`Brother' Johannes Rau is elected German President after second count

Mr Johannes Rau, a veteran Social Democrat and son of a Lutheran pastor, was yesterday elected Germany's eighth post-war president, with a promise to represent all the country's inhabitants, Germans and non-Germans alike.

The vote, by 1,338 public representatives in the newly-restored Reichstag, came on the 50th anniversary of the Federal Republic of Germany. Mr Rau failed to win an overall majority on the first count but was elected on a second after some members of the Liberal Free Democrats (FDP) switched sides.

Mr Rau promised to be a leader "over all borders and all differences, the President of all Germans". But he made it clear that he included within his constituency "all people who live and work among us without a German passport".

The electoral college, comprising members of the Bundestag and the Bundesrat, had to choose between Mr Rau and two women candidates nominated by the opposition Christian Democrats (CDU) and the ex-communist Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS).

Mr Rau was the candidate of the Chancellor, Mr Gerhard Schroder, and his centre-left government of Social Democrats and Greens.

His tally in the second count gave him an absolute majority of 690 votes, compared with the 657, 13 short of the 670 absolute majority threshold, he received in the first round.

The governing coalition had only 661 members in the convention, nine short of a majority. The Greens agreed to back the Social Democrat on condition that one of Germany's new EU commissioners would be a member of the environmentalist party.

The Chancellor was among the first to congratulate Mr Rau, who is only the second Social Democrat to occupy Germany's highest public office.

Mr Rau's victory was never in doubt, although the CDU candidate, Ms Dagmar Schipanski, argued persuasively that, as a woman from the east of Germany, she was the more adventurous choice.

Yesterday's election fulfils a lifelong dream for Mr Rau, the prime minister of Germany's most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia, for more than 20 years, who lost to President Roman Herzog in the last presidency election in 1994. He has long been one of Germany's most popular politicians.

Dubbed "Brother Johannes" on account of his religious fervour and his non-confrontational approach to politics, Mr Rau challenged Dr Helmut Kohl un successfully for the chancellorship in 1987. He threatened to withdraw during that campaign after members of his own Social Democrats complained that his attacks on Dr Kohl were not sufficiently vigorous.

His political motto "Reconciliation instead of division" should suit the German presidency which is, like its Irish equivalent, a mainly ceremonial rather than political office.

At 68, Mr Rau is five years older than his predecessor but he has brushed aside concerns about his health and insists his age represents no impediment to fulfilling his duties for the next five years. He takes office on July 1st and in his short acceptance speech yesterday he expressed the hope that the Kosovo conflict will have been resolved peacefully by then.