World leaders bid farewell to German chancellor Helmut Kohl

STRASBOURG, France — Current and former world leaders gathered Saturday to bid farewell to former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, recalling him as a man who was instrumental in uniting Europe and bringing about reconciliation between former adversaries on the continent.

Kohl, who died June 16 at age 87, is the first person to be honored with an official memorial event by the European Union.

The ceremony at the European Parliament’s seat in the French city of Strasbourg, close to the border with Germany, was the choice of Kohl himself, EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said. Juncker described Kohl as “a German patriot and at the same time a European patriot.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended the ceremony. Though he was invited to speak, the premier declined, citing the ceremony’s taking place during the Jewish Sabbath. He also walked from his hotel to the ceremony.

Netanyahu shook hands briefly with several world leaders and prominent figures, including French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister Theresa May, and former US president Bill Clinton.

During his 16-year term as Germany’s leader, from 1982 to 1998, Kohl spearheaded his country’s reunification in 1990 and was an architect of the continent’s common currency, the euro.

“Helmut Kohl gave us the chance to be involved in something bigger than ourselves,” Clinton said at the ceremony, citing Kohl’s willingness to put international cooperation before national interests.

EU Parliament President Antonio Tajani said Kohl deserved “a place of honor in the European pantheon” for unhesitatingly extending the hand of friendship to fledgling democracies in Eastern Europe following the fall of the Iron Curtain.

Others scheduled to speak at the event were Macron and Merkel.

Following the ceremony in Strasbourg, which was attended by over 800 guests, Kohl’s coffin was to be taken to the German city of Speyer for a requiem Mass and military honors.

After Kohl’s death, Netanyahu praised the former chancellor, calling him one of Israel’s greatest friends.

“I express deep sorrow on the passing of former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl,” he said. “Among the State of Israel’s greatest friends, he was completely dedicated to its security. Kohl was the leader who united Germany with a determined and steady hand. His admiration for Israel and Zionism found expression in my many meetings with him and in his resolute stand in favor of Israel, which he constantly presented in Europe and in international forums. I send condolences to the Kohl family and to the German people.”

Netanyahu will return to Israel on Sunday.