Angela Merkel celebrated a historic third-term victory with her conservative party on Sunday night after securing her seat as German Chancellor. Merkel is now on route to surpass Margaret Thatcher as the longest-serving female leader in Europe. The election marked the best results for her conservation union, Christian Democrats, in over twenty years. The party finished merely five seats short of having a majority in Germany’s lower house. The 59-year-old leader has been the German Chancellor since 2005 and has been credited for building a stronger economy.

Although the victory cements her position as one of Europe’s most powerful leaders, she will still need the help of her opponents to create a new government. Her allies, Free Democrats, won only 4.8 percent of the vote. Due to their loss, it is projected that Merkel will align with the center-left Social Democrats, which would reinstate the alliance created in her first term as chancellor.

“I see the next four years in front of me and I can promise that we will face many tasks, at home, in Europe and in the world,” Merkel said. Despite prospective challenges however, Merkel acknowledged, “Together, we will do all we can to make the next four years successful ones for Germany.”

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