Chapter 17 — Personal Life
The private man
Steinmeier has kept his family life largely out of public view. What is publicly documented is set out here, with the restraint the subject deserves.
Marriage
Elke Büdenbender
Steinmeier married Elke Büdenbender, a jurist, on 27 December 1995. She has worked as a judge at the administrative court in Berlin and, during her husband's presidency, has taken leave from the bench to accompany him on state visits and to pursue her own public engagements, including on vocational training and education.
The couple have one daughter, born in 1996. They have consistently shielded her from public attention, and this archive does the same.
2010
A kidney for his wife
In August 2010, at the height of his role as leader of the parliamentary opposition, Steinmeier announced that he would take leave from politics to donate a kidney to his wife, who was suffering from a serious illness. The transplant was carried out on 24 August 2010. He returned to the Bundestag in the autumn.
The decision attracted wide respect across the political spectrum and prompted public discussion of living organ donation in Germany.
Faith
A Reformed Protestant
Steinmeier belongs to the Evangelical Reformed tradition in which he was raised in Lippe. He has spoken at events of the German Protestant Kirchentag and has described his faith as part of the convictions he brings to public office, rather than something set aside when he enters it.
Writing
"Wir"
In April 2024 he presented "Wir" ("We"), a long essay published for the 75th anniversary of the Basic Law and the 35th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, reflecting on what holds German society together.
