Follow-Up: Germany's Governing Conservatives Set to Nominate Ilse Aigner for President; She Would Be the First Woman in the Post
BERLIN — Germany's governing conservative bloc is set to nominate Ilse Aigner, the president of the Bavarian state parliament, as its candidate for federal president, Agence France-Presse reported on November 7, citing conservative party sources. Chancellor Friedrich Merz supports the choice and is expected to present her formally at a CDU executive committee meeting on Monday, November 9. Several German outlets reported that the Social Democrats, the conservatives' coalition partners, have also agreed to the nomination.
Aigner, 61, is a member of the CSU, the Bavarian sister party of Merz's CDU, and served as federal agriculture minister under Angela Merkel. She trained as a radio and television technician before entering politics. Bavarian premier Markus Söder has championed her candidacy for months and first proposed her in April.
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in office since 2017, reaches the two-term limit when his second five-year term ends in March 2027. His successor will be chosen on January 30, 2027, by the Federal Convention, made up of the 630 members of the Bundestag and an equal number of state parliament delegates. If elected, Aigner would become the first woman to hold the German presidency.
Related:
Merz: Germany's Next President Must Be a Woman; a Centrist Joint Candidate Will Be Named
(Source: Agence France-Presse)
Source: Agence France-Presse
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：Ilse Aigner 资料图（Michael Lucan 摄，CC BY-SA 3.0 de），经Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: File photo of Ilse Aigner (Michael Lucan, CC BY-SA 3.0 de), via Wikimedia Commons.
