And he vowed to stand up to the rising trend of populism and “all those who think that in a world which is becoming more difficult, the solutions must become simpler”…

With his snowy white hair, round glasses and dimpled smile, Steinmeier is one of Germany’s best-known politicians, having twice served as top diplomat under Merkel for a total of seven years.

Though the trained lawyer is usually measured in his speech, in the thick of last year’s US election campaign Steinmeier labelled Donald Trump a “hate preacher”.

The Berliner Morgenpost newspaper judged that Steinmeier looks set to be “the anti-Trump president” when he assumes the post on March 19.