MOSCOW (Sputnik) – In February, Steinmeier, nominated by the ruling coalition, was supported by 931 members of the country's Federal Convention, which is a special body consisting of 630 members of the Bundestag and of the same number of representatives of Germany's states.
Christoph Butterwegge from the Alternative for Germany’s (AfD) party, who finished second, secured support of 128 voters.
Steinmeier, who served as the foreign minister in 2005-2009 and 2013-2017, will begin his term in office a day after expiration of the five-year presidential term of Joachim Gauck, who refused to run for the second term due to his age.
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