Senior SPD and Green politicians call for Germany’s next federal president to be a woman.

Senior politicians from Germany’s center-left Social Democratic Party, or SPD, and the Greens argue that the country should elect its first female federal president in 2027. SPD deputy leader Alexander Schweitzer has said that the time is right for a woman to hold the country’s highest constitutional office.

Senior female Green politicians have expressed the same position. Germany’s federal president is the country’s largely ceremonial head of state.

The chancellor, not the president, leads the government. The president is not elected directly by voters but by the Federal Convention, a special assembly made up of all members of the Bundestag and an equal number of delegates selected by Germany’s state parliaments.

Current President Frank-Walter Steinmeier cannot seek another term after serving the constitutional maximum of two terms. The SPD and the Greens have not yet named a joint candidate.

Notably, the debate has so far focused primarily on the next president’s gender. The professional and political experience, personal integrity, and ability to represent Germany’s diverse population that a candidate should bring have been discussed much less concretely.

The call for a woman is clearly documented. However, the phrase “insist on” could create the misleading impression that both parties have already made a binding and fully unified decision.