European Commission female president-elect vows to boost economy

German politician Ursula von der Leyen was elected by the European Parliament on Tuesday to become the first female president of the European Commission, but her narrow win signals a tough job ahead.

Von der Leyen got 383 of the 733 votes cast on Tuesday, only nine more than the required 374. There were 327 votes against her and 22 abstentions in the secret ballot. The result was lower than the 420 obtained in 2014 by Jean-Claude Juncker, who will step down on Oct 31.

"The trust you placed in me is confidence you placed in Europe," von der Leyen said after winning the vote.