He held the ceremonial post of German president after a finance-focused career. Shortly into his second term, he became the first German president in four decades to resign.

Horst Koehler, former German president from 2004 to 2010 and a respected global policymaker with a particular interest in Africa, died on Saturday after a short illness at the age of 81, the federal presidential office said in a statement.

Once little-known among his fellow Germans, Mr Kohler became a popular head of state, often positioning himself as an outsider to the political elite.

Germany's former president Horst Koehler, who served as head of state from 2004 to 2010, died on Saturday aged 81 after a brief illness, officials announced.

Horst Köhler, a onetime head of the International Monetary Fund who became a popular German president before stunning the country by resigning abruptly in a flap over comments about the country’s military,

State secretary, International Monetary Fund head, President of Germany: Horst Köhler's career reads like something out of a novel. Africa was a big focus of his work. Now he has died at the age of 81.