Former German leader says a female president would be a good sign

Former German president Joachim Gauck said having a woman as head of state is long overdue in the nation.

It is "absolutely appropriate for a woman to hold the office for a very practical reason: When we see how many areas of public life are supported by women, a female federal president would simply send a logical signal," he told the Sunday edition of the conservative German daily Die Welt.

However, the former head of state also cautioned: "If the debate is reduced purely to a gender issue, that is indeed not good. It must, of course, remain possible for a man to hold the top position. What we need first and foremost is a compelling, unifying figure."

Gauck served as president of Germany from 2012 to 2017. A former Lutheran pastor, he came to prominence as an anti-communist civil rights campaigner in eastern Germany.

The next German head of state will be elected by the Federal Assembly on January 30 next year. Incumbent Frank-Walter Steinmeier is ineligible to run again after serving two terms.

Germans are currently debating whether the next president should come from one of the political parties, or whether it should be someone without close ties to the political establishment, as was the case with Gauck.

The governing coalition does not intend to decide whom it will nominate until the fall, after the state elections.