Helmut Schmidt dead
Former German chancellor Helmut Schmidt known for his battles with domestic terrorism died aged 96.
Hamburg (dpa) - Former German chancellor Helmut Schmidt, who led West Germany amid terrorist strikes in the 1970s and laid the foundations for the euro currency, died Tuesday, aged 96, his doctor told dpa.
Schmidt's doctor, Heiner Greten, said the former chancellor died in Hamburg, his hometown.
According to reports, Schmidt had never fully recovered from vascular surgery earlier in the year and had spent several days in failing condition in hospital. According to German media, he spent his final hours unresponsive and suffering from high fever.
Although his time in power ended in 1982, Schmidt never fully left the political scene, working as a publisher and an elder statesman, rarely without his trademark cigarette in his hand.
