German Chancellor Angela Merkel s centre-right party has elected a new leader to take over ahead of the national elections in September.
Armin Laschet, the pragmatic governor of North Rhine-Westphalia, was announced the winner at a virtual conference hosted by the Christian Democratic Union party on Saturday in Berlin.
The 59-year-old is a fervent Merkel loyalist and is seen as the continuity candidate ahead of the election which will see Germans deciding on their first new chancellor in 15 years.
Merkel, 66, the longest serving head of government in the EU, was first elected chancellor in 2005 and announced two years ago that she would be stepping down at the end of her term.
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