Green veteran Özdemir becomes first German premier of Turkish heritage

Cem Özdemir became Germany's first state premier of Turkish heritage on Wednesday after leading his Greens to a narrow election victory in the south-western state of Baden-Württemberg earlier this year.

The 60-year-old politician staged a late comeback to defeat Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) in a closely watched vote in March, the first of five state elections across Germany this year.

The two parties have since forged a third successive coalition in the prosperous state, with Özdemir replacing the retiring Winfried Kretschmann as premier. 

Özdemir received 93 votes in the 157-seat state parliament in Stuttgart, with 26 voting against and four abstentions. 

The Greens built their electoral campaign heavily around Özdemir's personal profile. Posters prominently featured the candidate, often without the party's name, presenting him as pragmatic and known to voters in Baden-Württemberg.

Özdemir belongs to the party's more moderate "realist" wing and has taken more conservative positions than parts of the Greens' national leadership, for example on migration or the phase-out of combustion-engine cars.

In the election on March 8, the Greens became the largest party with 30.2% of the vote, closely followed by the CDU with 29.7%. In the new state parliament, however, each party holds 56 seats - an unusual deadlock.

After some tense negotiations, the parties were able to renew their partnership with a fresh coalition agreement including proposals such as a compulsory and free final year of kindergarten, a commitment to climate targets, and measures to make it easier to establish companies.