Kohl's wife commits suicide after illness

Internal links

Lonely end for wife of the 'eternal chancellor'

The politica; tribulations of Germany's disgraced former chancellor, Helmut Kohl, turned to tragedy when his wife was discovered dead in the family home yesterday morning.

Hannelore Kohl, 68, had taken her own life because she could no longer endure the suffering brought on by a rare skin disease, Mr Kohl's office stated.

Mr Kohl was informed of his wife's suicide in southern Germany, as he was attending Parliament in Berlin.

Mrs Kohl killed herself on the night her husband won an important court victory, stopping the publication of potentially damaging files assembled by the former East German secret police – the Stasi. They were married for 41 years; she was known in her own right for her cookery books, and was widely admired for her charity work. In the last 15 months she had been compelled by her illness to live in the dark.