Germany set to nominate Ilse Aigner as first woman president
Chancellor Friedrich Merz will put forward Bavarian politician Ilse Aigner as the country’s next head of state, a first for Germany.
Illustration: AI-generated image
Germany is set to have its first female head of state after Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced he will nominate Ilse Aigner, speaker of the Bavarian state parliament, for the presidency.
Mr Merz made the announcement on Sunday evening at a dinner for leaders of his centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party. Ms Aigner belongs to the Christian Social Union (CSU), the CDU’s Bavarian sister party.
The nomination is expected to be confirmed at a joint meeting of the CDU and CSU on Monday. Under German political practice, coalition partners must agree on a common candidate, and the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the third member of the governing coalition, has already voiced support for Ms Aigner.
If confirmed, Ms Aigner would almost certainly be formally elected by the Federal Convention, the body convened solely to choose the president. The vote to decide the successor to incumbent Frank-Walter Steinmeier is scheduled for 30 January.
Mr Steinmeier, a Social Democrat, has held the largely ceremonial post since 2017 and will reach the two-term limit in March 2027. The German president signs legislation into law, formally appoints ministers, and acts as a neutral symbol of national unity.
Ms Aigner, 61, began her political career in local government before entering the federal parliament in 1998. She served as agriculture minister under former Chancellor Angela Merkel and returned to Bavaria, becoming state parliament speaker in 2018.
The CSU had put forward Ms Aigner’s name earlier this year. At that time, the CDU did not immediately endorse her while Mr Merz weighed other candidates, which created some strain between the two sister parties. That disagreement now appears resolved with Sunday’s announcement.
