The European Union's 705-seat legislature on Tuesday elected Maltese conservative Roberta Metsola as its new president, after the death of office-holder David Sassoli.

She has been acting president since the death last week of her predecessor Sassoli, to whom she was vice president.

She was elected with a clear-cut majority of 458 out of 616 ballots cast.

Who is Roberta Metsola?

Metsola, at the age of 43, is the youngest person in the history of the legislature to hold the post and the first woman in 20 years.

She comes from the European People's Party (EPP) faction, whereas Sassoli was a member of the centre-left Socialists & Democrats (S&D) political grouping. She has been an active member of the Parliament since 2013.  As a member of the Nationalist Party, she has been involved since her youth having campaigned as a student for Malta to become a member of the European Union.

What will be her duties as President?

As President of the European Parliament, she will oversee the activities of the legislature's plenary sessions, and maintain order during sittings. The president also provides the floor to speakers, signs laws, and customarily speaks at the opening of EU summits.

Note: The parliament has had only two previous female presidents, Simone Veil and Nicole Fontaine, both French since it became a directly elected assembly in 1979.