In the business of politics, emotions and productive dissatisfaction with the world in which we live today are gradually being covered up by the minutiae of ordinary life.

Personal life
Gabriel was married to Munise Demirel with whom he has a daughter but the couple divorced. On 15 December 1999 after the resignation of Gerhard Glogowski who had succeeded Gerhard Schröder in office Gabriel became Minister-President of Lower Saxony and served until 4 March 2003. From 2005 to 2009 he was the Federal Minister for the Environment Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety in the first cabinet of Angela Merkel (CDU).