Story highlights Kohl was a longtime member of the Christian Democratic Union

He was the architect of German reunification after the Cold War

Berlin (CNN) German statesman Helmut Kohl, the architect of German reunification after the end of the Cold War, has died, his Christian Democratic Union party announced Friday. He was 87.

Kohl served as chancellor for 16 years -- from 1982 to 1998 -- and was Germany's longest-serving leader since 1945. He worked tirelessly for the reunification of West and East Germany, the countries separated in the ashes of World War II.

"We have lost the father of modern Germany," British Prime Minister Theresa May said in a statement. "And my deepest sympathies and condolences are with his family and with the German people at this sad time."

Helmut's death hurts me deeply. My mentor, my friend, the very essence of Europe, he will be greatly, greatly missed https://t.co/ikJFdzK9m0 — Jean-Claude Juncker (@JunckerEU) June 16, 2017

"Helmut's death hurts me deeply," European Commission Chairman Jean-Claude Juncker said in a Twitter post. "My mentor, my friend, the very essence of Europe, he will be greatly, greatly missed."

Former US President Bill Clinton -- who honored Kohl with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1999 -- mourned the loss of his friend, saying his "visionary leadership prepared Germany and all of Europe for the 21st century."

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