From 1969 to 1976 he was the Minister President of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate and from 1982 to 1998 Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. Kohl helped to arrange the process of German reunification and participated considerably in the European unity process. A pro-EU conservative, he was often compared to Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, two other leaders with similar views in the 1980s. In 1998, he retired as Chancellor, as the SPD won the election. His replacement was Gerhard Schröeder.