Angela Merkel to run as CDU representative in Germany's 2027 presidential election
Merkel will represent the CDU from Schleswig‑Holstein in the Federal Convention that elects the successor to Frank‑Walter Steinmeier on 30 January 2027.
Former chancellor Angela Merkel will take part in Germany's presidential election next year as a representative of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), party sources said. Merkel is to be nominated by the CDU delegation from the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein.
The post of federal president in Germany is largely ceremonial. The president is chosen by the Federal Convention, a body made up of all members of the Bundestag (the lower house of parliament) together with an equal number of delegates elected by the parliaments of Germany's 16 federal states.
Timing and political context
The successor to incumbent President Frank‑Walter Steinmeier will be elected on 30 January 2027. State parliaments are currently selecting their delegates for the Federal Convention, and the governing coalition — composed of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservatives and the Social Democrats — has not yet agreed on a joint candidate.
Speaking in an interview with MagentaTV, Merkel said: "In the 77‑year history of the Federal Republic of Germany there has never been a woman in the office of federal president." She added that everyone should ask themselves "whether, finally, the time has come for that."
Merkel's participation as a CDU representative will focus attention on the largely ceremonial role and on the symbolic question of gender balance in the country's highest offices, even as parties work to build majorities for a candidate in the Federal Convention.
Photo: press material from the event
