Joschka Fischer was German foreign minister and Vice Chancellor in the government of Gerhard Schröder from 1998 to 2005. He was a leading figure in the German Green Party and, according to opinion polls, the most popular politician in Germany for most of the government’s duration. By 2005, he was the second longest-serving foreign minister in German post-war history (after Hans-Dietrich Genscher).
 
Fischer was born in Gerabronn in Baden-Württemberg on April 12, 1948, the third child of a butcher, whose family had lived in Hungary for several generations, but had to leave the country in 1946 after Hungary was occupied by the Soviet Union. His name “Joschka” is derived from the Hungarian Jóska, diminutive of Joseph (Hungarian József).
 
Fischer became active in the German left-wing student movement, first in Stuttgart, but after 1968 in Frankfurt/Main. In 1982, he became involved in the newly-founded German Green Party (1982).
 
From 1983 to 1985, Joschka Fischer was a member of the Bundestag, the lower house of Germany’s Federal Parliament, for the Green Party. As a result of the internal rotation system, he had to leave Parliament and give way for his successor. In December 1985, he became Minister for the Environment in the federal state of Hesse in what was the first provinical Social Democrat / Green coalition government (1985-87). Fischer caused a stir when he appeared at his swearing-in ceremony wearing sports shoes. These shoes are now on display in the German history museum in Bonn.
 
After leading the Green Party parliamentary group in Hesse from 1987 to 1991, Fischer became Minister of the Environment, Energy and Federal Affairs and Deputy Minister-President in Hesse from 1991 to 1994. Following the re-entry of the Green Party in the German Bundestag in 1994, Fischer became co-chairman of the Greens’ parliamentary group in the Bundestag. During his years in opposition, he was highly respected for his oratory, as well as for the charisma he exuded on the political stage. For a large part of the 1990s, with the SPD languishing in the opinion polls, Fischer was referred to by his admirers as the “real” Leader of the Opposition. He leveraged this status into political success, as he moved the Green Party to the centre of German politics, paving the way for participation in the nation’s federal government.
 
In September 1998, the Social Democrats, led by Gerhard Schröder, decisively defeated the Christian Democrat government of Helmut Kohl. With the SPD’s 42% and the Greens’ 7%, a coalition government could be formed. Fischer became Minister of Foreign Affairs and Vice-Chancellor.
 
In 1999, Fischer supported 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 since World War II, German soldiers would actively participate in combat. He justified this war with allegations that Serbia was planning to commit genocide against the Kosovo Albanians.
 
As a result of the devastating terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington D.C. on September 11, 2001, Fischer was in favour of German troops participating in the attack on Afghanistan thus sealing the definite rejection by the Green Party of the principle of non-violence. Later on, he was critical about the war in Iraq because he clearly saw the international anti-terrorism coalition weakened and feared the further destabilization of the Near and Middle East region. Back in March 2003, he considered the Iranian nuclear programme as top priority on the political agenda.
 
After the defeat of the coalition government in the September 2005 elections, Fischer announced that he would retire to the backbench. “After 20 years of power, now I want my freedom back”, he was quoted as saying. On 22 November 2005, he handed over the office of foreign minister to Frank-Walter Steinmeier (SPD).  The Near and Middle East region as well as the process of the European integration were his dominant fields of activity during his tenure as foreign minister. He has been a strong advocate of Turkey’s accession to the EU.
 
Joschka Fischer has consistently been the most popular German politician, leading the opinion polls for several years, even among supporters of other parties. This popularity may be attributed to his personal integrity as much as to his political points of view. Or as Luxemburg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker has put it on the occasion of an award-winning ceremony honouring Joschka Fischer in May 2004: “His biography has been of incredible intensity, full of detours, sometimes dead ends and fracture lines.”
 
During the academic year 2006/2007, Fischer was the Frederick H. Schultz> 
Joschka Fischer is the author of several books. His latest is a résumé of his tenure as Foreign Minister of Germany (September 2007). Fischer also writes a monthly column for Project Syndicate, which is distributed to over 250 publications in more than 100 countries. He is member of the Board of Trustees of the International Crisis Group.
 
Joschka Fischer has been married to Minu Barati since October 2005. He has two adult children and one grandchild.