News In Brief
| Bonn
Former mayor of Berlin named German President
Former Berlin Mayor Richard von Weizsacker was elected West Germany's sixth President Wednesday by a strong majority of the Federal Convention, which picks a head of state every five years.
Baron Weizsacker, a member of Chancellor Helmut Kohl's Christian Democratic Union party, won overwhelming support among the four established parties for the largely ceremonial post. He follows outgoing President Karl Carstens, another Christian Democrat, who announced earlier this year that he would not run for a second term.
Weizsacker, a former Protestant church leader and parliamentary deputy, is a liberal and a firm supporter of East-West detente. He will assume the presidency July 1.
