Editorial & Advertiser disclosure

Global Banking and Finance Review is an online platform offering news, analysis, and opinion on the latest trends, developments, and innovations in the banking and finance industry worldwide. The platform covers a diverse range of topics, including banking, insurance, investment, wealth management, fintech, and regulatory issues. The website publishes news, press releases, opinion and advertorials on various financial organizations, products and services which are commissioned from various Companies, Organizations, PR agencies, Bloggers etc. These commissioned articles are commercial in nature. This is not to be considered as financial advice and should be considered only for information purposes. It does not reflect the views or opinion of our website and is not to be considered an endorsement or a recommendation. We cannot guarantee the accuracy or applicability of any information provided with respect to your individual or personal circumstances. Please seek Professional advice from a qualified professional before making any financial decisions. We link to various third-party websites, affiliate sales networks, and to our advertising partners websites. When you view or click on certain links available on our articles, our partners may compensate us for displaying the content to you or make a purchase or fill a form. This will not incur any additional charges to you. To make things simpler for you to identity or distinguish advertised or sponsored articles or links, you may consider all articles or links hosted on our site as a commercial article placement. We will not be responsible for any loss you may suffer as a result of any omission or inaccuracy on the website.

Headlines

Posted By Global Banking and Finance Review

Posted on February 1, 2025

Horst Koehler, former German president and IMF chief, dies at 81

BERLIN (Reuters) - Horst Koehler, former German president from 2004 to 2010 and a respected global policymaker with a particular interest in Africa, died on Saturday after a short illness at the age of 81, the federal presidential office said in a statement.

Born in 1943 in German-occupied Poland, Koehler spent most of his early years living in refugee camps with his family before settling in Ludwigsburg, Baden-Wuerttemberg.

A trained economist and member of the Christian Democrats, Koehler rose to the position of deputy finance minister under ex-Chancellor Helmut Kohl, playing a key role in bringing the West German mark to East Germany after communist rule collapsed in 1990.

Koehler became managing director of the International Monetary Fund in 2000, a post he held for four years before being nominated for president in 2004.

As president, he was not afraid to defy the government, dissolving parliament in 2005 to call new elections and accusing then-Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2007 of not preparing the country sufficiently for globalisation.

But he stepped down a year into his second term after he was criticised for stating in a radio interview that foreign military action by the German army also served the country's economic interests.

Still, despite being a largely unknown figure before assuming the presidency, Koehler quickly proved himself in opinion polls to be one of Germany's most popular political figures.

"It was his belief in the strength of our country and in the energy and creativity of its people that allowed him to win so many hearts," German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in a statement on Saturday.

(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

Recommended for you

  • Baltic states switch to European power grid, ending Russia ties

  • Brookfield to invest 20 billion euros in AI projects in France, Tribune reports

  • Hamas says Israeli military withdraws from Gaza's Netzarim Corridor