The first Muslim woman in Germany has been elected as the speaker of a state parliament in what she described as a “historic” step for the country.
Green Party politician, Muhterem Aras, took the post in Baden-Württemberg from a member of a popular right-wing party on Wednesday.
“We wrote history today,” she said after winning with a significant majority.
Ms Aras, 50, said her victory sent a message of “openness, tolerance and successful integration”, The Local reported.
Born in Turkey, she moved to a town near Stuttgart with her parents as a child and studied economics before founding her own tax advice firm.
Her political career started in 1992, standing for the Green Party on the local council and rising through the local party to become its local leader, and enter the Baden-Württemberg state parliament.
She was elected as “Landtagspräsident” by 96 local MPs, becoming the first Muslim woman to take the office.
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Members of the anti-immigration party Alternative for Germany (AfD) refused to join the applause during Ms Aras’ first session as speaker, the Süddeutsche Zeitung reported.
Earlier this month, the AfD enjoyed record success in local elections on a manifesto that claimed Islam was not compatible with the country’s constitution and called for a ban on minarets and the niqab.
