Frank-Walter Steinmeier
| Frank-Walter Steinmeier | |
|---|---|
| President of Germany From: 19 March 2017 – present | |
| Vice President | None |
| Predecessor | Joachim Gauck |
| Successor | Incumbent (no successor) |
| Former Vice Chancellor of Germany From: 21 November 2007 – 27 October 2009 | |
| Predecessor | Franz Müntefering |
| Successor | Guido Westerwelle |
| Former Minister of Foreign Affairs From: 17 December 2013 – 27 January 2017 | |
| Predecessor | Guido Westerwelle |
| Successor | Sigmar Gabriel |
| Former Minister of Foreign Affairs From: 22 November 2005 – 27 October 2009 | |
| Predecessor | Joschka Fischer |
| Successor | Guido Westerwelle |
| Information | |
| Party | Social Democratic Party |
| Spouse(s) | Elke Büdenbender |
| Religion | Calvinist |
| Military Service | |
| Allegiance | Germany |
| Service/branch | German Air Force |
| Service Years | 1974–1976 |
Frank-Walter Steinmeier (born 5 January 1956) is a German politician who is currently serving as President of Germany since 2017. He was previously federal minister for foreign affairs from 2005 to 2009 and again from 2013 to 2017, as well as vice chancellor of Germany from 2007 to 2009.
Criticism of NATO 2016 provocation
On June 6, 2016, symbolically on the anniversary of the Normandy invasion, NATO launched aggressive exercises against Russia. It began with war games of 31,000 troops near Russia's borders, the largest exercise in Eastern Europe since the Cold War ended. For the first time in 75 years, German troops retraced the steps of the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union across Poland.
German Foreign Minister Frank Walter-Steinmeier objected: "What we shouldn't do now is inflame the situation further through saber-rattling and warmongering," Steinmeier stunningly tells Bild am Sontag newspaper. "Whoever believes that a symbolic tank parade on the alliance's eastern border will bring security is mistaken." Instead Steinmeier calls for dialogue with Moscow. "We are well-advised to not create pretexts to renew an old confrontation," he warns, adding it would be "fatal to search only for military solutions and a policy of deterrence."
