Frank-Walter Steinmeier is the new President of the Federal Republic of Germany. The German federal assembly elected him yesterday with 931 votes out of 1.253. Steinmeier is 61 years old, he is a social democrat, in the past he was foreign minister and now succeeds Joachim Gauck becoming the 12th German president. He will take office in Bellevue on March 18th.
Respect, therefore, the predictions that Steinmeier already elected in the first vote, with an absolute majority, thanks to the support of the large government coalition, as well as the Greens and the Liberal Party (Fdp).
In his first speech he exhorted his compatriots to "have courage. When the foundation of democracy elsewhere falters, then we must stand firm in the face of that foundation."
Steinmeier then posted on his Facebook profile a photo of him holding hands with the future first lady, while they look into each other's eyes. And, in the post, a declaration of gratitude and love: “Dear Elke, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for following me this far. It's not a foregone conclusion. I couldn't do it without You and without You I wouldn't have done it”.
Elke Buedebender, 55, a judge, quits her job to become first lady. The two have been married since 1995 and have a 20-year-old daughter, Merit.
