Greece elects first woman president

ATHENS: Greece´s parliament on Wednesday elected the first woman president in the country´s history, a senior judge with no party-political allegiance.

A cross-party majority of 261 of the 294 MPs present at the session voted in favour of 63-year-old Ekaterini Sakellaropoulou, parliament chief Costas Tassoulas said. "Ekaterini Sakellaropoulou has been elected president of the republic," Tassoulas said.

"This is a very important day for the Greek republic," said Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who nominated her for the post.

"Parliament has elected a remarkable jurist, a consensus figure who symbolises the transition to a new era." The new EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed. Tweeting her congratulations to Sakellaropoulou, she added: "Greece is moving ahead into a new era of equality."

Sakellaropoulou herself set out her priorities to assembled journalists shortly after the vote: the economic crisis, climate change and mass migration, all of which required international cooperation.

The new president, until now the head of Greece´s administrative court, the Council of State, will be sworn in on March 13, taking over from Prokopis Pavlopoulos.