(CNN) Austria is welcoming its first female chancellor with the appointment of Brigitte Bierlein, who will lead a caretaker government until elections can be held in September.

Bierlein, the head of the country's highest court, was appointed following the fall of the right-wing coalition in a corruption scandal.

President Alexander Van der Bellen announced the appointment Thursday from the Chancellery in Vienna.

"The Constitution is the foundation of our Democracy. Therein lies the duty of the President to seek a Chancellor, and this is what is taking place today," Van der Bellen said. "It is my pleasure, ladies and gentlemen, to introduce to you Dr. Brigitte Bierlein, the current sitting president of the Austrian Constitutional Court and whose Chancellorship I will be confirming in the upcoming days."

Read More