Maltese MEP Roberta Metsola has been elected (EPP) as President of the European Parliament. She is the first MEP from Malta and the third woman in history to hold this position. The election comes more than a week after the death of her predecessor David Sassoli.
Metsola was elected by a large majority in the first round and will preside over the second half of this parliamentary term. Metsola, 43, has been a member of the European Parliament since 2013 for the right-wing Maltese Nationalist Party. She was elected first Vice-President in November 2020 and was Acting Speaker of Parliament following the death of President Sassoli on 11 January.
Metsola is the third female European Parliament president in the history, after the French Simone Veil (1979-1982) and Nicole Fontaine (1999-2002). The term of a parliament speaker, who is elected by the parliamentarians, is 2.5 years.
The new President of the European Parliament quoted former German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer. He said: European unity was the dream of a few. It has become the hope of many. Today it is a necessity for all of us.' Metsola also belongs to the Christian Democratic European People's Party (EPP), which is one of the groups in the European Parliament.
There were several candidates for the presidency. Metsola was elected president in the first ballot with a large majority. The next president will be elected after the 2024 European elections.