Europe “has lost one of its key architects” with the passing of former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, President Michael D Higgins has said.

In a statement from Áras an Uachtaráin, the President said Schmidt “was a leader in troubled times, steering his country through two oil crises and the growing threat to democracy posed by the rise of violent terror groups in the years of his chancellorship.

“His legacy is shaped by his understanding of Germany’s role in the construction of a modern, social and democratic Europe, and his often stated view that a Social Europe was the best source of security on the continent.

“Sabina and I wish to express our deepest sympathies to his family and to the German nation. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.”