- Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (1 October 1982 to 27 October 1998).
- Had his look-alike puppet in the French show Les Guignols de l'info (1988).
- Was airlifted by the Sri Lankian Air Force after surviving the Indian Ocean tsunami in his hotel (28 December 2004).
- Was an honorary citizen of Europe.
- Minister President of the West German Federal State Rhineland-Palatinate (1969-1976).
- Won four federal German elections, beating Hans-Jochen Vogel in 1983, Johannes Rau in 1987, Oskar Lafontaine in 1990 and Rudolf Scharping in 1994 before he finally lost to Gerhard Schröder in 1998.
- His hometown had large chemical plants and was heavily bombed during WWII. At the age of 14 he helped recover the bodies of his neighbors from the rubble.
- He studied politics and law at Heidelberg University. He entered politics in the German federal system where, in the Rhineland Palatinate, he became the youngest Land [federal state] minister-president at the age of 39.
- Chairman of CDU (1973-1998).
- He was the tallest Chancellor of Germany at 6'4".
- Chairman of CDU Rhineland-Palatinate (1966-1974).
- Honorary citizen of Frankfurt am Main (1999).
- Father of Walter Kohl.
- 6th grade uncle of Bernhard Hoëcker.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content