David-Maria Sassoli is new European Parliament prez

The new president secured an absolute majority by obtaining 345 of the 667 votes. He would lead the Strasbourg-based European Parliament for the next 2.5 years.

Strasbourg: The European Parliament elected Italian socialist David-Maria Sassoli as the new president. He got 325 votes in the first round of voting, seven shy of an absolute majority.

Sassoli secured an absolute majority by obtaining 345 of the 667 votes in the second round.

The new president would lead the Strasbourg-based European Parliament for the next 2.5 years.

On Tuesday, EU leaders nominated Germany's Ursula von der Leyen to become president of the executive Commission.

Born in Florence in 1956, Sassoli graduated in political science at the University of Florence before becoming a celebrated journalist in Il Giorno.

It was only in 2009, Sassoli left his journalistic career to enter in politics becoming a member of the centre-left Democratic Party (PD). From 2009 to 2014, he served as PD's leader in the Parliament.