In 2017 Frank-Walter Steinmeier succeeded Joachim Gauck as President of the Federal Republic of Germany, becoming the 12th head of state. Today, the Sexagenarian has won re-election as president of Germany for a second five-year term. From the Bellevue Palace, the presidential official residence in Berlin, Steinmeier will serve the interest of millions of Germans till 2027. What are his political records?
Born on 5th January 1956, he hails from Detmold in Western Germany. He became a member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in 1974 and reached the top political spot of his career after clinching the presidential seat in 2017. He served in that capacity in a grand coalition alongside Angela Merkel, the immediate past Chancellor of Germany.
Possessing a robust political track record Steinmeier, a Social Democrat served as Minister of Foreign Affairs under erstwhile German Chancellor Angela Merkel from 2005 – 2009. He kept the pace and served in that capacity for another stint between 2013 – 2017. He has once served as ‘right-hand man’- Chief of Staff to former Chancellor, Gerhard Schröder.
His victorious emergence in the just concluded election was a landslide, winning 77% of number of total votes cast under the banner of the SDP, scoring good political points against left-wing oppositions in Gerhard Trabert, Stefanie Gebauer and Max Otte. As an advocate of liberal democracy, a dedicated public servant, Steinmeier has earned for himself great admiration and respect among the German populace. Xi Jinping, the President of the People’s Republic of China has felicitated with his German counterpart on his election victory.
The position of the German presidency is largely ceremonious. Having renewed his mandate, Steinmeier will go on to represent the second-most populous country in Europe as president for the next five years.