Denmark Elects 1st Female PM

Denmark has elected its first female prime minister, ousting the right-wing government from power after 10 years of pro-market reforms and ever-stricter controls on immigration. Near complete official results showed yesterday that a left-leaning bloc led by Social Democrat Helle Thorning-Schmidt would gain a narrow majority in the 179-seat Parliament.

"We did it. Make no mistake: We have written history," the 44-year-old opposition leader told jubilant supporters in Copenhagen. "Today there's a change of guards in Denmark." Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen conceded defeat. The result means the country of 5.5 million residents will get a new government that could roll back some of the austerity measures introduced by Loekke Rasmussen amid Europe's debt crisis. (More Denmark stories.)