EU leaders have put forward their nominations for the bloc’s top jobs, with a woman for the first time proposed as European Commission chief.
The surprise choice of German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen to replace Jean-Claude Juncker came after the main front-runners were rejected.
IMF Chief, Christine Lagarde has been nominated as the first woman to head the European Central Bank (ECB).
The announcement follows days of difficult negotiations.
In all, EU leaders were tasked with nominating five people for the top jobs.
Belgian liberal Prime Minister Charles Michel is nominated to replace European Council President Donald Tusk while Spain’s Josep Borrell is proposed as foreign policy chief.
The fifth key role – president of the European Parliament – is to be chosen on Wednesday. Possible candidates include German centre-right MEP Manfred Weber and Bulgarian socialist Sergei Stanishev.
Most of the roles must be ratified by parliament.
Born in Brussels, Mrs. von der Leyen, 60, and her family moved to Germany when she was 13. She studied economics at London’s LSE and medicine in Hanover before going into politics.
She has been a member of Mrs. Merkel’s conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) since 2005.
If Mrs. von der Leyen is confirmed in the role it would be the first time in more than 60 years that a German has been given the post.
Source:BBC News
