On the death of the former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt

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On the death of the former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt

Former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt gives a speech in 2011.
01 / 11

Former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt died on 10 November 2015 at the age of 96.

Photo: Bundesregierung/Bergmann

Chancellor Helmut Schmidt drinks a cup of coffee as he stands at his desk at the Federal Chancellery in Bonn's Palais Schaumburg.
02 / 11

Helmut Schmidt was Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1974 to 1982.

Photo: Bundesregierung/Reineke

The official funeral service for Hanns Martin Schleyer in Stuttgart; Chancellor Helmut Schmidt sits with head bowed between the son and the widow of the murdered industrialist.
03 / 11

During his period in office extreme left-wing RAF terrorists kidnapped and murdered Hanns Martin Schleyer, President of the Employers' Federation. In the same year (1977) Palestinian supporters of the RAF hijacked the Lufthansa aircraft 'Landshut'.

Photo: picture-alliance / Sven Simon

Chancellor Helmut Schmidt (at left) greets Ulrich Wegener, the GSG 9 commanding officer. Under his command the GSG 9 freed the passengers and crew of the Lufthansa aircraft 'Landshut' in Mogadishu (Somalia).
04 / 11

Helmut Schmidt gave the order for the elite GSG9 troops to storm the aircraft; all hostages were freed. The 'German Autumn' of 1977 is held to be one of the most serious crises in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Photo: Bundesregierung/Reineke

Chancellor Helmut Schmidt (at right) talks to Erich Honecker, First Secretary of the Central Committee of East Germany's Socialist Unity Party during the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE).
05 / 11

The signing of the Helsinki Final Act is seen as a highlight of rapprochement between East and West during the Cold War.

Photo: Bundesregierung/Reineke

Chancellor Helmut Schmidt at the G7 press conference
06 / 11

In 1975 Helmut Schmidt and Valéry Giscard d Estaing co-hosted the first annual global economic summit, which later became known as the G7 or G8. In 1978 the summit was held for the first time in the Federal Republic of Germany.

Photo: Bundesregierung/Schaack

Former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt (at right) congratulates Helmut Kohl on his election to the office of Chancellor in the German Bundestag.
07 / 11

After a constructive vote of no confidence in 1982, Helmut Kohl replaced Helmut Schmidt as Chancellor.

Photo: Bundesregierung/Wegmann

After the collapse of the socialist-liberal coalition, the CDU/CSU and FDP tabled a vote of no confidence in Chancellor Helmut Schmidt in the German Bundestag; Helmut Schmidt lost the vote.
08 / 11

'The pilot leaves the ship' - as the headlines read. Helmut Schmidt leaves the plenary chamber of the German Bundestag after losing the vote of no confidence.

Photo: Bundesregierung/Wegmann

Chancellor Helmut Schmidt and his wife Hannelore (Loki) Schmidt in front of Bonn's Palais Schaumburg which housed the Federal Chancellery.
09 / 11

Helmut Schmidt was married to his wife Hannelore, or "Loki" as she was known, for 68 years. She died in 2010.

Photo: Bundesregierung/Wienke

At a reception to mark his 90th birthday
10 / 11

The unmistakable trade mark of Helmut Schmidt - no appearance was complete without his much loved methol cigarattes.

Photo: Bundesregierung/Kugler

Chancellor Angela Merkel at a ceremony to mark the 60th anniversary of the organisation Atlantik-Brücke; Helmut Schmidt was presented with the Eric M. Warburg Award.
11 / 11

"I always saw him as an authority – as somebody whose advice and whose judgement meant a lot to me," said the Chancellor, in a tribute to the former Chancellor.

Photo: Bundesregierung/Eckel

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