EU Leaders Tap Germany’s Von Der Leyen as Commission Chief
- European leaders met over three days to decide on top jobs
- Von der Leyen will be first German to hold top job since 1967
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Ursula von der Leyen, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s defense minister and fellow conservative party member, was nominated by European Union leaders to become the bloc’s next chief executive after a brutal final round to weeks of horsetrading.
The Council will also propose IMF chief Christine Lagarde to head the European Central Bank and Charles Michel as president of the European Council. Spain’s Josep Borrell Fontelles will be foreign policy chief. Lagarde said in a tweet she would “temporarily relinquish her responsibilities as IMF Managing Director during the nomination process.”