joachim meisner (25 december 1933 – 5 july 2017) was a german cardinal of the catholic church. he was the immediate past archbishop of cologne, serving from 1989 until his resignation was accepted by pope francis in 2014. he previously served as bishop of berlin from 1980 to 1989, and was created a cardinal in 1983. he was widely considered to be germany's leading conservative roman catholic figure.