Joschka Fischer was born on 12 April 1948 in Gerabronn. He has been a member of the Green Party since 1982, for which he was first elected to the German Bundestag in 1983.

First as Environment Minister and later as parliamentary party leader of Alliance 90/The Greens, Fischer gave his party a more realpolitik image. He earned a reputation as an outstanding rhetorician who did not mince his words and was harsh in his criticism of his political opponents. From 1998 to 2005, Fischer was Federal Foreign Minister and Vice-Chancellor.

On 1 September 2006, he resigned his seat in the Bundestag before taking up a one-year visiting professorship at the Woodrow Wilson School of International Affairs at Princeton University, USA. He is also a founding member of Joschka Fischer & Company and advises companies on the framework conditions of international markets, future political and social challenges, and sustainable growth opportunities.