Politics · Berlin, Germany · November 8, 2026

Merz to nominate Ilse Aigner as Germany's first woman president

Reported by 3 outlets · first reported Nov 8, 2:52 PM ET

Chancellor Friedrich Merz will nominate Ilse Aigner, Bavarian parliament speaker from the CSU. She would replace Frank-Walter Steinmeier in a largely ceremonial role.

Why it matters

Germany would get its first woman head of state.

Background

The federal president is chosen by a special assembly.

The story so far

1. Nov 8Merz to nominate Ilse Aigner as Germany's first woman president
2. Nov 9Merz picks Ilse Aigner for German president

Follow the whole story →

Sources

• The Straits Times ↗Nov 8, 7:14 PM ET
• Al Jazeera ↗Nov 8, 6:39 PM ET
• NZZ ↗Nov 8, 2:52 PM ET

This summary was written automatically from the reporting linked above; follow the sources for the full story. How One Turn works.

See it on the globe →All of Nov 8's stories