Anti-Communist Lutheran Pastor Elected German President

BERLIN — German lawmakers elected Joachim Gauck, a former Lutheran pastor and human rights activist from communist East Germany, as president of the European Union's largest country on Sunday by a large majority in a first round of voting.

Joachim Gauck’s election puts former East Germans in the nation’s two highest offices. Above, Mr. Gauck and Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Joachim Gauck is applauded by members of the German parliament following his election as Germany's new president on Sunday. 

The new president, Joachim Gauck, won 991 out of 1,228 votes cast by a special committee of lawmakers and representatives that chooses the head of state. His closest rival, Beate Klarsfeld, a prominent anti-Nazi campaigner, won 126 votes.

In Germany, the president is chosen not by voters but by a special federal assembly comprising all 620 members of the Bundestag lower house of parliament and an equal number of delegates from the country's 16 regions.

His predecessor, Christian Wulff, stepped down last month after being accused of accepting favors from business executives while he was governor of Lower Saxony State. Mr. Wulff had replaced Horst Köhler, who quit abruptly in 2010 after a media outcry concerning his remarks about possibly expanding the German military’s role abroad.

Mr. Gauck remains married to his high school sweetheart, although they have been separated for more than 20 years, and they have four children. When he moves into the Bellevue presidential palace, he will be accompanied by his longtime partner, Daniela Schadt. The pair have said they see no need to marry.
Gauck's election is assured as he has the support of the three ruling coalition parties including the CDU and of the opposition Social Democrats and Greens.