Austria's Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz addresses a news conference after a meeting of Austrian people's party (OVP) in Vienna, capital of Austria, on May 14, 2017. (Xinhua/Pan Xu)

VIENNA, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz, at 30, was officially voted as the 17th leader of the center-right People's Party (OeVP) during a party congress in Linz on Saturday.

Kurz was voted in by a near-unanimous 98.7 percent of the vote to become the youngest leader in the party's history.

Expectations are now on the rising political star to lead the OeVP to success in the next federal elections in October where it is hoped he will become the nation's next chancellor.

Saturday's outcome also means Kurz has been granted several of his demands for taking on the role, including being able to put together his own team, strategy, and party ticket at the election.

Speaking to the more than 1,000 delegates following the vote, Kurz expressed "wholehearted thanks" for the trust placed in him, and was "very very glad", to take on the role.

He called for an end to the sugarcoating of important issues in the country that need to be dealt with, and voiced a desire to bring Austria "back to the top".

His predecessor Reinhold Mitterlehner, who had resigned from his post in May, was also present at the congress to mark his farewell.