BRUSSELS – The European Parliament on Tuesday elected conservative politician Roberta Metsola from Malta as its new president, succeeding David Sassoli who died of illness last week.

Members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg elected their new leader in the first ballot with 458 out of 616 valid votes.

The 43-year-old Metsola is the youngest president of the European Parliament in the institution’s history and the third woman to chair it.

Metsola, who studied European law, has been a member of the European Parliament since 2013 and has been first vice president since November 2020.

She made a name for herself as an advocate of the rule of law and a fighter against corruption.