He was married to Elfie Wörner, who was supporting several German army related humanitarian agencies, and who died of a tumor on 4 July 2006.

[citation needed] In 1983, Wörner faced criticism due to the scandal surrounding German General Günter Kießling.

Wörner accepted political responsibility for the affair and on 18 May 1984 offered his resignation, which was rejected by German Chancellor Helmut Kohl.

An address given by Wörner[2] in 1990 to the Bremer Tabak Collegium became a subject of a controversy[3][4][5] when Vladimir Putin cited it in his 2007 speech at 43rd Munich Conference on Security Policy[6] to claim that NATO made a promise not to expand eastward after the end of the Cold War.

[citation needed] Since 1996, the Ministry of Defense has awarded the Manfred Wörner Medal on an annual basis to honour public figures who have rendered "special meritorious service to peace and freedom in Europe".

Since then it was given to: The Manfred-Wörner-Seminar, a security-policy information seminar of the German Federal Ministry of Defense for young civilian executive personnel from Germany, the United States and other European nations, is named after Manfred Wörner to honour his merits on transatlantic dialogue and understanding.