On July 1st, the "EU Funeral" of former German Chancellor helmut kohl and the German Funeral were held in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France and in the ancient German city of Spayer, attended by many dignitaries. Later that day, his body was buried in the cemetery of Speyer Cathedral.
"eu funeral"
Cole died at his home in ludwigshafen, southwest Germany, at the age of 87. He was born in ludwigshafen in 1930, served as the federal chairman of the CDU from 1973 to 1998, and served as the prime minister of the federal government from October 1982 to October 1998. He was the longest-serving German chancellor after the war and the first German chancellor after the reunification of Germany. He witnessed the unification of East and West Germany and the birth of the euro.
On the 1st, a series of mourning activities for Cole lasted for nearly 12 hours. His coffin was transported from ludwigshafen to Strasbourg, a French city on the border between France and Germany. In the European Parliament Building in this city, the EU held an unprecedented "EU funeral" for Cole.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former US President Bill Clinton and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker attended this special funeral.
Mourning of politicians
The European Parliament lowered the flag at half-mast in memory of Cole, whose coffin was covered with the European Union flag of Venus on a blue background.
In his speech, Clinton recalled that he and Cole often had dinner at an Italian restaurant in Washington. He also joked: "Hillary thinks I like Cole because he is the only one who eats more than me."
Medvedev said: "He is the architect of the world order. In Russia, we will miss this friend, a wise and sincere person. "
German Chancellor Angela Merkel praised Kohl’s contribution to the reunification of Germany and Germany. She recalled that Cole was controversial and had many political enemies, and she sometimes disagreed with the political mentor. "However, compared with his great achievements in his life, these are nothing."
Emmanuel Macron, the new French president, is a junior in politics and has no personal relationship with Cole. He said: "For my generation, helmut kohl has become a part of European history. Without his fearless, heroic and historic actions, we would not be standing here today."
After the "EU Funeral", Cole’s coffin was transported back to ludwigshafen by helicopter, and then sent to a passenger ship, and arrived in the ancient city of Spayer not far away along the Rhine River. In Ludwig Harbor and on the banks of the Rhine River, a large number of people watched Cole’s coffin pass by and saw him off.
About 900 people were invited to attend another funeral for Cole at Speyer Cathedral. Speyer Cathedral has a history of nearly a thousand years, where many rulers of the Holy Roman Empire were buried, and Cole used to escape the air raid of World War II when he was a teenager. Cole’s coffin was draped in the German flag this time, and Merkel also attended the funeral in Germany. After the funeral, Cole’s coffin was carried out of Speyer Cathedral by soldiers and buried in Speyer Cathedral Cemetery surrounded by relatives and friends. According to Xinhua News Agency
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