Out German foreign minister and vice chancellor, Guido Westerwelle, will preside over the 2010 Gay Games opening ceremony in Cologne on July 31.
Westerwelle is the first openly gay person to hold either office and has agreed to become an “official patron” of Gay Games VIII, according to a press release.
“Guido Westerwelle has been the Chairman of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) since 2001, and previously was the party’s General Secretary,” said the release. “[In] October 2009 German Chancellor Angela Merkel named him the country’s foreign minister and Vice-Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, the first openly gay person to hold either office. “
More than 12,000 out athletes from 70 countries are expected to compete in the Gay Games in Cologne from July 31 through August 7.
