Kohl leaves Kohl Foundation

In a letter to members of the ZNS Hannelore Kohl Foundation, Helmut Kohl said that the organization no longer represented the interests of his late wife, Hannelore. He also said it should stop using her name.

"In the current structure, I no longer see the will of my late wife assured in the future," he wrote in a letter to the foundation.

A more precise reason for Kohl's departure is still unclear, though it is said to involve disagreements over staff and the foundation's constitution. He had also previously set forth a number of proposals for structural reform that were rejected.

Kohl surprises foundation

Kohl, however, gave "no signal" that he was planning to resign from his post, according to Annegret Ritz, the vice president of the Bonn-based foundation.

"Everything he stated in his letter is absolutely false," said foundation board member Klaus Mayer in an interview with the Associated Press. "We feel a responsibility to Hannelore Kohl, her work, her commitment, and we have - as God knows - proven that throughout the years."

Meyer accused Kohl of wanting to the change the foundation from an independent organization to a "classic family foundation" where he would personally be able to major decisions.

The foundation for victims of brain and skull injuries was established by Hannelore Kohl in 2001 to help victims explore treatment options and search for suitable rehabilitation clinics. Hannelore's work with accident victims dates back to 1983.

After her death in 2002, Ute Henriette-Ohoven, a UNESCO special envoy, was appointed president of the foundation. According to Ritz, the ex-chancellor supported the decision, and there is no knowledge of a personal rift between the two.

Helmut Kohl of Germany's Christian Democratic Union party was chancellor from 1982 to 1998. He remarried last year.

vj/ap/dpa/AFP
Editor: Sean Sinico