Germans elect Horst Koehler as president

Koehler, nominated by opposition conservatives, defeated Gesine Schwan, a university professor backed by Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's government who sought to become Germany's first female head of state.

Koehler, a 61-year-old finance expert, won by a vote of 604-589 in balloting by a special assembly of lawmakers and state delegates in Berlin's Reichstag parliament building.

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He replaces Johannes Rau, a member of Schroeder's Social Democrats who is stepping down after a single five-year term. Rau made history in 2000 as the first German to give a speech in the Israeli parliament.