Robert Habeck probably wouldn't have thought that a year ago either: that he would now be at an Asia-Pacific conference as German Economics Minister and calling for more free trade.
But that's exactly what happened in Singapore in the past few days.
Ratifying the agreement with Canada, signing agreements with Mexico and Chile, talking to the Americans, the Indians and many others: Habeck appeared in Singapore as a fighter for free trade.
That's remarkable given his party's years of stoking irrational fears of American chlorinated chickens and would have spurned even Canadians.
Apparently, however, the Greens have also come to realize that Germany has more to gain from free trade than it has to lose - especially if the government is also pursuing a more critical strategy towards China, and rightly so.
But the promises from Singapore are not a sure-fire success.
Only a few countries in the world meet the Greens' criteria for "value-based" trade.
And markets as important as the United States are closing in more than opening up.
Habeck's free trade offensive still has to pass the practical test.