Frank-Walter Steinmeier is Germany’s President-elect
Federal President Joachim Gauck (left) congratulates his newly elected successor Dr Frank-Walter Steinmeier. (DBT/Marc-Steffen Unger)
On Sunday, 12 February 2017, the Federal Convention elected former Foreign Minister Dr Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Member of the Bundestag (SPD), as Germany’s next Federal President. Dr Steinmeier won 931 out of 1,253 valid votes cast in the first ballot. He will succeed Joachim Gauck, whose term in office ends on 18 March 2017. The Federal Convention consists of all 630 Members of the German Bundestag and a further 630 members elected by the parliaments of Germany’s 16 constituent states. It is chaired by the President of the German Bundestag and meets solely for the purpose of electing the Federal President.
Other contenders were Emeritus Professor Christoph Butterwegge (66), formerly a political scientist at the University of Cologne, who was nominated by the Left Party and received 128 votes, Albrecht Glaser (75), deputy Chair of Alternative for Germany (AfD) and former City Treasurer in Frankfurt/Main, who won 42 votes, the Bavarian Free Voters’ nominee Judge Alexander Hold (54), who gained 25 votes, and Engelbert Sonneborn (79) from the Pirate Party in North Rhine-Westphalia, who received 10 votes. There were 103 abstentions and 14 void votes. A total of 631 votes were required for election to the Federal Presidency.