2004 German presidential election
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An indirect presidential election (officially the 12th Federal Convention) was held in Germany on 23 May 2004.
The
The president is not elected directly by the voters but by a special Federal Convention (
The election date was set for 23 May in
Parties nominate candidates for the position, although the outcome of the election is very predictable because the members of the convention normally vote with strict party loyalty. As the majority of the opposition was not overwhelming (624 of 604 needed), "dissident" members could cause a surprise.
CDU/CSU and FDP nominated Horst Köhler, the head of the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C. Before that, he had been a senior official and was involved in negotiating both the German reunification treaty and the Maastricht Treaty on behalf of the German government. He is said to be rather modest but independently minded.
SPD and Greens had nominated
All eight preceding presidents had been men. Once in office, the President can be subsequently re-elected only once. The previous president Johannes Rau (SPD) cited personal reasons for his decision not to run for a second term and died in 2006.
Köhler won in the first voting round, receiving an immediate absolute majority of 604 (50.1%). Schwan won 589 votes, apparently attracting opposition voters.[3]
Round | Candidate | Votes | % | Party |
---|---|---|---|---|
First round | Horst Köhler | 604 | 50.1% | |
Gesine Schwan | 589 | 48.9% | SPD, The Greens
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References
- ^ "German Bundestag - Election of the Federal President". German Bundestag. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
- ^ "Article: Election of the Federal President". Der Bundespräsident. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
- ^ "Köhler Elected German President – DW – 05/24/2004". dw.com. Retrieved 2022-12-15.