Olaf Scholz has been elected as the new German chancellor.
Olaf Scholz will take over from Angela Merkel after securing a majority of 395 of 736 votes needed in a parliamentary vote. He is the former mayor of Hamburg and was the finance minister in Merkel’s final term.
Scholz will oversee the coalition government between his Social Democratic party (SPD), the Greens and the liberal Free Democratic party (FDP).
It is the first time since 1957 that three parties are working together as a coalition.
The signing in of Scholz marked the final day of Angela Merkel’s time as the leader of Germany. In total, she spent 5,860th days as leader of Germany. She fell short of the record set by her late former mentor Helmut Kohl by a mere ten days.
Germany’s new head of government is expected to make his first trip abroad as soon as Friday, when he will also attend the “summit for democracy” hosted by the US president, Joe Biden.
