Frank-Walter Steinmeier

Frank-Walter Steinmeier (born 5 January 1956) is a German politician. He was Foreign Secretary, Vice Chancellor of Germany and is currently the twelfth President of the Federal Republic of Germany.


Frank-Walter Steinmeier
Frank-Walter Steinmeier - 2018 (cropped).jpg
Steinmeier in 2018
President of the Federal Republic of Germany
Assumed office
19 March 2017
ChancellorAngela Merkel
Olaf Scholz
Preceded byJoachim Gauck
Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
17 December 2013 – 27 January 2017
ChancellorAngela Merkel
Preceded byGuido Westerwelle
Succeeded bySigmar Gabriel
In office
22 November 2005 – 27 October 2009
ChancellorAngela Merkel
Preceded byJoschka Fischer
Succeeded byGuido Westerwelle
Vice Chancellor of Germany
In office
21 November 2007 – 27 October 2009
ChancellorAngela Merkel
Preceded byFranz Müntefering
Succeeded byGuido Westerwelle
Leader of the Social Democratic Party in the Bundestag
In office
27 October 2009 – 16 December 2013
Chief WhipThomas Oppermann
Preceded byPeter Struck
Succeeded byThomas Oppermann
Leader of the Social Democratic Party
acting
In office
7 September 2008 – 18 October 2008
DeputyAndrea Nahles
Peer Steinbrück
Himself
Preceded byKurt Beck
Succeeded byFranz Müntefering
Deputy Leader of the Social Democratic Party
In office
26 October 2007 – 13 November 2009
LeaderKurt Beck
Himself (acting)
Franz Müntefering
Preceded byBärbel Dieckmann
Succeeded byOlaf Scholz
Chief of the Federal Chancellery
In office
31 July 1999 – 22 November 2005
ChancellorGerhard Schröder
Preceded byBodo Hombach
Succeeded byThomas de Maizière
Member of the Bundestag
for Brandenburg an der Havel
In office
27 September 2009 – 19 March 2017
Preceded byMargrit Spielmann
Succeeded byDietlind Tiemann
Personal details
Born (1956-01-05) 5 January 1956 (age 68)
Detmold, West Germany
Political partySocial Democratic Party
Spouse(s)
ChildrenMerit Steinmeier
Alma materGiessen University
Signature
Military service
Allegiance Germany
Branch/serviceLogo of the Bundeswehr (1996–2019).svg Bundeswehr
Years of service1974-1976
UnitBundeswehr Logo Luftwaffe with lettering.svgAir Force (Luftwaffe)

Steinmeier was born in Detmold in 1956.[1] After his abitur (secondary school exam) and his military service, he studied law in Gießen.[1] In 1982, he passed his first exam. His second exam was completed and passed in 1986. Between 1986 and 1991, he worked as assistant to the Doctor of Public Law and Political Science at the Gießen University.[2] He obtained his Doctorate of Law in 1991.

After 1991, he worked in the State Chancellory of Lower Saxony for the Minister-President, Gerhard Schröder. From 1998, he was Undersecretary of State in Gerhard Schröder's Chancellor Office after Schröder became Chancellor of Germany.[3] In 1999 he became Secretary of State.

In 2005, he became the new Foreign Minister of Germany in the coalition cabinet of Angela Merkel. He became Vice Chancellor of Germany in 2007. In 2008 he was elected to be the chancellor candidate of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) for the election in 2009. The SPD got their worst result ever in a German federal election (23.0%), and Steinmeier became leader of the SPD parliamentary group in the Bundestag.

From 2013 to 2017 he was again Foreign Minister.

Since 19 March 2017 he has been President of Germany, succeeding Joachim Gauck. He was re-elected in 2022 in a landslide victory.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier Media

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Araloff, Simon (2005-10-14). ""Frank Walter Steinmeier — Curator of Germany's Secret Services Will Shape Foreign Policy". Global Challenges Research. Archived from the original on 2008-03-21. Retrieved 2008-10-20.
  2. http://www.hpi.uni-potsdam.de/fileadmin/hpi/veranstaltungen/china/slides/conference_binder.pdf "1986 - 1991 Academic assistant, Chair of Public Law and Political Science, Department of Law, Giessen University"
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-11-23. Retrieved 2008-10-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)