BRUSSELS, (Reuters) – Roberta Metsola, a Maltese lawmaker, won overwhelming support Tuesday to be elected president of the European Parliament. This makes her the first female to hold this post for more than 20 years.

Metsola replaces David Sassoli, an Italian socialist who was killed in a car accident. He is now a ceremonial leader of the 705 member parliaments of the European Union.

Metsola (of the centre-right European People’s Party, EPP) defeated two women candidates. He won 458 of the 616 validly voted votes in the initial round. No run-off rounds, which is a standard practice for presidential elections, were not required.

After announcing the results, Pedro Silva Pereira stated that “Congratulations Roberta Metsola” and was indeed happy birthday. This caused a standing ovation within the Strasbourg chamber.

Metsola (43 years old) said Tuesday in a Twitter campaign message that it was now time for the assembly leader to be a woman. The Assembly should also connect beyond its “bubbles”, which are Brussels and Strasbourg.

Sassoli was due to resign this week under a power-sharing agreement, where parliament’s socialist group would take over halfway through the five-year-long term of the assembly for a candidate representing the EPP.

Since its 1979 incorporation as a direct elected assembly, the European Parliament adopts and modifies legislative proposals, and determines EU budget. It has been led by Simone Veil (French) and Nicole Fontaine (French).

Metsola is a European Parliament member since 2013. She was a student who campaigned for Malta’s membership in the EU.

Malta, a Mediterranean archipelago that has a population just above 500,000 people, was the EU’s youngest member state in 2004, when it joined the bloc.