Germany Elects New President

Joachim Gauck is former Lutheran minister
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 18, 2012 8:50 AM CDT
Germany Elects New President
Presidential candidate Joachim Gauck, right, and his partner Daniela Schadt arrive at the parliament building Reichstag in Berlin,, Sunday March 18, 2012. German lawmakers are gathering in Berlin to elect the country's new president. Candidate Joachim Gauck, a former East German pro-democracy activist,...   (Maja Hitij)

Germany today elected a former anti-Communist pastor as president, with 72-year-old Joachim Gauck receiving 991 of the 1,232 ballots cast, reports the AP. Gauck assumes the largely ceremonial post in the wake of the resignation of Christian Wulff, who quit last month in a scandal over financial favors. He had the backing this time around of Angela Merkel, who previously supported Wulff, though the BBC notes that Gauck's outspoken nature may prove inconvenient to the chancellor. (More Joachim Gauck stories.)

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