Of the 1,425 valid votes, 1,045 were cast in favor of Steinmeier, with 86 faction members abstaining.
In his speech after his election, Steinmeier touched on the importance of protecting democracy and noted that Europe was now threatened by war. He held Russia responsible for the escalation of the situation.
In his 66 years, Steinmeier managed to serve as German Foreign Minister in the coalition government of the CDU/CSU and SPD, and was also Vice Chancellor. He participated in the Normandy format negotiations to resolve the conflict in Donbass, the so-called “Steinmeier formula,” one of the plans to implement the Minsk agreements, is named after him, and was elected president of Germany in 2017.
