Udo Steiner was a Judge at the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany

Federal Constitutional Court of Germany

The Federal Constitutional Court is a special court established by the Grundgesetz, the German basic law...

 from 1995 to 2007.

He grew up in Franconia

Franconia

Franconia is a region of Germany comprising the northern parts of the modern state of Bavaria, a small part of southern Thuringia, and a region in northeastern Baden-Württemberg called Tauberfranken...

, and went on to study law in Erlangen, Saarbrücken and Cologne

University of Cologne

The University of Cologne is one of the oldest universities in Europe and, with over 44,000 students, one of the largest universities in Germany. The university is part of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, an association of Germany's leading research universities...

. In 1965, he earned a doctorate with the thesis Verfassunggebung und verfassunggebende Gewalt des Volkes. Subsequently, he earned his Habilitation

Habilitation

Habilitation is the highest academic qualification a scholar can achieve by his or her own pursuit in several European and Asian countries. Earned after obtaining a research doctorate, such as a PhD, habilitation requires the candidate to write a professorial thesis based on independent...

 in 1972, with the thesis Öffentliche Verwaltung durch Private.

In 1973, Steiner was appointed as Professor of Public Law at the University of Erlangen, and subsequently served as Professor at the universities of Göttingen, Bielefeld and Regensburg

University of Regensburg

The University of Regensburg is a public research university located in the medieval city of Regensburg, Bavaria, a city that is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university was founded on July 18, 1962 by the Landtag of Bavaria as the fourth full-fledged university in Bavaria...

. He was Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Bielefeld from 1976 to 1977, and in Regensburg from 1988 to 1990. Between 1976 and 1979, he also served as a Judge at the Oberverwaltungsgericht.

He was appointed a Judge at the Federal Constitutional Court in October 1995, and still lectures at the University of Regensburg. He was retired as a Judge upon turning 68 in 2007, and was succeeded by Ferdinand Kirchhof

Ferdinand Kirchhof

Ferdinand Kirchhof is a German judge, jurisprudent and tax law expert. Since October 1st, 2007, he is sitting Justice of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany in the court's first senate. In March 2009, he has been elected vice president of the court...

.

In 2008, he was appointed as the Ombudsman

Ombudsman

An ombudsman is a person who acts as a trusted intermediary between an organization and some internal or external constituency while representing not only but mostly the broad scope of constituent interests...

 of Deutsche Bahn

Deutsche Bahn

Deutsche Bahn AG is the German national railway company, a private joint stock company . Headquartered in Berlin, it came into existence in 1994 as the successor to the former state railways of Germany, the Deutsche Bundesbahn of West Germany and the Deutsche Reichsbahn of East Germany...

 for victims of railway accidents.

Steiner married in 1967 and has four children.

Honours

• 2007: Großes Verdienstkreuz mit Stern und Schulterband
• 2008: Bayerischer Verdienstorden