Peer Steinbrück

Peer Steinbrück served as Federal Minister of Finance and Deputy Federal Chairman of the SPD from 2005 to 2009. Prior to that, the graduate economist was Minister of Finance for North Rhine-Westphalia from 2000 to 2005 and subsequently Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia. He stood as the SPD’s candidate for Chancellor in the 2013 federal election. He delivered his final speech in the Bundestag on 29 September 2016. He now serves as an advisory board member for ING-DiBa Bank. Together with the cabaret artist Florian Schroeder, he also produces a successful cabaret programme. He is a co-founder of the non-partisan ‘Initiative for an Effective State’.

Steinbrück studied economics and social sciences in Kiel (Christian-Albrechts-Universität). He has taken a clear stance on the economic crisis: “The world looks different after the crisis than it did before. The era of excess is over. The international community will finally enact rules for the financial markets.”

After completing his studies, he worked at the Federal Ministry for Regional Planning, Building and Urban Development (1974–1976), moved to the Federal Ministry for Research and Technology (BMFT) in 1976, before serving at the Federal Chancellery from 1978 to 1981.

From 1983 to 1985, he was an adviser to the SPD parliamentary group in the Bundestag; from 1985 to 1986, he worked at the Ministry for the Environment, Regional Planning and Agriculture in North Rhine-Westphalia. From 1986 until 1990, he served as chief of staff to Johannes Rau, Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia. He then moved to Schleswig-Holstein as State Secretary, initially at the Ministry for Nature, the Environment and Regional Development (until 1992). From 19 May 1993 to 28 October 1998, Steinbrück served as Minister for Economic Affairs, Technology and Transport in Schleswig-Holstein. From 28 October 1998, he headed the North Rhine-Westphalia Ministry for Economic Affairs and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Technology and Transport, and then, from 22 February 2000, the North Rhine-Westphalia Ministry of Finance.

Steinbrück is credited with an unyielding determination to get things done – even in the face of fierce opposition – and he does not shy away from polarising issues. Steinbrück can take a lot without complaining and quickly grasp a situation, getting to its core, potential contradictions or pitfalls. This also applied to his position in the cabinet: “In such a collegial body, you cannot always act like a chivalrous knight who fights everyone,” explained Steinbrück. “Not even as Budget or Finance Minister. You have to allow and facilitate developments from time to time.”

Steinbrück offers a ruthless analysis of the situation and outlines ways out of the crisis. His message is clear: whether the issue is strengthening our economy, the stability of social security systems or the state of the political parties, a bright future depends on politicians and citizens acknowledging which cuts are necessary, rather than clinging to taboos and distracting attention with untenable promises. Only if politics undergoes a fundamental transformation and asserts itself against the primacy of the economy will it be able to overcome the challenges posed by the financial and economic crisis. Failure to muster the courage to be honest would inevitably have negative consequences for our standard of living – and thus also for social cohesion.

In the summer semester of 2011, he was appointed Visiting Professor of Political Management by the Mercator Foundation (NRW School of Governance, University of Duisburg-Essen). In addition, in 2011 he took up an honorary professorship in Public Finance and International Financial Policy at the University of Leipzig.