1979 West German presidential election

1979 West German presidential election

← 1974 23 May 1979 1984 →

Nominee Karl Carstens Annemarie Renger Party CDU SPD Electoral vote 528 431

President before election Walter Scheel FDP Elected President Karl Carstens CDU

An indirect presidential election (officially the 7th Federal Convention) was held in West Germany on 23 May 1979. Deeming his reelection to be unlikely, incumbent Walter Scheel elected not to seek a second term. The two candidates to replace him were the president of the Bundestag, Karl Carstens, nominated by the Christian Democratic Union, and Carstens' immediate predecessor, Annemarie Renger, nominated by the Social Democratic Party. Carstens won the election on the first ballot.