New Minister-President Elected in Lower Saxony, Germany
Hannover, Germany – Olaf Lies, a member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), has been elected as the new Minister-President of the German state of Lower Saxony. On Tuesday, he received 80 of the 143 valid votes in the state parliament in Hannover.
The SPD and the Green Party hold a majority in the state parliament with 81 seats, requiring 74 votes to elect the new head of government. Lies will succeed Stephan Weil, who announced his resignation nearly two years before the end of his term in office.
Weil, a member of the SPD, has been the Minister-President of Lower Saxony since 2013, citing a lack of energy as the reason for his departure. His successor, Olaf Lies, was previously the state’s Minister of Economics. Grant Hendrik Tonne, also a member of the SPD, has been appointed as the new Minister of Economics and Lies has announced plans to disband the European Affairs Ministry and integrate its responsibilities into the State Chancellery.