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Hanover (dpa) - The church parliament of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) has elected the 25-year-old theology student Anna-Nicole Heinrich as the new president.
Heinrich was elected on Saturday at the digitally organized spring meeting of the Synod to succeed the FDP politician Irmgard Schwaetzer (79), who had held the top position since November 2013.
In her introductory speech, Heinrich campaigned for a “hopeful, integrating, pragmatic church”.
Despite austerity measures, remodeling and dismantling in the church, confidence and a new beginning in faith are necessary.
The EKD council chairman, the Munich bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, assessed the election of Heinrich as "a very strong sign".
Heinrich, who studies in Regensburg, won the election with a clear majority against the judge and Green politician Nadine Bernshausen (41) from Marburg.
In the election, digitally organized from the EKD headquarters in Hanover, 75 synodals voted for Heinrich and 39 for Bernshausen.
There were eleven abstentions and one invalid vote.
The praeses is the chairperson of the church parliament, the synod.
This is one of the governing bodies of the EKD, which acts as the umbrella organization of the 20 regional churches with a total of 21.1 million Protestant Christians and around 13,500 parishes.
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Conference of the Synod of the EKD