German president meets queen

2004-07-19 18:28

London - Germany's new president, Horst Koehler, arrived at Buckingham Palace on Monday for lunch with Queen Elizabeth in the latest leg of his tour through Europe.

Koehler, who was not scheduled to meet any British government officials during his one-day visit, took office as Germany's ninth postwar president on July 1.

Koehler's car, leading a six-vehicle convoy, drove through the main gates of the palace about 13:30. Several police officers stood outside the royal residence as about 100 tourists gathered nearby.

Koehler was expected to fly out of Britain straight after lunch, said Ludwig Linden of the German embassy.

Before the meeting, Buckingham Palace announced that the queen would make a state visit to Germany with her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, on November 2-4.

She last visited the Federal Republic in July 2000 to open the new British embassy in Berlin, the restored capital of reunited Germany, and made state visits to Germany in 1992, 1978 and 1965.

Expected to be outspoken

The queen also made an official visit to Berlin to mark the 750th anniversary of the city in May 1987.

Although Koehler's post is largely ceremonial, the conservative politician and former head of the International Monetary Fund is expected to be more outspoken in Germany than his predecessors.

He has praised unpopular reforms being carried out by German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in an effort to revive Europe's largest economy, which has been stagnant for about three years.

Relations are generally good between Germany and Britain, but the two countries disagreed over the United States-led Iraqi war.

Germany joined France in opposing the conflict, while Prime Minister Tony Blair was US President George W Bush's key ally during the war.

Koehler's stop in London follows official visits to Poland and France since he took office in Berlin.

- AP