BERLIN, August 31. /TASS/. The first and only President of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev was a breve reformer, and his policies made the reunification of Germany and the fall of the Iron Curtain possible, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Wednesday.

"The former head of the USSR dared to do a lot," Scholz said on the sidelines of the Cabinet meeting in the Meseberg residence near Berlin. "His policies made the reunification of Germany and the fall of the Iron Curtain possible."

According to Scholz, it was thanks to Gorbachev that Russia was able to set up a democracy.

"This is why we think about Mikhail Gorbachev, and we know how important he was for development of Europe and our country in the recent years," the Chancellor concluded.

Gorbachev died on August 30, aged 91.

Gorbachev occupied the top office for six years. He declared the new course almost immediately after his appointment as Communist Party Secretary General in 1985. Later, he headed the Supreme Soviet (Council) of the USSR. He proposed to establish the office of the president and to cancel the constitutional article regarding the leading role of the Communist Party. During that period, many languages of the world adopted Russian words "perestroika" and "glasnost." Gorbachev resigned on December 25, 1991, simultaneously with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Interestingly, his employment record book, kept at the Gorbachev Foundation, still does not contain a record of resignation as a head of state.