Ursula von der Leyen elected European Commission president
Source: Politico-Europe
Center-right nominee becomes first woman to lead EU.
By MAÏA DE LA BAUME AND DAVID M. HERSZENHORN 7/16/19, 7:39 PM CET Updated 7/16/19, 7:42 PM CET
STRASBOURG — The European Parliament on Tuesday elected Ursula von der Leyen as president of the European Commission — the first woman to hold the EU's top executive job.
Von der Leyen, the candidate of the center-right European People's Party and a close ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel, will be the first German to lead the bloc in more than a half-century, since Walter Hallstein served from 1958 to 1967.
Von der Leyen won 383 votes in a secret ballot, only a little above the absolute majority of 374 she required to be elected. She had the declared backing of the three mainstream, pro-EU groups — the center-right European People's Party, the Progressive Alliance of Socialists & Democrats, and the centrist-liberal Renew Europe group.
The Greens group, as well as right-wing and left-wing groups, had previously announced their intention to vote against her.
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Read more: https://www.politico.eu/article/ursula-von-der-leyen-elected-european-commission-president/