Frank-Walter Steinmeier- Re-elected German President

Highlights:

• Recently, a special parliamentary assembly re-elected German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier for a second term of five years.
• Steinmeier was endorsed for head of the state, ahead of the elections, by most mainstream political parties.
• He was elected with a big majority by a special assembly comprising of the members of lower house of parliament and representatives of 16 states of Germany.
• He became president in 2017. 
• Before that, he served two stints as foreign minister of Chancellor Angela Merkel and as chief of staff to Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.

• He is a member of Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), holding a doctorate in law. 
• He was formerly a career civil servant. 
• He belongs to the right wing of SPD, called as reformists and moderates. 
• He has been criticized for his lenient policies toward Russia & China and for prioritizing German business interests over human rights.