German Finance Minister Hans Eichel formally appointed Axel Weber president of Germany's Bundesbank on Friday. The Finance Ministry said in a faxed statement that Weber is now officially the president of the Bundesbank and will represent Germany on the 18-member rate-setting governing council of the European Central Bank. Weber, a member of the government's panel of economic advisers, replaces Ernst Welteke, who resigned earlier this month after being embroiled in a perks scandal for accepting favors from Dresdner Bank and BMW. Weber, 47, has been a professor for international economy at Cologne University since November 2001 and had previously held professorships at Frankfurt and Bonn.