Helmut Kohl, 78, marries economist

BERLIN, May 13 (UPI) -- Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl got married earlier this month, tying the knot with Maike Richter in a Heidelberg clinic.

Kohl's office said the 78-year-old Kohl and Richter, 44, were "very happy."

Kohl, a widower, has been in a Heidelberg clinic recuperating from a fall and subsequent surgery, Deutsche Welle said Tuesday.

Kohl led Germany's reunification in 1990 and left office in 1998. He confirmed in 2005 that he and Richter, a government economist, had been living together.