Olaf Scholz is due to become the next German chancellor on Wednesday when the country’s parliament votes for his center-left coalition government, ending 16 years of Angela Merkel’s rule.

The soft-spoken Scholz, who served as vice chancellor and finance minister for the last three-and-a-half years, will become the 10th chancellor of Germany after the Second World War.

The incoming chancellor will head the three-party coalition of Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens and the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP), also known as the "traffic light coalition" because of its parties’ colors: red, yellow and green.

While Scholz has said the new government will be one of continuity, the incoming chancellor will also face several challenges, among them fighting the coronavirus pandemic and climate change.