The House of Commons in Canada today elected a black speaker for the first time in its history: Liberal MP Greg Fergus is elected as the new speaker of the House, after the previous speaker resigned because he unknowingly invited a former Nazi soldier to the parliament .

Members of the 338-member body voted in favor of the candidacy of 54-year-old Fergus during secret ballot and so the democratic MP became the first black Canadian to hold that office

“Today you are the first black Canadian to become president. This will be an inspiration to all Canadians and especially to the younger generations who want to get involved in politics,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The speaker of the House is essentially an impartial arbiter of the parliamentary process, who seeks to maintain order and decorum during the sessions.

He votes only when there is a tie and has a formal role as an institutional representative of the parliament.

Former parliament speaker Anthony Rota, a member of the ruling Liberal Party, resigned last week.

He took full responsibility for inviting 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka, a Polish-born Ukrainian who had served in the Waffen-SS, Hitler’s units, to attend parliament during World War II when he delivered a speech before the Canadian Parliament, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, on September 22.

Without fully knowing Hunka’s past, Rota publicly described him as a veteran Ukrainian soldier and immigrant hero in Canada, prompting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to formally apologize for the gaffe last week.

For the office of speaker of the parliament, a salary increase of almost 66,000 euros is foreseen, in addition to the base annual salary of the deputy of more than 135,000 euros, and in addition an official country house in the Gatineau Hills region of Quebec.