Joschka Fischer

Joseph Martin "Joschka" Fischer (born April 12, 1948 in Gerabronn, Baden-Württemberg) has been the German foreign minister and Vice Chancellor in the Red-Green coalition since 1998. He is a leading figure in the German Green Party and was the party's standard bearer in the 2002 election campaign, which saw an increase in votes and seats for the Greens. According to opinion polls http://www.tagesthemen.de/aktuell/meldungen/0,1185,OID2020828_TYP6_THE2020794_NAV3332916~1260572~2020794_REF1_BAB,00.html, he was the most popular politician in Germany for most of the red-green coalition government's duration. He was the frontrunner for the 2005 election, too.

The 1998 Election and Beyond

This moment arrived on 27 September 1998, when the Social Democrats, led by then-Premier (of Lower Saxony province) Gerhard Schröder, decisively defeated the Christian Democrats of then-Chancellor Helmut Kohl. With the SPD's 42% and the Greens' 7%, a potential Red/Green coalition could be formed narrowly. Schröder, the election victor, stated his preference for such a coalition, as did an overwhelming majority of the SPD. After several weeks of negotiations between Social Democrats and Greens, the new government was sworn-in on 27 October 1998. Fischer, the leader of an erstwhile hardline pacifist party, became Minister of Foreign Affairs - a sign of how clearly times had changed.

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In 1999 Fischer supported the German participation in the Kosovo War. This was an extremely controversial stance within the largely pacifist Green Party, because it meant that, for the first time after the Second World War, German soldiers would actively participate in combat. He justified this war with allegations that the Serbs were planning a genocide on the Kosovo Albanians.

Related Topics:
1999 - Kosovo War - Pacifist - Second World War - Albania

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Fischer was also in favor for the stationing of German troops in Afghanistan, but he counseled German chancellor Gerhard Schröder not to join the war in Iraq. He is known as a good friend of the head of the UN, Kofi Annan, and has a reputation for his international experience. Although the first common foreign minister of the EU has yet to be elected, Fischer is considered a strong candidate for this post. Unlike former German foreign ministers, he speaks several languages fluently, and has a good experience with and reputation in the Arab world. He is the now second longest-serving foreign minister in German postwar history (after Hans-Dietrich Genscher).

Related Topics:
Afghanistan - Chancellor - Gerhard Schröder - Iraq - UN - Kofi Annan - EU - Arab - Hans-Dietrich Genscher

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After the 2005 election, with the Greens likely in opposition, Fischer announced that he won't seek the parliament parties leadership but will retire to backbenches of the Bundestag. "After 20 years of power, now I want my freedom back", he was quoted in the main German media.

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