Horst Köhler b. 22 Feb 1943, Heidenstein, General Government (now Skierbieszów, Poland) Title: Bundespräsident (Federal President) Term: 1 Jul 2004 - 31 May 2010 Chronology: 23 May 2004, elected, session of the Bundesversammlung (Federal Assembly), Reichstagsgebäude, Berlin [1] 1 Jul 2004, took an oath of office as Federal President, joint session of the Bundestag and Bundesrat, Reichstagsgebäude, Berlin 23 May 2009, elected, session of the Bundesversammlung (Federal Assembly), Reichstagsgebäude, Berlin [2] 31 May 2010, public announcement of the resignation with immediate effect, Langhans-Saal, Schloss Bellevue, Berlin Biography: Born into a family of the Bessarabian Germans who migrated to the General Government, a part of Poland occupied by German Reich, in 1942; family moved to Leipzig in 1944 and resided in the German Democratic Republic until 1953 when they fled to West Germany; completed a course of education in the Mörike-Gymnasium in Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg (1963); after two years of military service, he entered the Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen, graduating in 1969 with a diploma in economics; worked in the Institute for Applied Economic Research, Tübingen (1969-1976); earned a doctorate in 1977; was employed by the federal ministry of economy (1976-1980); joined the Christian Democratic Union (Christlich Demokratische Union, CDU) in 1981; headed various departments and served as state secretary of the federal finance ministry (1982-1993); was appointed deputy minister of finance (1990-1993); led negotiations on behalf of the German government on the agreement that became the Maastricht treaty on European Economic and Monetary Union; served as president of the Deutscher Sparkassen- und Giroverband, an association of saving banks (1993-1998), and as president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (1998-2000); held the office of Managing Director and Chairman of the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (2000-2004); was elected Federal President by the 12th Bundesversammlung (Federal Assembly) in 2004 and re-elected by the 13th Bundesversammlung in 2009. Elections: Candidate (party) Vote (23 May 2004) Horst Köhler (CDU) 604 Gesine Marianne Schwan, geb. Schneider (SPD) 589 abstentions 9 invalid 2 total votes cast 1,204 total votes/absolute majority: 1,205/603 Candidate (party) Vote (23 May 2009) Horst Köhler (CDU) 613 Gesine Marianne Schwan, geb. Schneider (SPD) 503 Peter Sodann (Left Party) 91 Frank Rennicke (National Democratic Party) 4 abstentions 10 invalid 2 total votes cast 1,223 total votes/absolute majority: 1,224/613 Source of electoral results: Verhandlungen des Deutschen Bundestages, 12. Wahlperiode, Bd. 1, S. 1-4 (vor S. 1); 13. Bundesversammlung der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Berlin, Samstag, den 23. Mai 2009 (H. Heenemann GmbH & Co., Buch- und Offsetdruckerei, 2009). [1] Verhandlungen des Deutschen Bundestages, 12. Wahlperiode, Bd. 1, S. 1-4 (vor S. 1). [2] 13. Bundesversammlung der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Berlin, Samstag, den 23. Mai 2009 (H. Heenemann GmbH & Co., Buch- und Offsetdruckerei, 2009) Last updated on: 18 May 2023 05:49:45; URL: www.archontology.org/nations/german/germ_1949a/koehler.php
