Frank-Walter Steinmeier
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Frank-Walter Steinmeier
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Vice Chancellor of Germany
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office November 21, 2007 |
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| Preceded by | Franz Müntefering |
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Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office November 22, 2005 |
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| Preceded by | Joschka Fischer |
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| Born | January 5, 1956 Detmold, West Germany  |
| Nationality | German |
| Political party | Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) |
| Alma mater | University of Giessen |
| Religion | Evangelical Church in Germany[1] |
Frank-Walter Steinmeier (born 5 January 1956) is a German politician who has served as the Foreign Minister of Germany since 22 November 2005 in the Grand Coalition of Angela Merkel. On 21 November 2007, he replaced Franz Müntefering as Vice-Chancellor. In the first half of 2007 he was also President of the European Council. He is a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), and on 7 September 2008, Steinmeier was designated as the candidate of the SPD for the office of Chancellor of Germany in the 2009 federal election.
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Early life
Steinmeier was born in Detmold. Following his Abitur, he served his military service from 1974 until 1976. He then studied law and political science at the Justus-Liebig-Universität of Gießen. In 1982 he passed his first and 1986 his second state exam in law. He worked as scientific assistant to the professor of public law and political science at the Gießen university, until he obtained his doctorate of law in 1991.
Steinmeier is married and has one daughter.
Political career
Steinmeier became an adviser in 1991 for law of communication media and media guidelines in the state Chancellery of Lower Saxony in Hanover. In 1993, he became director of the personal office for the then Prime Minister of Lower Saxony, Gerhard Schröder. In 1996, he became the Undersecretary of State and Director of the State Chancellery of Lower Saxony.
Steinmeier was appointed in November 1998 as Undersecretary of State in the Office of the Chancellor following Schröder's election victory. He replaced Bodo Hombach as the head of the Office of the Chancellor in 1999. Because of his effective management beyond the spotlight of politics, he was nick-named Die Graue Effizienz (The Grey Efficiency) - alluding to Friedrich von Holstein, Die Graue Eminenz (The Grey Eminence) of the German government around 1900.
In government
On 22 November, 2005 he became the new Foreign Minister of Germany in the coalition cabinet formed by Angela Merkel. Steinmeier is the first SPD Foreign Minister since Willy Brandt (1966-1969).
Following Franz Müntefering's announcement that he would leave the government on 21 November 2007, Steinmeier was announced as Müntefering's replacement as Vice-Chancellor.[2]
Chairman of the Social Democratic Party
On September 7 2008, SPD Chairman Kurt Beck resigned at a party meeting in Werder and Steinmeier was chosen as the SPD candidate for Chancellor in the 2009 election. Steinmeier was also designated as interim SPD Chairman, although Müntefering was expected to return to that position.[3]
References
- ↑ Thüringer Allgemeine, retrieved 2008-12-06.
- ↑ Andreas Cremer and Brian Parkin, "Muentefering, Vice-Chancellor Under Merkel, Quits", Bloomberg.com, November 13, 2007.
- ↑ "German SPD party reshuffles leadership, with eye on election", Xinhua, September 7, 2008.
External links
- Official Website at the German Foreign Office
- (German) Steinmeyer's campaign website for the 2009 general election in Germany
| Preceded by Franz Müntefering |
Vice Chancellor of Germany 2007 – present |
Incumbent |
| Preceded by Erkki Tuomioja |
President of the Council of the European Union First-Half 2007 |
Succeeded by Luís Amado |
| Preceded by Joschka Fischer |
Foreign Minister of Germany 2005–present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Preceded by Bodo Hombach |
Chief of the Chancellery 1999–2005 |
Succeeded by Thomas de Maizière |
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