Michael Steiner

Michael Steiner (born 28 November 1949) is a distinguished German diplomat whose career has spanned more than four decades, intertwining legal scholarship, crisis diplomacy, and multilateral peacebuilding. Born in Munich, Bavaria, he pursued legal studies in Paris and Munich between 1971 and 1977, culminating in his qualification as a judge in 1981, the same year he entered the German Foreign Office. His early posting as a political officer in Prague during the pivotal summer of 1989 earned him acclaim for personally assisting East German refugees over the embassy wall, an act that symbolically foreshadowed the fall of the Berlin Wall. Throughout the 1990s, Steiner played key roles in humanitarian aid in Zagreb, contributed to the Contact Group overseeing the Yugoslav wars, and led the International Peace Efforts section in Yugoslavia, demonstrating a consistent focus on conflict resolution and multilateral coordination.

From 1997 he served as principal deputy to High Representative Carl Bildt in Sarajevo, later advising Chancellor Gerhard Schröder on foreign and security policy while stationed in Prague. Although his tenure ended abruptly in 2001 due to the “caviar affair,” he quickly resumed high‑profile service when, in December 2001, UN Secretary‑General Kofi Annan appointed him the third Special Representative of the Secretary‑General for Kosovo, overseeing UNMIK until July 2003. Subsequent assignments included directing Germany’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan (2010‑2012) and serving as German Ambassador to India (2012‑2015), where he fostered cultural ties by honoring conductor Zubin Mehta and even starring in a parody video of the Bollywood hit Kal Ho Na Ho. Married to art historian Eliese Steiner, Michael Steiner remains a respected figure in international diplomacy.