Helmut Kohl
The 2011 Henry A. Kissinger Prize was awarded to Chancellor Dr. Helmut Kohl on Monday, May 16, for his singularly extraordinary role in German reunification and laying the foundation for a lasting democratic peace in the new millennium. The Kissinger Prize recognizes Dr. Kohl’s masterly navigation of the Cold War’s end, Russia’s reentry into the global community, the revised role that NATO would play, and his far-reaching vision for a Europe unified and secure.
After a musical opening by German opera singer René Pape, laudations for Chancellor Kohl were delivered by president of the World Bank Robert Zoellick and former US President Bill Clinton. Remarks were delivered by Chancellor Angela Merkel, US Ambassador to Germany Philip D. Murphy, and the Academy’s then-president, Norman Pearlstine. Kohl delivered his acceptance speech to an audience of 350 invited guests—among them German vice chancellor Philipp Rösler, former German president Horst Köhler, former foreign minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher, and governing mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit.
