Ilse Aigner nominated as candidate for German president
Parties in Germany's governing coalition agreed on Ilse Aigner as the proposed successor to President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
Germany may be on the verge of electing its first female head of state after parties in the governing coalition agreed on a successor to incumbent President Frank-Walter Steinmeier: former agriculture minister Ilse Aigner.
Background and political profile
Aigner, born in 1964 in Feldkirchen, has spent her political career with the Christian Social Union (CSU). She served as minister of agriculture in Angela Merkel's government from 2008 until 2013 and is widely regarded as a politician inclined toward compromise, earning respect beyond her own party.
The right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) responded to the announcement by saying it would back "a candidacy of a person from the center of society." The Left criticised Aigner's nomination, arguing for a non‑partisan figure who would "represent the majority" of Germans and has not yet decided whether it will propose its own candidate.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier has already served two terms and is ineligible to run again. The German presidency is largely ceremonial — representing the country abroad — but the office can influence domestic politics in specific circumstances, for example by refusing to sign a law.
If confirmed, Aigner would become the first woman to hold Germany's presidency.
Photo: press material from the event
