Chancellor Merz to nominate Aigner as Germany’s first woman president

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will nominate Bavarian politician Ilse Aigner for Germany’s next president, which would make her the country’s first female head of state. Merz made the announcement at a dinner for leaders of his centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party on Sunday. Aigner, speaker of the Bavarian state parliament, belongs to the Christian Social Union (CSU), the Bavarian sister party of the CDU.

According to German political practice, coalition parties must agree on a common candidate. The governing coalition is made up of the CDU, the CSU and the Social Democratic Party (SPD). The German president is elected by the Federal Convention, convened solely to choose the president.

It will decide on incumbent Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s successor on January 30. Germany’s president holds a largely ceremonial position, signing legislation into law and formally appointing ministers. The CSU put forward Aigner’s name earlier this year, but the CDU held back from endorsing her while Merz considered alternatives, straining relations between the parties.