Danish national Claus Ruhe Madsen won as an independent candidate in the northern city of Rostock

Danish businessman Claus Ruhe Madsen became the first non-German to win the mayor's office in a major German city Sunday with his election victory in Rostock.

Madsen, an independent, claimed about 57 percent of the vote in a run-off ballot in the northern city, beating Steffen Bockhahn of the far-left Linke with around 43 percent.

The Copenhagen-born Madsen, 46, has lived in Germany since 1992 and settled two decades ago in Rostock on the Baltic Sea. However he has never taken a German passport.

He has led the local chamber of commerce for six years and ran a campaign promising "pragmatic" politics and a strong ecological stance.

Madsen, who sports a prominent beard and sharp business suits, had pledged to hand over management of five furniture stores he owns to his wife should he be elected.

Danish national Claus Ruhe Madsen won as an independent candidate in the northern city of Rostock