Eva Köhler

Eva Luise Köhler (German: [ˈkøːlɐ] ^ⓘ; née Bohnet; born 2 January 1947) is the widow of former German president Horst Köhler and as such, was sometimes referred to by the media as the "First Lady" during her husband's presidency.^[1]

Eva Köhler
Spouse of the President of Germany
In role 1 July 2004 – 31 May 2010
President	Horst Köhler
Preceded by	Christina Rau
Succeeded by	Bettina Wulff
Personal details
Born	Eva Luise Bohnet (1947-01-02) 2 January 1947 (age 78) Ludwigsburg, Germany
Political party	Social Democratic Party (1972–1990) Christian Democratic Union
Spouse	Horst Köhler ​ ​ (m. 1969; died 2025)​
Children	2
Occupation	Teacher

Education and career

She completed her Abitur in Ludwigsburg in 1966, and studied history, Germanistics and religion. She then became a teacher of German. Eva Köhler was a member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) from 1972 to 1990 as she advocated Willy Brandt's Ostpolitik and participated in local politics. She left the SPD because she disliked the politics of Oskar Lafontaine.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

Eva and Horst Köhler have two children, Ulrike (born 1972) and Jochen (born 1977). Her husband died on 1 February 2025.^[2]

Honours

Foreign honours

• Italy: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (21 March 2006)^[3]
• Lithuania : Grand Cross of the Order of Vytautas the Great (19 October 2005) ^[4]
• Portugal: Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Henry (2 March 2009)
• Netherlands : Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown (2007)^[5]