Former German foreign minister Genscher dies

Germany’s Cold War-era veteran foreign minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher, who was the country’s top diplomat when the Berlin Wall fell, has died at age 89, his office said. “Hans-Dietrich Genscher died last night at the age of 89 in the presence of his family at his home in Wachtberg-Pech, of cardiovascular failure,” said a statement by his private office.

Genscher was among a select few politicians who left a strong personal mark on the course of postwar European history, and tributes poured in immediately.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's deputy spokesman Georg Streiter said "I almost feel too small... to honour this great statesman, this great European, this great German." 

Genscher's marathon 1974-92 tenure as foreign minister broke longevity records in Europe and spanned some of the continent's most dramatic moments.

Genscher — who served in both centre-left Social Democrat and conservative Christian Democrat governments — was a tireless advocate of consensus, European integration and East-West cooperation in the pursuit of the peaceful unification of Europe.