King offers condolences to German president over death of Helmut Kohl

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday sent a condolence cable to German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier over the death of former German chancellor Kohl, according to a Royal Court statement.

Germany’s longest serving post-war leader Helmut Kohl, the father of national reunification and an architect of European integration, died on Friday at the age of 87, according to Agence France-Presse.

Kohl helped a Germany that was split during the Cold War between a capitalist west and a communist east make the traumatic transition to a unified democracy, according to the news agency.