The 82-year-old will be remembered for encouraging Germany to embrace economic reform in the 1990s.
ADVERTISEMENTRoman Herzog has died at the age of 82.
He served as chief justice for Germany’s highest court before winning the presidency in 1994, four years after reunification.
Roman Herzog was Germany's ceremonial head of state from 1994 to 1999.
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Economic reform
The former president of Germany encouraged his country to embrace economic reform in the 1990s.
He was one of the first leaders to address Germany’s resistance to reform and its growing economic stagnation at a time when Chancellor Helmut Kohl’s 16-year tenure was coming to a close.
At the time, Germany was struggling with double-digit unemployment, amid worries that its labour market was too inflexible.
Herzog also stressed the importance of remembering the Holocaust.
Current president Joachim Gauck described Herzog as “a distinctive personality”.