Prime Minister Sipilä to attend Chancellor Kohl’s memorial ceremony

Prime Minister Juha Sipilä will attend the memorial ceremony to honour former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl in Strasbourg on 1 July. Helmut Kohl served as the Federal Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998. He is regarded as the architect of German reunification and a staunch supporter of the enlargement and greater integration of the European Union. Helmut Kohl died at the age of 87 at his home in Ludwigshafen on 16 June.

A large number of present and former world leaders will attend the memorial ceremony. All Members of the European Parliament have also been invited to the event. Finland’s representatives at the event will be Prime Minister Sipilä and former prime minister and speaker of parliament Paavo Lipponen.

Inquiries: Liisa Talonpoika, Director General, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, tel. +358 40 820 1285.