Berlin ( CNN ) -- Germany swore in a new president Sunday , with former pastor Joachim Gauck replacing Christian Wulff , who resigned last month in the face of scandals . Wulff announced his resignation February 17 after he was accused of financial impropriety and doing political favors for associates while he was state premier of Lower Saxony . A day before Wulff resigned , prosecutors in Hanover called for the government to waive his immunity from prosecution , in light of the evidence it had gathered . They cited `` extensive analyses of new documents and the evaluation of further media reports '' as `` grounds for initial suspicion of receiving bribes or being granted advantages . '' Wulff has always maintained that he did nothing wrong throughout the course of the scandals -- something he reiterated during his resignation speech . `` I have always behaved legally correctly in the offices I held , '' he said . `` I have made mistakes , but I was always honest . '' The German presidency is a largely ceremonial office , but Wulff 's resignation was seen as a blow to Chancellor Angela Merkel , who supported his candidacy as president . However , it is unlikely to impact Germany 's handling of the eurozone debt crisis , Carsten Brzeski , a senior economist at ING , told CNN . Jose Manuel Barroso , the president of the European Commission , congratulated Gauck on his election and quoted the German author Goethe , saying : `` Freedom and life are earned by those alone who conquer them each day anew . '' Merkel has not had involvement in any of the scandals around Wulff . But Wulff 's departure comes within two years of the resignation of his predecessor , Horst Koehler , who was also backed by Merkel -- which raises a question mark over her judgment , Brzeski said . Merkel consulted with the Social Democrats and the Greens on finding a replacement for Wulff . That 's a break from her earlier stance in 2010 , when she insisted on Wulff as successor to Koehler , who resigned following controversial comments in which he suggested military deployments were vital to Germany 's economic success . Gauck becomes the 11th president of the Federal Republic of Germany . CNN 's Christopher Cottrell , Laura Smith-Spark and Kendra Wates contributed to this report .
Joachim Gauck replaces Christian Wulff , who resigned last month . Wulff is accused of financial impropriety and doing political favors . He says he is innocent . Score: 6