Joachim Gauck, a pastor and former East German rights activist, has been proposed by the opposition Social Democrats and Greens after former president Wulff resigned over corruption allegations. Mr Gauck who was opposed Mrs Merkel for presidency in 2010, is now backed by her. "Let's not forget that we have churchmen like Gauck to thank for the success of East Germany's peaceful revolution," she said at a news conference in the Chancellery after a meeting with representatives from her centre-right government and the opposition. "This man can provide an important impetus for the challenges of our time and the future," she added. Mr Gauck is well known for his work as a dissident in East Germany and for running the archives on the Stasi secret police after the Berlin Wall came down, exposing its crimes. In Germany, the president's role is largely ceremonial but influential in terms of a moral authority he plays for the nation.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17092633
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