Bavarian politician Ilse Aigner is set to become Germany’s next president, making her the country’s first woman to hold the office, according to two senior conservatives with knowledge of the matter. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservative bloc and the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) will nominate Aigner to succeed outgoing German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who is not eligible for re-election as his second five-year term ends in March 2027. The officials told BILD that Aigner’s nomination will officially be announced Monday, after Merz intends to inform senior Christian Democratic Union (CDU) politicians on Sunday that she is the bloc’s candidate. Both officials were granted anonymity to discuss internal party matters freely, a standard practice when discussing sensitive political appointments before they are public.
Aigner previously served as agriculture minister under former German Chancellor Angela Merkel from 2008 to 2013 and is currently president of the Bavarian State Parliament. She is a member of the Christian Social Union (CSU), the Bavarian sister party to Merz’s CDU, which forms a joint parliamentary bloc in the Bundestag and part of the European People’s Party in the European Parliament. Bavaria’s CSU premier, Markus Soder, suggested Aigner as a candidate back in April, though the CSU has long dominated Bavarian politics but has never produced a German chancellor or president. Prominent SPD and Green politicians have also signaled their support for Aigner in recent weeks, indicating broad cross-party acceptance of her candidacy. Brandenburg’s SPD state premier, Dietmar Woidke, described Aigner as "the perfect candidate" who knows German politics "inside out," he told POLITICO’s Berlin Playbook on Friday. The successor will be elected on Jan. 30, 2027, for a role that is largely ceremonial, with the chancellor setting the government’s policy agenda. This transition ensures continuity in a presidency that does not wield executive power but serves as a symbolic head of state. The political landscape in Germany remains stable as this historic nomination moves forward without significant opposition.
