A far-reaching majority of lawmakers elected former East German pro-democracy activist Joachim Gauck as Germany’s new president.
The 72-year-old Gauck, who enjoyed the backing of most major parties, received 991 of the 1,232 ballots cast, parliamentary speaker Norbert Lammert said. The ex-communist Left Party’s candidate Beate Klarsfeld secured 126 votes, the far right NPD Party’s candidate Olaf Rose only three, and there were 108 abstentions.