Frank-Walter Steinmeier

Frank-Walter Steinmeier

Frank-Walter Steinmeier (born 5 January 1956) is a German politician. He has been the President of Germany since 2017. He is a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and has a law degree.

Before becoming president, he held many important jobs in the German government. Steinmeier was Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2005 to 2009 and again from 2013 to 2017. He was also Vice-Chancellor of Germany from 2007 to 2009. In 2016, he was chosen to be the presidential candidate and was elected in February 2017. He was re-elected in 2022 for a second and final term as president.

As a politician, Steinmeier supports changes and works with different groups. He helped make important changes to Germany’s welfare system. Some people have criticised his policies, but he continues to play a key role in guiding Germany.

Personal life

Frank-Walter Steinmeier was born in 1956 in Detmold. His friends call him Frank. His father was a carpenter, and his mother came from a place called Breslau, which is now in Poland.

After finishing school, he joined the German Air Force for 15 months and then studied law and political science. He later got a job working with a professor and earned a doctorate in law.

Steinmeier is married to Elke Büdenbender and they have one daughter. He enjoys listening to jazz and watching football. He is also a Protestant and is active in his church in Neukölln.

In his early career, Steinmeier worked as an adviser for media laws in Lower Saxony and later became the director of the Personal Office for the prime minister of Lower Saxony, Gerhard Schröder.

Political career at the federal level

Schröder Federal Chancellery, 1998–2005

In November 1998, Steinmeier became Secretary of State and Commissioner for the Federal Intelligence Services after Schröder's election victory. He replaced Bodo Hombach as head of the office of the chancellor in 1999. During this time, he advised Schröder and helped gain support in parliament for economic reforms called "Agenda 2010".

As Commissioner, Steinmeier coordinated Germany’s intelligence services. In 2003, he supported Schröder’s choice to work with Russia and France instead of joining the U.S.-led war against Iraq. He also agreed to send a German intelligence officer to work with American commander Tommy Franks in Iraq.

First term as Foreign Minister, 2005–2009

On 22 November 2005, Steinmeier became Minister of Foreign Affairs after the 2005 federal elections. He was the first Social Democratic Party (SPD) Foreign Minister since Willy Brandt (1966–1969).

He helped Germany prepare to lead the presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2007. After Franz Müntefering left, Steinmeier also became Vice-Chancellor.

Steinmeier sometimes disagreed with Chancellor Angela Merkel, but they worked together on issues like Iran’s nuclear program and climate change. He thought Germany should start planning to bring troops home from Afghanistan by 2013 and supported Turkey joining the European Union.

Opposition leader, 2009–2013

After the SPD did poorly in the 2009 federal elections, Steinmeier became leader of the opposition in the Bundestag. He spoke out against Merkel’s government for increasing national debt and favoring wealthy people.

Second term as Foreign Minister, 2013–2017

Steinmeier was appointed Foreign Minister again in December 2013. He looked at Germany’s foreign policy and met with many people in the ministry.

He supported a calm approach in the Russo-Ukrainian War, suggesting mediation through the OSCE. He also worked on peace efforts in Syria and held meetings about the situation in eastern Ukraine.

Political positions

Human rights

Steinmeier thinks ending the death penalty is important for Germany’s human rights policy. He has asked for it to stop in countries like Uzbekistan and spoken out against decisions by Egypt and Turkey about the death penalty.

European integration

Steinmeier supported efforts to strengthen Europe, including handling the euro zone crisis and improving relations with the United Kingdom after it decided to leave the European Union.

Energy policy

In 2007, Steinmeier disagreed with European Commission plans to separate ownership of energy networks, as suggested in the Third Energy Package.

Relations with France

Steinmeier met with French leaders and joined diplomatic trips to countries like Moldova, Georgia, Tunisia, Nigeria, and Bangladesh.

Relations with Russia

Steinmeier worked to reduce tensions between Estonia and Russia over a memorial and supported talking with Russia even when others criticized it. He thought keeping Russia out of international groups was not helpful.

Relations with the United States

Steinmeier supported Barack Obama during his campaign and later spoke out against Donald Trump’s views and actions as U.S. president.

Relations with Central Asia

Steinmeier criticized Turkmenistan for slow progress on human rights and rule of law. He also worked on peace plans for Georgia and Abkhazia and visited Afghanistan to talk about Germany’s role there.

Israeli–Palestinian conflict

Steinmeier supports a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine. He welcomed United Nations decisions on Israeli settlements and praised speeches calling for peace based on 1967 borders.

Relations with Iran

Steinmeier visited Iran in 2015 and supported the nuclear agreement that let Iran keep a civilian nuclear program if sanctions were lifted.

Relations with the Arab world

Steinmeier visited refugee camps in Jordan to learn about Syrians fleeing the civil war. He supported efforts to destroy Syria’s chemical weapons and helped organize conferences on the Syrian refugee situation.

Relations with Greece

Steinmeier said that all issues from World War II were settled, so he rejected claims for war reparations from Greece.

Relations with Namibia

In 2024, Steinmeier said it was time for Germany to apologize to Namibia for the Herero and Nama genocide from 1904 to 1908.

Presidency (2017–present)

First presidential term

Candidacy for President

In June 2016, President Joachim Gauck decided not to run again, so people started looking for someone new. In November 2016, Angela Merkel and her team agreed with the Social Democrats to support Frank-Walter Steinmeier to be the next president in the election on 12 February 2017.

On that day, Germany’s Federal Convention chose Steinmeier as president with many votes. He became president on 19 March 2017 after his predecessor’s term ended, and took his official promise on 22 March 2017.

2017 Bundestag election

After the federal election in September 2017, talks began between Christian Democratic Union, Christian Social Union, Free Democratic Party and the Green Party to form a government. However, the Free Democrats left the talks. This made forming a new government difficult, and Martin Schulz of the Social Democratic Party did not want to join with Merkel’s party. Steinmeier helped bring the leaders together for more talks. Finally, Merkel’s party and the Social Democrats agreed to work together again, and Merkel became Chancellor once more on 14 March 2018.

Political positions as president

In October 2017, Steinmeier visited leaders in Moscow.

Second presidential term

On 13 February 2022, he was re-elected as president.

Ukraine controversy

After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Steinmeier said he was sorry for supporting Russia in the past. He realized that his support for a big gas pipeline called Nord Stream 2 was a mistake.

In April 2022, Steinmeier planned to visit Kyiv but decided not to because Ukraine didn’t want to meet him. Ukraine had criticized him for his close ties with Russia in the past.

On 25 October 2022, Steinmeier visited Ukraine after an earlier visit was cancelled because of safety issues. When he returned to Berlin on 28 October, he talked about the effects of the war and said Germany was facing a big challenge. He warned that hard times were still to come.

On 29 November 2022, Steinmeier talked more about the situation in Ukraine.

Polish relations

On 1 August 2024, the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising, Steinmeier apologized to survivors for Germany’s past actions. He announced plans for a memorial in Berlin to honor the Polish victims of Nazi Germany.

Presidential visits to foreign countries

Main article: List of presidential trips made by Frank-Walter Steinmeier

Other activities

Frank-Walter Steinmeier has been part of many important groups and organizations. He has worked with groups that focus on Christian-Jewish cooperation, Protestant church matters, journalism, peace prizes, and organ transplantation. Some of these roles ended in 2017 when he became President of Germany.

He was also linked to groups like Aktion Deutschland Hilft, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, and KfW, but these roles ended when he became president.

Recognition

Frank-Walter Steinmeier has received many honors for his work. He was given special degrees, called honorary doctorates, from several universities in different countries. He also received important awards, such as the Willy Brandt Prize and the Leo Baeck Medal. These recognize his efforts to help peace and understanding among people.

Honours

Frank-Walter Steinmeier has received many important awards from Germany and other countries. These awards show respect for his work as a leader and diplomat.

He is the Grand Master of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and also holds the Grand Cross Special Class of the same order. Steinmeier has been honored by many nations, including Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Finland, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. These awards recognize his work in helping countries work together.