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Ursula von der Leyen

Ursula von der Leyen is Germany's first woman defence minister

Von der Leyen, who defied Merkel as labour minister, switches roles

AFP

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has named Ursula von der Leyen as her new defence minister, a surprising choice that could vault the ambitious ally into the lead as the front runner to one day succeed the chancellor.

Merkel, 59, will begin her third term today - three months after winning the September 22 election - after her junior coalition partners, the Social Democrats, voted on Saturday to join her in a "grand coalition".

Even though Merkel has an aversion to the unexpected, she surprised government watchers in picking von der Leyen to be the country's first woman to lead defence, one of the top jobs in her cabinet with a €33 billion (HK$351.86 billion) budget.

"Those who know her know that she has always had an interest in international issues alongside social policies," Merkel said during a news conference. "It's an exciting job filled with challenges that I'm confident she'll master very well."

Merkel has no designated successor and has denied speculation she would step down midway through her next term. But the remarkable turn of events will revive all that if the 55-year-old von der Leyen is successful as Germany's defence minister.

Von der Leyen is a controversial figure in the conservative wing of Merkel's Christian Democrats, in part for openly defying the chancellor on women's rights as labour minister in a riveting battle that erupted five months before the election.

She forced Merkel to make concessions in her opposition to binding quotas for women on company boards by threatening to back an opposition bill.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Germany picks first woman to run defence
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