An advocate for fair globalisation
The current President of the German Savings Banks Association (DSGV), Ulrich Reuter, has paid tribute to Horst Köhler as an „extraordinary person“ – a statement that no one can contradict and no one will.
Köhler was a driven man – in the best sense of the word – who held top management positions that could have accounted for three professional lifetimes. Born in Skierbieszów, a town in what is now Poland, Köhler spent his childhood in refugee camps, before attending grammar school in Ludwigsburg, and studying economics in Tübingen. After completing his doctorate, he worked in the Federal Ministry of Economics, the Schleswig-Holstein State Chancellery, and the Federal Ministry of Finance. There he rose to the position of State Secretary and was instrumental in negotiating treaties for European integration (Maastricht) and German unification.
In 1993, Köhler moved to the top of the DSGV. During his term of office as President Köhler was one of the architects of the merger between Deutsche Girozentrale and Deka to form the new DekaBank.
His subsequent professional positions were even more demanding. Köhler became President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and next was appointed as Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund.
Later on, his sharp-tongued remarks later during the financial crisis, when he said that the capital markets had developed into a „monster“ and needed to be put in their place, prove that as a former head of the IMF, Köhler maintained his critical distance from the players on the financial markets.
German President
Was it due to Köhler's reserved demeanour, or the fact that neither the EBRD nor the IMF had any special status among the general public in Germany, that when Köhler was nominated for the office of Federal President in 2004, the „Bild“ newspaper asked in bold letters: „Horst Who?“
He was later labelled „Super-Horst“ by the same paper. His term as Federal President came to an abrupt end in 2010, after Köhler's statement on the German mission in Afghanistan sparked criticism. This led to his resignation in the wake of the debate.
In the years following his term as Federal President, Köhler continued to advocate for the idea of a „global partnership“ as a guiding principle of national and international policy. In other words, he advocated for fair globalisation, a strengthening of multilateralism, and the pursuit of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. Special attention was paid to the African continent and the fight against hunger and poverty.
The Office of the Federal President announced that Prof Dr Horst Köhler passed away in Berlin last Saturday morning at the age of 81, after a short but severe illness, surrounded by his family.
