Ursula von der Leyen Elected First Female European Commission President

German politician Ursula von der Leyen has been elected as the European Commission's first female president.

She was confirmed by a margin of 383 votes to 327. She needed the backing of 374 out of 747 MEPs to win.

A total of 751 MEPs were elected in May, but four were absent for Tuesday's vote.

Ursula von der Leyen will be tasked with leading the EU's executive body and providing political guidance to the Commission, which proposes new laws, manages the EU budget and is responsible for enforcing EU law.

President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili, congratulated Ursula von der Leyen on her election as EU Commission President.

“A sincere and warm congratulations to Vonderleyen, the President-elect of the EU Commission. Georgia sees in you the Europe we all need. I look forward to our working relationship in the near future,” Salome Zurabishvili has tweeted.

Prime Minister of Georgia Mamuka Bakhtadze has also congratulated Ursula von der Leyen on her election as the EU Commission President.

“My most sincere congratulations to @vonderleyen on her election as first female President of the European Commission! Look forward to working closely together to further advance & strengthen #Georgia-#EU ties and achieve greater goals in our relations!” PM Bakhtadze has tweeted.

Ursula von der Leyen had served as Minister of Defence of Germany from 2013 to 2019. A member of the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she is the first woman to hold the office of German Defence Minister, and the first to become President of the European Commission.

 By Ana Dumbadze