German foreign minister who oversaw historic East-West reunification dies aged 89
Hans-Dietrich Genscher’s 1974-92 tenure broke longevity records in Europe and spanned some of the continent’s most dramatic moments.
Germany’s cold war-era foreign minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher, the country’s top diplomat when the Berlin Wall fell, has died.
“Hans-Dietrich Genscher died on Thursday night at the age of 89 in the presence of his family at his home in Wachtberg-Pech, of cardiovascular failure,” said a statement from his private office.
Genscher was among a select few politicians who left a strong personal mark on postwar European history.
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s deputy spokesman Georg Streiter said: “I almost feel too small ... to honour this great statesman, this great European, this great German.”
Genscher’s marathon 1974-92 tenure as foreign minister broke longevity records in Europe and spanned some of the continent’s most dramatic moments.
When he took office, Europe looked to be forever divided into two nuclear-armed camps. When he stepped down, Germany was reunited and Soviet communism had been consigned to history.
Genscher, who served in both centre-left and conservative governments, was a tireless advocate of East-West cooperation in the pursuit of the peaceful unification of Europe.