Will Germany elect a woman as head of state?

DW News · Feb 26, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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President Frank-Walter Steinmeier's second term in office ends early next year. The center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the environmentalist Greens are campaigning for a woman to succeed him. This would be a first in history: Twelve men have held Germany's top office since the end of World War II. The Green Party floated the idea to put forward former Chancellor Angela Merkel as a candidate. She was in office for 16 years until 2021 and had high popularity ratings throughout her tenure. Merkel immediately rejected the speculation as "absurd." Political observers explain, that this proposal would also be unlikely to succeed because of the long-standing rivalry and animosity between Merkel and current Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Chancellor Merz told public TV Phoenix last weekend that he would propose a candidate in September. "I want us to elect a person to this office who represents the country in its entirety," Merz said. He did not specify whether this person should be a man or a woman. September is when the last of this year's five state elections are held. Thereafter, it will become clearer what the makeup of the Federal Convention will be. How is the president elected? Germans do not directly elect their president. A special assembly, the Federal Convention, elects the president for a term of five years by secret ballot, without debate. The president can be reelected once.This assembly is convened exclusively to select the president. It is made up of the 630 lawmakers from the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, and an equal number of representatives from Germany's 16 federal states. These can be state politicians, but also distinguished citizens such as athletes or artists. All candidates for the presidency must be German citizens and be at least 40 years old. The candidate who achieves an absolute majority is elected. If no candidate has received this level of support in two rounds of voting, a third and final vote is held, in which the candidate who wins a relative majority of votes is elected. The federal government names a candidate for the highest office. Although the chancellor, the head of government, formally ranks behind the head of state and the president of the Bundestag (currently Julia Klöckner, CDU), his office is the most powerful in the German state.Former Agriculture Minister and current Bundestag President Julia Klöckner is seen as a divisive figureImage: Kay Nietfeld/dpa/picture alliance Klöckner or Aigner? Speaking of Julia Klöckner: The name of the combative president of the German parliament is mentioned again and again as a possible candidate for the presidency. But Klöckner is unpopular with the center-left Social Democrats, junior coalition partner to Merz's conservative bloc of Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Bavaria's Christian Social Union (CSU). The socialist Left Party and the Greens are also critical of Klöckner, who is often accused of polarizing. Ilse Aigner, a member of the CSU who has been president of the Bavarian state parliament for eight years, would have a better chance of gaining approval, even among her political rivals. She has proven that she can build bridges across party lines. Her disadvantage: If she were to become head of state, the chances of CSU party leader, Bavaria's Premier Markus Söder, ever becoming chancellor would drop to zero. Two top posts on the national level for the CDU's small conservative sister party would be unacceptable to many.Also a former Agriculture Minister under Angela Merkel, Ilse Aigner has presided over the Bavarian parliament for eight yearsImage: Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/picture alliance/dpa A candidate with Jewish roots? Federal Minister of Education, Karin Prien (CDU), is frequently touted as a possible candidate. She would be the first person with Jewish roots at the helm of the state. Her grandparents survived the Holocaust. Her candidacy would therefore send a bold signal in times of growing antisemitism in Germany. However, she represents the progressive wing of the conservative CDU, and therefore is unlikely to gain majority support within the party under its conservative chairman, Friedrich Merz.Karin Prien is currently serving as Federal Minister for Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and YouthImage: dts Nachrichtenagentur/IMAGO An artist for President? CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann has suggested seeking a candidate outside professional politics. Juli Zeh's name has been put forward again. The well-known writer and doctor of international law was born in the western city of Bonn, but moved to the eastern state of Brandenburg twenty years ago. She has administrative experience as an honorary constitutional judge in her state and is a member of the SPD. Her novel "Unterleuten" depicts a village in eastern Germany where plans for the construction of new wind turbines become a dividing issue. Author Juli Zeh's name has been floated as a possible candidate for presidentImage: ulrike blitzner/rtn/picture alliance "I can actually imagine it at some point in the future. But not now, because I wouldn't be able to balance the double burden of work and family," Juli Zeh told the newspaper Die Zeit."We need someone who is not clearly assigned to one camp in this so-called polarization. In terms of personality profile, I could fit in quite well." With just under a year to go before the election of Germany's new head of state, speculation is rife. Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD) still have a few months to find a suitable candidate. Steinmeier: 'Let's not allow ourselves to be driven apart'To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video This article was originally written in German. While you're here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter, Berlin Briefing.