Minister President of Lower Saxony the CDU nomination for President in 1979 and Chancellor in 1980, Gerhard Schröder became Chancellor of Germany in 1998, his successor Sigmar Gabriel is the current SPD chairman and Christian Wulff was elected President of Germany in 2010. Examples of Lower Saxony's influence on policy debates in federal politics include Ernst Albrecht's advocacy of financial transfers from other states and Gerhard Schröder's usage of Lower Saxony's "Bundesrat" votes in matters of fiscal and tax policy. Political Party: Minister President of Lower Saxony The Minister President of Lower Saxony (), also referred to as Premier or Prime Minister, is the head
President of East Germany pardon on behalf of the Republic. In this function he was advised by a committee of the "Volkskammer". Whenever the President of the Republic is unable to attend to his office, he is represented by the President of the "Volkskammer". If such incapacity is expected to continue for a protracted period, a substitute will be appointed by (a specific) law. Whenever the presidency is terminated prematurely, the same rule applies until the election of a new President. President Pieck was already at an advanced age when elected and did not play a major role in the dominant state party, SED