The German state of Lower Saxony elected David McAllister as its new premier on Thursday, a day after Christian Wulff vacated the post to become the country's new president, according to dpa. The 39-year-old, who has a Scottish father and a German mother, is the youngest-ever state premier in Germany. McAllister, of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) was voted in with a majority of 80 votes in the Lower Saxon parliament, while 67 voted against him and one abstained. The CDU and their coalition partner, the Free Democrats (FDP) have a safe majority in the state legislature. Lower Saxony, a largely rural region where the biggest industry is a giant Volkswagen car factory, is one of Germany's 16 states. Wulff, who was elected president after three tense rounds of balloting on Wednesday, sent his resignation from Berlin to the state capital Hanover just moments after a Federal Assembly appointed him Germany's head of state. McAllister, known locally as "Mac," has long been seen as a premier-in-waiting in Lower Saxony. In Germany's federal system, state premiers wield considerable power and influence. His father was stationed with the British Army in Berlin in the post-war era. The politician is proud of his ancestry, and wore a tartan kilt at his wedding. He has two young daughters, named Jamie and Mia.
