New German Cabinet to have 9 men, 8 women

The new German Cabinet is set to have nine men and eight women after Olaf Scholz, - the Social Democrat (SPD) politician on course to be Angela Merkel's successor as chancellor - named his party's seven ministers on Monday, reported dpa.

Scholz put forward four women and three men for the SPD. Earlier, the pro-business FDP had named three men and one woman, while the Greens have put up three women and two men.

The Cabinet will thus contain eight women and eight men with ministerial portfolios, while Scholz at its head shifts the balance marginally in favour of the men.

Long before the September elections, the SPD leader had said he would aim for parity between men and women in a future Cabinet.

"A Cabinet led by me as chancellor will be made up of at least half women," Scholz tweeted a year ago.