July 2, 2019

Two women have won the backing of the EU’s leaders to head the European commission and European Central Bank, breaking with more than 60 years of male dominance at the top of the bloc’s institutions.

After three days of tortuous negotiations, Germany’s defence minister, Ursula von der Leyen, received the support of heads of state and government to replace Jean-Claude Juncker as president of the commission in Brussels. And the French managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, will move to Frankfurt to take over from Mario Draghi as the first female president of the ECB once it is formally signed off by the Eurozone group.

Von der Leyen, 60, who speaks fluent English and French and studied at the London School of Economics before taking a medical degree, is now the European commission president designate. She will only formally become the first female head of the EU’s executive branch if she wins the support of a majority of MEPs.

Read more:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/02/women-to-head-top-eu-institutions-for-first-time