Gazprom said it had proposed Schroeder, who was Germany's chancellor during the early years of Vladimir Putin's presidency in Russia, as one of 11 candidates to be appointed at its annual shareholder meeting on June 30, 2022.

Schroeder is also a board member at Russia's top oil producer Rosneft and head of the shareholders' committee of Nord Stream, the Gazprom-controlled pipeline bringing gas from Russia to Germany.

(Reporting by Zuzanna Szymanska; Editing by Mark Porter)