Berlin — Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the former German foreign minister who was a vocal critic of Donald Trump during the US campaign, was elected as the country’s 12th postwar president. The Social Democrat, who served two stints as foreign minister under Chancellor Angela Merkel, emerged as her governing coalition’s candidate last November as the parties sought to avoid a political spat over the appointment in an election year. With the support of Merkel’s Christian Democratic-led bloc and the Social Democrats in a special assembly on Sunday, Steinmeier was elected in the first round to the mostly ceremonial post. While Merkel steered clear of sharing her views on Trump before his election as president, her top diplomat vociferously derided what he saw as a campaign that broke taboos and threatened trans-Atlantic bonds. At one point, Steinmeier called Trump a "hate preacher". As head of state, Steinmeier will be Trump’s counterpart according to protocol, even if the German presidency...
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