Former West German president Walter Scheel dies at 97
BERLIN — Walter Scheel, who helped shape West Germany’s policy of reconciliation with the communist bloc as foreign minister and later served as his country’s president, has died. He was 97.
President Joachim Gauck, whose office said Scheel died Wednesday after a long illness, called him “a politician who helped shape the destiny of our country for many years.”
“Promoting European unity was particularly close to his heart,” Gauck said. “Early on he recognized the importance of a European integration policy for our country.”
Born July 8, 1919, in the western city of Solingen, Scheel trained as a bank clerk before being drafted into Nazi Germany’s air force during World War II.