Germany - The German government, alongside two of its major opposition parties, will jointly nominate a former human rights activist as the president of the country.
Chancellor Angela Merkel released a statement on February 19th stating Joachim Gauck will be backed by the Social Democrat and Green parties.
Former President Christian Wulff resigned after being plagued for two months about allegations he received kickbacks from friends while he governed Lower Saxony.
Until a special assembly - which in this case is just a formality given the cross-party backing of Gauck - elects the President, Speaker of the Parliament Horst Seehofer is temporarily filling the position.
Merkel praised the backing, adding in her statement "Let's not forget that we have churchmen like Gauck to thank for the success of East Germany's peaceful revolution."
Gauck was one of several pastors who helped to bring an end to the split between East and West Germany, as well as preserve and expose the crimes of the East German secret police force.
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