the euro. He lost the 1998 election to Gerhard Schröder, and his later years were shadowed by a party funding scandal.
Before and after
- 20 January 1930Founding of Bank for International Settlements
- 23 January 1930Birth of Derek Walcott
- 18 February 1930Clyde Tombaugh discovers Pluto
- 8 March 1930Death of William Howard Taft
- 3 April 1930Birth of Helmut Kohl
- 14 May 1930Establishment of Carlsbad Caverns National Park
- 31 May 1930Birth of Clint Eastwood
- 6 June 1930Founding of International Federation of Film Critics
- 4 July 1930Origins of Nation of Islam
More in Wars, politics & history
- from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918World War I
- 28 June 1919Treaty of Versailles
- 4 June 1920Treaty of Trianon
- from 1933 to 1945The Holocaust
- 30 January 1933Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany
- from 1 September 1939 to 2 September 1945World War II
The era
This moment belongs to the Modern era (1914 CE to 1945 CE), world wars and a changing world. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.