Germany's Ursula von der Leyen elected first female European Commission President

German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen has won the vote to become the next president of the European Commission, and will be the first woman to hold the post.

Her nomination was approved by 383 votes in a secret ballot on Tuesday evening at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France.

There were 327 votes against her and 22 abstentions. After being elected by a narrow margin of just nine votes over the required 374, von der Leyen called for a "united and strong Europe."

Briefly addressing the European Parliament after her victory, Ms von der Leyen said she was "overwhelmed" and she thanked MEPs for the trust that they have placed in her.

She said her work starts now and her message "let us work together constructively because the endeavour is a united, a strong Europe."

The 60-year-old outgoing German defense minister and multilingual mother of seven will succeed Jean-Claude Juncker, who has served as president since 2014.

She is now tasked with leading the EU's executive body and providing political guidance to the Commission, which proposes new laws, manages the EU budget and is responsible for enforcing EU law.

Von der Leyen is a long-time ally to German Chancellor Angela Merkel. She is the only minister to have served in Merkel's cabinet since she came to power back in 2005.