After completing his alternative civilian service in 1991 he began studying for a master's degree with a combination of philosophy, German and philology at the Albert Ludwigs University in Freiburg im Breisgau.

In addition to children's books and translations of English poetry, Habeck, with Paluch, published six novels, among others, Hauke Haien's Death (2001), The Day I Met My Dead Man (2005) and Under the Gully Lies the Sea (2007).

[12] On 27 January 2018, the Green Party's national convention in Hanover elected him as chairman, a position shared with Annalena Baerbock.

[16][17] After the Greens agreed to form a traffic light coalition government with the centre-left Social Democrats and liberal Free Democrats, new Chancellor Olaf Scholz named Habeck as Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action and vice chancellor in December 2021, making him one of the most powerful politicians in Europe.

[18] In March 2023, Habeck participated in the first joint cabinet meeting of the governments of Germany and Japan in Tokyo, chaired by Chancellor Scholz and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

[19] In an interview with Der Tagesspiegel at the end of May 2020, Habeck argued that the COVID-19 pandemic was "maybe the first time" that health care was more important than the profit motive and economic growth.

[21] In April 2022, Habeck presented a package of measures to speed up Germany's expansion of renewable energy, as the need to reduce the country's heavy reliance on Russian fossil fuels added urgency to its green transition plans; the package envisaged green energy accounting for 80% of the power mix by 2030, up from about 40% in 2022 and a previous target of 65%.

[28] On 5 October 2022, Habeck accused the United States and other "friendly" gas supplier nations that they were profiting from the Ukraine war with "astronomical prices".

"[30] In July 2023, Habeck stated that the German transition to green energy will "put a burden on people" and there's "a major transformational period ahead of us until 2030".

[32] In January 2024, he became the target of protests by German farmers for his role in promoting green policies and pushing for cuts in agricultural subsidies.

[35] After Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Habeck's ministry vetoed extending the life of Germany's remaining nuclear plants, arguing that the costs involved outweighed the benefits.

[44][45] German magazine Cicero claimed that Habeck had misled the public in 2022 and ignored the advice of experts who said nuclear facilities were still safe to operate.

[47] In November 2022, he formally blocked Silex, a Swedish subsidiary of China's Sai Microelectronics, from buying a Elmos Semiconductor plant for €85 million, saying the country had to protect key industries from potential security threats.

[52] [53] In November 2020, Habeck presented a 11-points-action-plan against potential and a controversial Islamic "Gefährder" – individuals deemed a security risk due to extremist views without necessarily being accused of a crime – which he worked out with Konstantin von Notz and Irene Mihalic, politicians for domestic policy.

One topic of this paper is to recruit more staff for the local authorities to make closer surveillance and eventually a more consequent enforcement of prevailing arrest warrants possible.

[56] Germany's 2023 immigration reforms include easier requirements for obtaining work visas for skilled workers from non-EU countries.

[61] He declared that the burning of the flag of Israel and praise for Hamas is a felony in Germany and stated: "Germans will have to answer for this in court, while non-Germans also risk losing their residence status.

[63][64] On 11 January 2024, while visiting Sderot near the Gaza strip, Habeck called the lawsuit South Africa v. Israel (Genocide Convention) to be one of the biggest absurdities ("eine der größten Absurditäten") one could come up with.

[68] In November 2024, two days after the FDP left the coalition due to the ongoing political crisis, which subsequently became a minority government and the Scholz cabinet was reshuffled, Habeck announced that he wanted to be nominated by the Greens as candidate for chancellor for the federal election.