The vote at a special party conference in Bonn was carried by an overwhelming majority, 508-1.

Parliament will confirm the Social Democrat, Gerhard Schröder, as the new chancellor on Tuesday.

He will lead the first centre-left government in Germany for 16 years, and the first ever including ministers from the Green Party.

"The new government stands for innovation and justice," Mr Schröder told delegates.

"We are going to give Germany a new beginning, first in Bonn, then in Berlin," he said, referring to next year's government move.

Quick agreement

The coalition agreement with the Greens - a party with roots in the ecology and anti-Nato movements of the 1970s and 1980s - was negotiated in record time after Mr Schröder's election triumph over Chancellor Helmut Kohl four weeks ago.

The deal gives the coalition a 21-seat majority in the Bundestag, the lower house of parliament.

Mr Schröder says his main task will be to fight Germany's high unemployment.

The government programme also includes $6bn-worth of tax cuts over the next four years, and higher taxes on petrol.

The Greens approved the programme on Saturday, despite misgivings over some of the compromises made by the party leadership.

The Greens failed to persuade the SPD to loosen Germany's laws governing those seeking political asylum.

They also failed to push through heavy taxes on energy use.