Berlin  - Legislators in the north-eastern German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania on Monday elected Erwin Sellering as the state's new premier.

Sellering, previously minister for justice and social affairs, replaced Harald Ringstorff, who announced in August that he was stepping down at the age of 68 after 10 years in office.

Sellering, 58, like Ringstorff a member of the left-of centre Social Democratic Party (SPD), received 40 votes from the 69 deputies present in the state parliament in Schwerin.

The new premier is considered an outgoing team player, unlike his predecessor who was often regarded as self-willed and stubborn.

Ringstorff first took office as premier of the state - part of formerly communist East Germany - in 1998, heading a controversial coalition between the SPD and the socialist PDS, which grew out of the East German communist party.

In 2006, the SPD lost votes, forming a new coalition with the PDS on the basis of a wafer-thin majority of 36 of the 71 seats in the state legislature.

In November of that year, the premier switched coalition partners, joining forces with the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) to form a coalition that mirrors that led by CDU Chancellor Angela Merkel at federal level. (dpa)