![]() It was a vote of no confidence against the Social Democrat Chancellor Schmidt that brought Kohl to power, after he succeeded in convincing FDP leader Hans-Dietrich Genscher to break with Schmidt. The leader of the opposition, which also had the largest number of seats in the German parliament, was voted in as chancellor. It wasn't until six years later, on October 1, 1982, that Kohl finally reached his goal. He won 48.6 percent of the vote, but that still was not enough to keep Helmut Schmidt's Social Democrats (SPD) from staying in power in a coalition with the free-market liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP). In 1976, the CDU and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), choose him as their candidate for chancellor in the parliamentary elections. At just 39, he was the youngest person ever to hold the position. Kohl was elected premier of Rhineland-Palatinate in 1969. He was only 17 when he joined the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and was active in the party during his studies in history, law and governance and public policy. Helmut Josef Michael Kohl was born in Ludwigshafen on April 3, 1930. In his leisure hours he liked to wear cardigans stretched across his enormous frame. It was common knowledge among young people who grew up while he was chancellor that Helmut Kohl would sometimes invite special state visitors back to his home in Oggersheim, a suburb of Ludwigshafen, and serve them his favorite dish: stuffed pig's stomach. Kohl, Germany's longest serving post-war chancellor, gave his name to an entire generation - the "Kohl Generation." On hearing the news in Rome, Chancellor Angela Merkel said the Roman Catholic Kohl realized that he had a "historic chance" to overcome Germany's decades-long division and seized it. Kohl died at his Oggersheim home near Ludwigshafen, south of Frankfurt on the Rhine River, early Friday. #RIP #Helmut Kohl," the brief message read as tributes began pouring in from world leaders. Helmut Kohl's political party the Christian Democratic Union on Friday confirmed media reports that the former chancellor had died. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
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