Merz’s conservatives poised to nominate Germany’s first woman president

BERLIN — Bavarian politician Ilse Aigner is set to become Germany’s next president, making her the country’s first woman to hold the office, according to two senior conservatives with knowledge of the matter. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservative bloc and the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) will nominate Aigner to succeed outgoing German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the officials told BILD, which, like POLITICO, is part of the Axel Springer Global Reporters Network.

Both officials were granted anonymity to discuss internal party matters freely. Aigner’s nomination will officially be announced Monday, according to the officials.

Aigner, who previously served as agriculture minister under former German Chancellor Angela Merkel from 2008 to 2013, is currently president of the Bavarian State Parliament. She is also a member of the Christian Social Union (CSU), the Bavarian sister party to Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU).