Germany's Ursula von der Leyen has been elected as the European Commission's first female president
Her nomination was approved by 383 votes in a secret ballot on Tuesday evening at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France. There were 327 votes against her and 22 abstentions. After being elected by a narrow margin of just nine votes over the required 374, von der Leyen called for a"united and strong Europe."The 60-year-old outgoing German defense minister and multilingual mother of seven will succeed Jean-Claude Juncker, who has served as president since 2014.
Some see that as a 'catastrophic sign'Von der Leyen is a long-time ally to German Chancellor Angela Merkel. She is the only minister to have served in Merkel's cabinet since she came to power back in 2005. Her nomination to replace Juncker was unexpected since von der Leyen wasn't even a candidate. Some have described her nomination as a backroom deal in Brussels.
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