Ursula von der Leyen has been re-elected as President of the European Commission following a secret vote among MEPs.
She won the support of 401 MEPs in a vote in Strasbourg on Thursday, 41 more than she needed.
Ms von der Leyen, of the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), was first elected in 2019.
She will now remain at the head of the EU for five more years.
“You can imagine it’s a very emotional and special moment for me,” she said after the vote, hailing the result as a sign of strong confidence.
In a speech to MEPs earlier on Thursday, von der Leyen said she would defend European defence with increased military spending and pledged to stick to climate targets.
She also spoke out against what she called “demagogues and extremists” who are “destroying our European way of life” and promised to work with “all democratic forces” in Parliament.
“The last five years have shown what we can do together. Let’s do it again. Let’s choose strength,” she said.
Ms von der Leyen’s nomination was approved at a summit of EU leaders last month, although not all supported her.
Before the vote, she managed to win the support of her own centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), the Socialists & Democrats, the liberal Renew party and the Greens, although not all of their members voted for her.
284 MPs opposed her candidacy. Far-right groups, including the largest and recently formed Patriots for Europe, fiercely opposed her getting a second term.
European leaders immediately welcomed his re-election, with German President Olaf Scholz saying it was a “clear sign of our ability to act within the European Union, especially in difficult times.”
The other two top EU posts will be held by António Costa, Portugal’s former socialist prime minister, who will head the European Council, which represents the EU’s 27 governments, and Estonian Kaja Kallas, who resigned as prime minister to become EU foreign affairs chief.
