By Kolawole Ojebisi
Germany’s former president Horst Koehler, has died on Saturday at the age of 81.
Koehler served as Germany’s Head of State from 2004 to 2010.
According to a statement issued by his family, the former Germany’s Head of State died after a brief illness.
“With the death of Horst Koehler, we have lost a highly esteemed and extremely popular person who achieved great things –- for our country and in the world,” President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in a letter to Koehler’s widow.
Koehler, an economist by training, was the first German president who was not a career politician. Before becoming president he was the head of the International Monetary Fund in Washington.
He became German president, a mostly ceremonial role, after being put forward by then opposition leader Angela Merkel, who went on to become chancellor.
He was elected for a second term in 2009 but in May the following year resigned after being criticised over remarks about overseas German military missions.
He died in Berlin early Saturday after a short, serious illness surrounded by his family, the presidency said.
