Olaf Scholz said goodbye to his predecessor at the chancellery, thanking her for her commitment to the role
Olaf Scholz has been been sworn in as Germany’s new chancellor, formally taking power after Angela Merkel’s historic 16 years as leader.
He promised he would do all he could to work towards a new start for Germany.
As she left the chancellery in Berlin, ending a 31-year political career, Mrs Merkel told her former vice-chancellor to approach the task “with joy”.
His centre-left Social Democrats will govern alongside the Greens and the business-friendly Free Democrats.
Mr Scholz, a soft-spoken 63-year-old, steered the Social Democrats to election victory in late September, positioning himself as the continuity candidate because he played a key role in the Merkel government as vice-chancellor.
The German parliament, the Bundestag, backed him as chancellor by 395 votes to 303, and he was then formally appointed as the ninth federal chancellor by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. (BBC)
