Wearing corduroys and an open shirt, he introduced himself in the Bundestag, first to the citizens of Germany, then to the members of the German parliament.
[1] He was a member of the Bundestag until 31 March 1985, when he left his seat, following the principal of rotation in office.
He served a second time as a Green Party faction member of the 11th German parliament from 1987 to 1990.
Stratmann-Mertens announced he would launch a new national network for other peace activists who also wanted to leave the Greens.
Following his terms in the Bundestag, Stratmann-Mertens returned to his teaching position at the Albert-Einstein-Schule, a German-English bilingual gymnasium in Bochum, Germany, where he taught social sciences, history and religion (Protestant).