I have been underestimated for decades. I have done very well that way.

However he remained a member of the Bundestag until he decided not to run for reelection in the 2002 election. The German word "Birne" ("pear") became a widespread nickname and symbol for the Chancellor. Over the objections of Bundesbank president Karl Otto Pöhl he allowed a 1:1 exchange rate for wages interest and rent between the West and East Marks.

His 16-year tenure was the longest of any German chancellor since Otto von Bismarck and oversaw the end of the Cold War and the German reunification. Presidents George H. Kohl was described as "the greatest European leader of the second half of the 20th century" by U.