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SIDEBAR: Wulff presidency forces change in Lower Saxony
Jun 30, 2010, 21:34 GMT
Berlin - The election of Christian Wulff to Germany's presidency on Wednesday forces a political reshuffle in his home state, Lower Saxony, where he had been state premier since 2003.
The state's ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has already anointed a replacement candidate, David McAllister, 39.
Lower Saxony, a largely rural region where the biggest industry is a giant Volkswagen car factory, is one of Germany's 16 states.
McAllister's election on Thursday is expected to be little more than a formality. The CDU and the state Free Democrats who are in coalition with the CDU have a safe majority in the state legislature.
Wulff sent his resignation from Berlin to the state capital Hanover just moments after a Federal Assembly appointed him Germany's head of state on Wednesday.
McAllister, who has a Scottish father and a German mother, will become the youngest-ever state premier in Germany.
The conservative, known locally as 'Mac', has long been seen as a premier-in-waiting in Lower Saxony. In Germany's federal system, state premiers wield considerable power and influence.
McAllister's father was stationed with the British Army in Berlin in the post-war era. The politician is proud of his ancestry, and wore a tartan kilt at his wedding. His two daughters are named Jamie and Mia.
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