During the 36th Federal Party Conference of the CDU, Lord Mayor Achim Exner invited the party leaders to a reception in the Kurhaus on June 13, 1988. As the second Federal Chancellor after his predecessor Helmut Schmidt, Dr. Helmut Kohl, followed by Bundestag President Philipp Jenninger, signed the city's Golden Book during the ceremony.

Dr. Kohl was impressed by the recently renovated Thiersch Hall in the Kurhaus and said in his speech that he had often gone out for a decent meal in the Hessian capital during his years in Mainz. Furthermore, despite his Palatinate origins, he admitted that the best wine grows around the Eberbach monastery. Last but not least, he attested that Wiesbaden was a city with a lot of culture, charm and civic spirit.

Exner thanked his distinguished guest for his kind words and finally presented the Chancellor's wife, Hannelore Kohl, with a marzipan tartlet from a confectionery in Wilhelmstrasse.