Berlin-Sana
The German parliament (Bundestag) today elected Olaf Schulz, a politician from the Social Democratic Party, as the ninth chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, to succeed the long era of former Chancellor Angela Merkel's 16-year term in office.
German media quoted Bundestag President Barbel Bass as saying that Schulz, who served as Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister in Merkel's outgoing government, had obtained a clear majority of 395 votes from lawmakers in parliament.
Officially appointed by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Schulz will be sworn in before the deputies, and in the afternoon Merkel will hand over the chancellery to the new leader.
Schultz will lead an unprecedented tripartite government coalition between the Social Democrats, the Green Party and the Liberal Democrats in a political alliance that was previously unimaginable.