The 69-year-old conservative leader was approved in a second round of voting in the Bundestag lower house of parliament on Tuesday, after an unprecedented defeat on the first attempt, the Reuters news agency reported.
Merz eventually secured 325 votes from lawmakers—nine more than the absolute majority required. He had received just 310 votes in the first round, suggesting that at least 18 coalition lawmakers initially withheld support, according to Reuters.
After the vote, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier formally nominated Merz at Bellevue Palace. Merz then returned to the Bundestag, where he took the oath of office, becoming Germany’s 10th chancellor since World War II.
Merz's conservative alliance of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Christian Social Union (CSU) won a parliamentary election in February. It then signed a coalition deal with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) to take over the reins of government.
Merz has announced that his first foreign visits as chancellor will be to Paris and Warsaw.
In the Polish capital, he is expected to meet with Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Wednesday.
Tusk congratulated Merz on his appointment, writing: "And see you tomorrow in Warsaw, Chancellor."
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Source: IAR, PAP, Reuters