RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The Honorable Helmut Kohl has been called to eternal life by the wisdom of God at the age of 87; and
WHEREAS, The Chicago City Council has been informed of his passing by Alderman Edward M. Burke; and
WHEREAS, The Honorable Helmut Kohl was a former Chancellor who presided over the reunification of a divided Germany; and
WHEREAS, The Honorable Helmut Kohl first served as Chancellor of West Germany and over a united Germany from 1982 to 1998; and
WHEREAS, President Bill Clinton called the Honorable Helmut Kohl "the most important European statesman since World War II" and President George H.W. Bush said the world has lost "a true friend of freedom"; and
WHEREAS, In a gesture of reconciliation in 1984, the Honorable Helmut Kohl held hands with French President Francois Mitterrand during a ceremony at a World War I cemetery in France; and
WHEREAS, Only Otto von Bismark, who first unified Germany in the 1870s, served longer as Chancellor; and
WHEREAS, The hard work, sacrifice and dedication of the Honorable Helmut Kohl serve as an example to all; and
WHEREAS, To his beloved family, the Honorable Helmut Kohl imparts a legacy of faithfulness, service and dignity; now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and the members of the Chicago City Council, assembled this twenty-eighth day of June, 2017, do hereby commemorate the Honorable Helmut Kohl for his grace-filled life and do hereby express our condolences to his family; and