General Motors named Mary Barra as its new chief executive on Tuesday, making her the first woman to lead a major car manufacturing company in the United States.

The 51-year-old — who previously served as Senior Vice-President for global product development — will replace current CEO Dan Akerson, Detroit-based General Motors (GM) confirmed in a statement.

Akerson is set to step down on January 15 — earlier than originally planned — in order to care for his ill wife. Akerson also serves as Chairman of the board and will be replaced in the role by Theodore (Tim) Solso.

“With an amazing portfolio of cars and trucks and the strongest financial performance in our recent history, this is an exciting time at today’s GM,” Barra said in a statement. “I’m honored to lead the best team in the business and to keep our momentum at full speed.”

Barra has spent 33 years at GM in a variety of manufacturing, engineering, and management positions, beginning as a student intern in 1980. She has served as Senior Vice-President of global product development since 2011 and took on responsibility for GM’s global purchasing and supply chain in 2013.

The announcement comes just one day after the US Government ended its near-five-year run as stockholder in the country’s largest car manufacturer, selling all of its remaining 31.1 million shares in GM.

The Government made a $10 billion ($7.3 billion euro) loss, managing to recoup only $39.9 billion of the original $50 billion stock purchase that bailed out GM in 2009.

Akerson, who took the helm of GM in September 2010, oversaw the gradual reduction of Government-owned shares, and GM’s return to being a publicly traded company.

“My goals as CEO were to put the customer at the center of every decision we make, to position GM for long term success and to make GM a company that America can be proud of again,” Akerson said in a statement. “We are well down that path, and I’m certain that our new team will keep us moving in that direction.”

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