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Curriculum Vitae
Prof. Dr. Horst Köhler
Horst Köhler was born into a farming family in Skierbieszow, Poland, on 22 February
1943. His parents originated from Bessarabia and were forcibly resettled to Poland. In
early 1945 the family fled to Germany from the advancing Soviet troops. They lived
in Markkleeberg-Zöbigker near Leipzig for nearly ten years before fleeing to the
Federal Republic of Germany via West Berlin during Easter of 1953 to escape the
communist dictatorship. The family stayed in various refugee camps before
eventually finding a new home in the Swabian city of Ludwigsburg.
Köhler, who is Protestant, is married to teacher Eva Luise Köhler, née Bohnet. They
have a 30-year-old daughter and a 26-year-old son.
After completing the Abitur (university entrance examination) in 1963 and military
service (1963-1965), Köhler read economics at the Eberhard Karls University in
Tübingen from 1965 to 1969, graduating with a degree in economics. In 1977 he
obtained his doctorate at the University of Tübingen. From 1969 to 1976 Horst Köhler
worked as a research assistant at the Institute for Applied Economics Research in
Tübingen. In 2003 the University of Tübingen made him a guest professor.
1976: Joined the Policy Principles Directorate-General of the Federal Ministry of
Economics and Finance.
1981 to 1982: Advisor to Gerhard Stoltenberg, then Minister-President of Land
Schleswig-Holstein, at the State Chancellery in Kiel.
Member of the CDU since 1 December 1981.
In November 1982 Horst Köhler accompanied Gerhard Stoltenberg, the new Federal
Minister of Finance, to Bonn. There he worked in various functions until 1989.
Federal Finance Minister Theo Waigel appointed Horst Köhler State Secretary with
effect from 1 January 1990.
In his role as State Secretary Köhler formulated the Federal Government's proposal of
German-German monetary union to the Government of the GDR and negotiated the
transitional agreement for the departure of the Soviet troops from East Germany under
Theo Waigel.
Horst Köhler was Germany's chief negotiator at the Inter-Governmental Conference
which led to the Maastricht Treaty on European Economic and Monetary Union and
the Personal Representative (Sherpa) to Federal Chancellor Dr Helmut Kohl during
preparations for the G7 Economic Summits in Houston (1990), London (1991),
Munich (1992) and Tokyo (1993).
In August 1993 Köhler left the Federal Government to serve as President of the
German Savings Bank Association, where he remained until 1998. In this position he
worked particularly to strengthen the role of small and medium-sized enterprises and
municipalities.
In September 1998 Horst Köhler was appointed President of the European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development in London at the behest of Federal Chancellor
Helmut Kohl. This bank helps building market economies and democracies in the excommunist eastern bloc countries.
In May 2000 Horst Köhler moved from London to Washington, D.C., to serve as
Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) at the request of Federal
Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. He instigated far-reaching reforms in IMF policy which
included improving transparency in international monetary policy and within the IMF
itself, increasing the efficacy of measures to prevent international financial crises and
involving the IMF in the global fight against poverty.
In his activity as the IMF's Managing Director and in his public speeches Köhler
developed his concept for a political approach to globalization.
Federal President Richard von Weizsäcker honoured Professor Köhler with the Order
of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. He has also received other
distinguished awards, both at home and abroad.
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