FRANKFURT Commerzbank shareholders on Wednesday cleared the way for the economist Jens Weidmann to take over as chairman of the German lender, the fifth person to occupy the role over the past six years.

Weidmann, the former president of Germany's central bank, was voted onto the bank's supervisory board by 99.2% of the shareholders at Commerzbank's annual general meeting.

The bank has said that Weidmann would assume the chairmanship after election to the board.

(Reporting by Tom Sims and Frank Siebelt; Editing by Jan Harvey)