Federal Convention re-elects Steinmeier as German president in 2022

On 13 February 2022, the Federal Convention (Bundesversammlung), a body convened only to elect the head of state, re-elected Frank-Walter Steinmeier as Germany's Federal President. It meets in Berlin and consists of the members of the Bundestag, the federal parliament, plus an equal number of delegates chosen by the 16 state parliaments.

Steinmeier, a Social Democrat and former foreign minister, had first been elected in 2017. He won the 2022 vote in the first round with a clear majority. His re-election was backed by the parties of the governing coalition of Social Democrats, Greens and liberal Free Democrats, as well as by the conservative CDU/CSU. He stood as a non-partisan figure above party politics.

The office is largely ceremonial, but the president signs laws, represents Germany abroad and can act as a moral voice in public debate. Steinmeier's second five-year term ends in March 2027, which is why parties have begun discussing who should succeed him, the context for the current nomination debate.