Bram van Ojik, leader of the left-wing green party GroenLinks, announced his departure on Tuesday and will be replaced by Jesse Klaver.

The 29-year-old Klaver, currently an MP, becomes the youngest ever party leader.

At a press conference in The Hague on Tuesday to announce his resignation, Van Ojik said GroenLinks is now entering ‘a new phase’, having recovered from the election losses of 2012 and the departure of then party leader Jolande Sap.

The 60-year-old, who also announced he is stepping down as an MP so as not to get in the way of the new leader, was always seen as an interim leader, appointed to restore the bad relations within the party after the 2012 election.

The ambitious Klaver has been seen as the ‘crown prince’ for some time and has big plans for his party. ‘The tide in society is turning and I have good news,’ he told the press conference.

‘We built up our society and we can also change it. That brings hope. My advisors told me not to say this, but the Dutch voters should not be satisfied with less,’ Klaver said.

GroenLinks has four seats in the lower house of parliament.