Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced on Monday that he will propose a woman from the political center as the successor to President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Speaking at a closed-door conference of CDU district chairpersons in Berlin, Merz said he would propose "a joint candidate, a candidate of the political center" and that he was "fixed on the question that it must be a woman."

Steinmeier's term ends in March 2027, and the Federal Assembly will elect his successor on January 30. In the history of the Federal Republic, only men have served as president; Steinmeier is the 12th.

The CSU has put forward Bavarian Landtag President Ilse Aigner, who has received support from SPD and Green politicians. From the CDU, names circulating include Bundestag President Julia Klöckner, Education Minister Karin Prien, former party leader and Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, and Hessian faction leader Ines Claus.

Male candidates previously discussed, including Hesse's Minister-President Boris Rhein and Constitutional Court President Stephan Harbarth, are now considered to have no chance. The Union and SPD hold a majority of about 50 votes in the Federal Assembly, which comprises 630 Bundestag members and an equal number of state electors.

Merz said he wants to involve the Greens in the candidate search. He stressed that the CDU, as the strongest force in the Federal Assembly, holds the right of proposal. A preliminary decision could come at a meeting of CDU committees next Monday.

Before then, he plans talks with CDU state leaders and the CSU, followed by discussions with the SPD and the Greens, aiming for a joint Union proposal coordinated with the SPD.

At the Berlin conference, which was extended from two to three hours, the presidential succession was only a side issue for many district chairs. Some expressed sympathy for Aigner: Dresden district chair Ingo Flemming said he would support that proposal, while Oldenburg-Land district chair Bastian Ernst called Aigner "a very suitable federal president in every respect."

Merz had held back for months in the succession debate, though he expressed sympathy for a female candidate as early as August 2025. He said then that it would be good to elect a woman president for the first time in 2027.