Profile: German foreign minister

Mr Steinmeier was seen as Mr Schroeder's right-hand-man

Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) have named Frank-Walter Steinmeier as the new foreign minister in the coalition cabinet - a man who has kept a low profile in national politics.

His relative obscurity contrasts with the very public personality of the outgoing foreign minister - the Green Party's Joschka Fischer.

Mr Steinmeier, 49, ran the chancellery under outgoing Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, playing a vital role as co-ordinator and mediator in the Red-Green coalition.

He joined Mr Schroeder's staff in 1991 and followed the SPD leader from Lower Saxony to the Berlin chancellery in 1998.

Correspondents say his role as Mr Schroeder's behind-the-scenes enforcer has given him experience of handling a broad range of issues.

He was involved in Germany's response to the US-led "war on terror" after the 11 September 2001 attacks and in the implementation of Mr Schroeder's controversial Hartz IV welfare reforms.

From 2002 he helped shape the chancellor's Europe policy, the German news website Spiegel reports.

Earlier he chaired talks with energy industry bosses which resulted in a deal in 2000 to phase out nuclear power.

Consensus politician

Mr Steinmeier's experience as a policy co-ordinator is seen as a key strength in the new "grand coalition", where the SPD and rival conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) may struggle to find common ground on some key issues.

Trained as a lawyer in Westphalia, he has been described as "friendly, fair and efficient", the AFP news agency reports.

His role in the difficult coalition talks was praised recently by a political opponent - Edmund Stoiber, leader of the CDU's Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU).

But Mr Steinmeier's closeness to Mr Schroeder is also seen as a sign that the outgoing chancellor may continue to exercise influence over the CDU-SPD coalition.

Among the tough issues he is likely to grapple with is Germany's more assertive military role on the international scene.

Mr Schroeder was resolutely against sending German troops to help the US-led coalition forces in Iraq - unlike the stance of his conservative successor Angela Merkel.

But Mr Schroeder did agree to send German troops to Afghanistan and the Balkans.

Mrs Merkel has signalled her opposition to Turkey joining the EU as a full member and her desire to mend fences with the US - other areas where the CDU differs from the SPD.