Hesse has a new prime minister.
The members of the state parliament in Wiesbaden elected Boris Rhein to succeed Volker Bouffier (both CDU) in the first ballot.
The 50-year-old received 74 of the 137 votes cast in the plenary session on Tuesday.
The CDU and Greens had previously cleared an important hurdle for the election: All members of the black-green government factions had arrived safely in the Hessian state parliament.
This was very important for Rhein's election, since the governing coalition of Christian Democrats and Greens in Hesse has a parliamentary majority of just one seat.
A quorum of 69 of the 137 votes was required for the vote.
Black-Green could afford neither dissenters nor sick people to vote for the Rhine on their own.
In the end, MPs from the opposition also voted for him.
Rhein was most recently President of the Hessian State Parliament.
His predecessor, Volker Bouffier, had led Hesse as Prime Minister since 2010 and had been the longest-serving Prime Minister in Germany since 2018.
Before the election, he announced his resignation in parliament in February.
Following Rhein's election, the successor at the head of parliament was to be settled.
The common candidate of the black-green coalition is the CDU MP Astrid Wallmann.
Rhein and his ministers will be sworn in in the afternoon.
According to reports, the 50-year-old politician will appoint a new justice minister.
In addition, the handover of the State Chancellery to Rhein and his first cabinet meeting are planned.