Ursula von der Leyen has been re-elected as President of the European Commission after a secret ballot among members of the European Parliament.
She received the backing of 401 members of the European Parliament in a vote in Strasbourg on Thursday – 41 more than she needed.
Ms von der Leyen, from the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), was first elected in 2019.
She will continue to serve another five years as EU leader.
“You can imagine this is a very emotional and special moment for me,” she said after the vote, hailing the result as a sign of strong confidence.
In a speech to European MEPs early on Thursday, von der Leyen said she would support European defence by increasing military spending and committing to climate targets.
She also spoke out against what she called “agitators and extremists” who were “destroying our European way of life” and promised to work with “all democratic forces” in parliament.
“The past five years have shown what we can do together. Let’s do it again. Let’s choose strength,” she said.
Ms von der Leyen’s nomination was approved at a summit of EU leaders last month, although not everyone supported her.
Ahead of the vote, she succeeded in gaining the support of her centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), the Socialists & Democrats, the Liberal Renew Party and the Greens, although not all of their members voted for her.
She was opposed by 284 MEPs. Far-right groups, including the largest and newly formed Patriots for Europe, have been strongly opposed to her being given a second term.
European leaders immediately praised her re-election, with Germany’s Olaf Scholz saying it was “a clear sign of our ability to act in the European Union, especially in difficult times”.
The other two key EU posts will be filled by António Costa, a former Socialist prime minister in Portugal who will head the European Council, representing the 27 EU governments; and Estonia’s Kaja Kallas, who stepped down as prime minister to become the EU’s foreign affairs chief.
