Germany's acting Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said on Thursday he would not be a member of the new government under conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel who will lead a coalition with his Social Democrats (SPD).
As part of the coalition deal, it has been agreed that the SPD will choose who will be new foreign minister and the party has said it will announce its decision on Friday morning.
Gabriel, a former leader of the SPD, said on his Facebook page that he had been informed by the party's new leaders, Olaf Scholz and Andrea Nahles, that he would not be part of the new government. "(Serving my party) has been a big honour for which I am deeply grateful," he said.
