How much they would have liked to celebrate this day in the CSU. But unlike in previous years, the big celebration for Edmund Stoiber's 85th birthday (September 28th) has been canceled for the time being. The state of health of the former CSU boss and Bavarian Prime Minister does not currently allow such events, according to both the CSU and the state government. Nevertheless, Stoiber's phone is unlikely to be idle on Monday - because he still enjoys great recognition far across party lines.
In fact, Stoiber's public appearances have become a rarity in recent months. He hasn't even taken part in the meetings of the CSU executive board in the Munich party headquarters for a long time. Especially in these days, when the shifts in the political landscape are becoming more visible than ever, many people, not only in the CSU, would like to hear his opinion. Even with his great football passion, FC Bayern Munich, he said goodbye in February 2026 after decades at the head of the administrative advisory board.
Stoiber had to undergo operations
The former CSU leader and Bavarian Prime Minister had to downshift more than one gear in 2026 for health reasons and undergo several operations, it is said. This also applies to his contact with the media. Those close to Stoiber say that he is doing well under the circumstances, that the operations went well, but that everything simply takes time. Perhaps patience, of all things, is a virtue that Stoiber now has to learn and endure, just in time for his birthday.
In fact, one associates many qualities with Edmund Stoiber, but not calm and serenity. Even after his involuntary departure in 2007, Stoiber completed a workload in various roles and functions that many active politicians can hardly achieve. Among other things, from 2007 to 2014 he voluntarily led a working group on reducing bureaucracy in the European Commission. He was also a welcome guest on talk shows, not least because of his emotional speaking style, which he often imitated from cabaret artists.
In 2021, Stoiber celebrated his 80th birthday with a real marathon of celebrations - starting with a birthday party with the family, receptions by the state government, the CDU and CSU and a big celebration with almost 100 friends from politics, business and sport.
Söder: Stoiber is a father of modern Bavaria
«Edmund Stoiber is one of the most influential figures in the Free State. "Together with Franz Josef Strauss and Alfons Goppel, he is the father of modern Bavaria," says Prime Minister and CSU leader Markus Söder, paying tribute to the "unique life's achievement" of his political foster father. Ultimately, Stoiber also set the course for Söder's career when he made him CSU general secretary in November 2003. Bavaria continues to benefit from his decisions to this day - for example, the waiver of new debts in the state budget is just as much a “Stoiber legacy” as the focus on high-tech and university expansion.
Söder continued: “Happy 85th birthday - with best wishes for your health and many thanks for a unique life achievement. To this day I value his advice and his vision. Edmund Stoiber's voice and opinion still have great weight throughout Bavaria today. He is and remains a sought-after and respected role model.”
From 1974 to 2008, Stoiber was a member of the Bavarian state parliament, CSU general secretary and state secretary under his mentor Franz Josef Strauss, interior minister, head of the state chancellery and prime minister for 14 years. In 2002, he was the CSU's second Union Chancellor candidate after Strauss in 1980 and - given Söder's failed power struggle against the then CDU leader Armin Laschet in April 2021 - also the last so far.
Stoiber the family man
In recent years, however, Stoiber has achieved a feat that many politicians cannot achieve - feeling happiness and satisfaction even without top political office. When he gave a speech at a CSU reception in Munich on his 80th birthday, it was only at the end that he came to talk about politics and the Union's recent bankruptcy in the federal election. Rather, he uses the stage to declare his love for his wife Karin, to whom he has been married since 1968. True to the motto “You only have one life”.
“I never intended to become a politician,” Stoiber said at the time, and he had to be all the more grateful that his wife Karin, who married a legal trainee, had taken part in this unplanned life in which private interests so often take second place. Anyone who is allowed to have such a happy marriage like him and has three children and eight grandchildren can only feel deep gratitude.
