Peer Steinbrück facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Peer Steinbrück
Steinbrück in 2013
Minister of Finance
In office 22 November 2005 – 28 October 2009
Chancellor	Angela Merkel
Preceded by	Hans Eichel
Succeeded by	Wolfgang Schäuble
Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia
In office 6 November 2002 – 22 June 2005
Deputy	Michael Vesper
Preceded by	Wolfgang Clement
Succeeded by	Jürgen Rüttgers
Deputy Leader of the Social Democratic Party
In office 15 November 2005 – 29 September 2009
Leader	Matthias Platzeck Kurt Beck Frank-Walter Steinmeier (acting) Franz Müntefering
Preceded by	Wolfgang Thierse
Succeeded by	Manuela Schwesig
Minister of Finance of North Rhine-Westphalia
In office 22 February 2000 – 12 November 2002
Minister-President	Wolfgang Clement
Preceded by	Heinz Schleußer
Succeeded by	Jochen Dieckmann
Minister of Economy and medium-sized Businesses, Technology and Transportation of North Rhine-Westphalia
In office 28 October 1998 – 22 February 2000
Minister-President	Wolfgang Clement
Preceded by	Bodo Hombach
Succeeded by	Ernst Schwanhold
Minister of Economy, Technology and Transportation of Schleswig-Holstein
In office 19 May 1993 – 28 October 1998
Minister-President	Heide Simonis
Preceded by	Uwe Thomas
Succeeded by	Horst Günter Bülck
Parliamentary constituencies Member of the Bundestag for North Rhine-Westphalia In office 27 October 2009 – 30 September 2016 Preceded by Rudolf Meyer Succeeded by Bettina Bähr-Losse Constituency Social Democratic List Member of the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia for Unna III – Hamm II (Unna II; 2000–2005) In office 1 June 2000 – 21 November 2005 Preceded by Wolfram Kuschke (1998) Succeeded by Gerd Stüttgen
Personal details
Born	(1947-01-10) 10 January 1947 (age 78) Hamburg, Allied-occupied Germany (now Germany)
Political party	Social Democratic
Alma mater	University of Kiel
Occupation	Politician Consultant Political Staffer
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Germany
Branch/service	Bundeswehr
Years of service	1968–1970
Rank	Leutnant
Unit	Army (Heer) / Panzergrenadierbrigade 31

Peer Steinbrück (born 10 January 1947) is a German politician. He was a very important member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). He ran to become the Chancellor of Germany in the 2013 federal election. Before that, he was the leader of the state government in North Rhine-Westphalia from 2002 to 2005. He also served as Germany's Federal Minister of Finance from 2005 to 2009 under Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Peer Steinbrück studied at the University of Kiel. He started his political work helping Chancellor Helmut Schmidt. Later, he became a top helper for the leader of North Rhine-Westphalia. He worked as a state minister in two German states: Schleswig-Holstein and North Rhine-Westphalia. In 2002, he became the leader of North Rhine-Westphalia. During his time as leader, he tried to reduce special tax breaks and money given to coal mines.

In 2005, his party lost the state election. After this, a new government was formed in Germany, led by Angela Merkel. Peer Steinbrück became the Minister of Finance. His job was to help reduce Germany's debt and change the tax system. In 2012, his party chose him to run for Chancellor. However, his campaign faced some challenges, and his party lost the election in 2013. He then served as a member of the German parliament, the Bundestag, until 2016.

Early Life and Learning

Peer Steinbrück was born in Hamburg, Germany, on 10 January 1947. His father, Ernst Steinbrück, was an architect. Peer first trained to be an officer in the German army reserve. After that, he studied economics at the University of Kiel. He finished his studies in 1974.

His Career Journey

Starting in Government

After finishing university, Peer Steinbrück worked for several German government departments. From 1978 to 1981, he worked in the office of the German Chancellor, Helmut Schmidt. He also worked in East Berlin for Germany's official office there. In the 1980s, he was a chief assistant to Johannes Rau, who was the leader of North Rhine-Westphalia.

In 1993, he became a state minister in Schleswig-Holstein, in charge of economic affairs and infrastructure. He then moved back to North Rhine-Westphalia. There, he became the Minister for Economic Affairs in 1998 and the Minister of Finance in 2000.

Leading North Rhine-Westphalia

From 2002 to 2005, Peer Steinbrück was the eighth Minister President (or governor) of North Rhine-Westphalia. He led a government that included his party, the SPD, and the Green Party.

In 2002, he traveled to China with Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. They met with Chinese leaders to discuss important matters.

In 2003, Steinbrück worked with another state leader, Roland Koch, to create a plan. Their plan was to reduce special tax breaks and money given to certain industries, like coal mining. This was a big deal in North Rhine-Westphalia because many coal mines were there. Even so, they agreed to cut these payments. Steinbrück also supported a plan called "Agenda 2010" which aimed to modernize Germany.

In the state election on 22 May 2005, Steinbrück's party lost. This loss was important for all of Germany. The Chancellor at the time, Gerhard Schröder, decided to call an early national election. This led to Angela Merkel becoming Chancellor for the first time a few months later.

Germany's Finance Minister

Peer Steinbrück in 2008.

After the 2005 national election, the SPD and CDU formed a "Grand Coalition" government. This meant the two biggest parties worked together. Angela Merkel became Chancellor, and Peer Steinbrück became Germany's Minister of Finance in November 2005.

His main jobs were to reduce Germany's budget deficit (when the government spends more than it earns) and lower the public debt (money the government owes). He also worked on changing the tax system. For example, he introduced a special tax on money earned from investments to help stop tax evasion. He also played a key role in managing Germany's response to the big global financial crisis that started in 2008.

From 2005, Steinbrück was also a deputy leader of the SPD. Before the 2009 elections, the SPD's candidate for Chancellor, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, included Steinbrück in his team.

Running for Chancellor

On 9 December 2012, the SPD party chose Peer Steinbrück to be their candidate for Chancellor. He would run against Angela Merkel in the 2013 federal elections.

During his campaign, Steinbrück promised to control rent prices. He also said he would raise taxes to get more money for education and roads. He visited Greece to meet with their leaders during the European debt crisis.

On foreign policy, Steinbrück said Germany should have joined its allies in military actions against the leader of Libya. He also promised to greatly reduce Germany's sales of weapons to countries like Saudi Arabia.

His campaign faced some difficulties. Even though former Chancellors supported him, he struggled to gain popularity against Angela Merkel. On 22 September 2013, his party won 25.7 percent of the votes, while Merkel's party won 41.5 percent. After the election, Steinbrück helped his party talk with Merkel's party about forming a new government.

Member of Parliament

From 2013 to 2016, Peer Steinbrück was a member of the Bundestag, Germany's parliament. He worked on the Committee on Foreign Affairs. He also led the German-American Parliamentary Friendship Group.

In 2015, he announced that he would not run in the 2017 federal elections. He left his seat in the Bundestag in September 2016. In 2018, he wrote a book about why his party, the SPD, often lost elections.

What He Believed In

Economic Ideas

Peer Steinbrück was a strong voice for the SPD on money matters.

In 2007, he visited Washington D.C. to talk about hedge funds. He wanted to create international rules for these funds, saying that some were "not behaving properly."

In 2008, after the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, Steinbrück believed that the United States' time as a top financial power was ending. He also questioned if large government spending plans (called fiscal stimulus) were truly effective. He criticized the increase in public debt that came with these plans.

During his time as Finance Minister, Steinbrück often said that the United Kingdom was too easy on its financial industry. He wanted to reform global financial markets. In 2009, he did not want to limit the size of banks. He supported a plan to limit bonuses for bank executives. He also called for a global tax on financial transactions.

In 2012, Steinbrück proposed a plan for new financial rules. This plan included making banks help pay for a large rescue fund.

European Cooperation

In 2006, Steinbrück argued that Germany, as one of the world's largest economies, should keep its strong influence in the IMF (International Monetary Fund). He did not think that countries using the Euro currency should only have one seat on the IMF board.

Other Roles and Awards

Company Boards

• Borussia Dortmund: He was a member of the supervisory board for this famous football club.
• ING Group: He advised the board of directors for ING-DiBa, a bank.
• ThyssenKrupp: He was a member of the supervisory board for this large steel company from 2010 to 2012.
• KfW: He was on the supervisory board for this German development bank from 2006 to 2009.

Non-profit Organizations

• Berlin Palace–Humboldtforum Foundation: He was a deputy chairman for this foundation.
• Federal Chancellor Helmut Schmidt Foundation: He was the chairman of this foundation.
• ZEIT-Stiftung: He was a member of the board of trustees for this foundation.

Recognition

• 2011: He received an honorary doctorate from the University of Düsseldorf.
• 2011: He was a visiting professor at the University of Duisburg-Essen's NRW School of Governance.

His Personal Life

Peer Steinbrück's wife is Gertrud. She used to be a biology and politics teacher. They have three children together.

Images for kids

• 

  Peer Steinbrück in 2008.

See also

In Spanish: Peer Steinbrück para niños