Berlin Elects a New Mayor

Franziska Giffey of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) has taken residence in the mayoral office of Berlin, Die Welt reports.  

The 43-year-old was elected with 84 votes in favor (out of 139) in the House of Representatives, making her the first woman appointed to the highest office of Berlin politics. Several MPs were missing from the secret vote on Tuesday. A total of 139 votes were cast, one of which was invalid.

She succeeds Michael Müller (SPD), who has moved on to the Bundestag, Germany’s national parliament. 

After the election, the former Federal Family Minister was sworn in. She took her oath on the constitution in the House of Representatives, concluding with “I swear it, so help me God.”

Her leftist coalition, composed of three parties, now has a majority of 92 out of 147 parliamentary seats. The SPD will have four senators in the new state government, while the Greens and the Left have three each.