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Dr. Helmut Kohl, former Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany

Dr. Helmut Kohl was born in 1930. He studied law, sociology, political science and history at the Universities of Frankfurt am Main and Heidelberg and gained a PhD in 1958. From 1959 to 1969, Dr. Kohl worked as a clerk for an employers’ association. Already in 1947, he joined the CDU, where he has held numerous executive positions in the Palatinate and Rhineland-Palatinate. Becoming a Member of the German Bundestag in 1976, he led the Opposition as chairman of the CDU/CSU group until 1982, when he was elected Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (until 1998). During his career Dr. Kohl received numerous awards, including the Grand Cross first class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany special edition, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom – the highest US civil honour, conferred by Bill Clinton.