Germany's former foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier was elected as the country's next president on Sunday. Steinmeier, a Social Democrat who had served as foreign minister until last month, won 931 of the 1,239 valid votes by lawmakers of Germany's 16 federal states, becoming the 12th person to hold the largely ceremonial post in Germany's post-war era.
He will succeed current president Joachim Gauck, a 77-year-old former pastor and pro-democracy activist from east Germany, when he steps down on March 18 .... http://www.zerohedge.com
