ABSTRACT
The German chancellorship is one of the key political offices in western European liberal democracies. This article situates Chancellor Helmut Kohl’s leadership in the more general perspective of the study of political leadership in western Europe. After an introduction to approaches to the study of political leadership, and an historical overview of the chancellorship of Helmut Kohl, the article evaluates Kohl’s leadership in comparative perspective, both by comparing the German chancellor with his British, French and Italian counterparts, as well as situating him by reference to past German leaders.
