Helmut Kohl

Dr. Helmut Kohl (full name Helmut Josef Michael Kohl) (born 3 April 1930) is a German conservative politician and statesman. He was Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 (West Germany between 1982 and 1990) and also the leader of the Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) party from 1973-1998.

Personal Life

Kohl has always been an intensely private person and the only real glimpse of his childhood has come from the recollections of his last-surviving sibling, Hildegard Getrey. Speaking to Stern magazine (13 September 1996), Mrs Getrey recalled a specific number of incidents from Helmut's youth. She claims that Kohl enjoyed pretending to be a bishop, which he would do by putting a teacosy on his head and draping a sheet over his shoulders. He would then have friends carry the ends of his make-believe robe while he walked around the family yard with a solemn expression. Mrs Getrey also says that Helmut once hypnotised a chicken into walking along a chalk line, but she did not reveal his technique. "He was always a wild boy," she said, "and he sometimes got a beating."

Related Topics:
Stern - Teacosy - Hypnotised a chicken

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Kohl was married to the late Hannelore Kohl and has two sons from that marriage.

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On December 28, 2004, Kohl was air-lifted by the Sri Lankan Air Force after having been stranded in a hotel by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.

Related Topics:
2004 - 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake

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