
Germany's former president Horst Koehler, who served as head of state from 2004 to 2010, died on Saturday aged 81 after a brief illness, officials announced.
"With the death of Horst Koehler, we have lost a highly esteemed and extremely popular person who achieved great things -- for our country and in the world," President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in a letter to Koehler's widow.