Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, the founder of the Euro, is in intensive care

The 85-year-old has had surgery this month

Helmut Kohl (getty Images)

Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl has been admitted to intensive care, local media reports.

The architect of German reunification and Germany’s longest serving post-war Chancellor is said to be in a clinic in Heidelberg.

The 85-year-old has recently had surgery on his intestine as well as a hip replacement last month, according to Bunte magazine, which cited sources close to Mr Kohl.

Physically frail for a number of years, Mr Kohl has most recently been seen in public using a wheelchair.

As well as overseeing the reunification of the country, the conservative politician pushed through the introduction of the European single currency, today known as the euro.

Mr Kohl belongs to the CDU/CSU, the same Christian democratic party as current Chancellor Angela Merkel.

In 2011 he criticised Ms Merkel for ruining what he saw as his European project. “She is ruining my Europe,” he is reported to have said at the time.

Additional reporting by Reuters.