Angela Merkel

chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021

Angela Dorothea Merkel (born Angela Dorothea Kasner on 17 July 1954 in Hamburg) is a German politician, and was Chancellor of Germany from 22 November 2005[1] to 8 December 2021.

Angela Merkel
Merkel in 2019
Chancellor of Germany
In office
22 November 2005 – 8 December 2021
PresidentHorst Köhler (2005–2010)
Christian Wulff (2010–2012)
Joachim Gauck (2012–2017)
Frank-Walter Steinmeier (2017–present)
DeputyFranz Müntefering (2005–2007)
Frank-Walter Steinmeier (2007–2009)
Guido Westerwelle (2009–2011)
Philipp Rösler (2011–2013)
Sigmar Gabriel (2013–2018)
Olaf Scholz (since 2018)
Preceded byGerhard Schröder
Succeeded byOlaf Scholz
Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety
In office
17 November 1994 – 26 October 1998
ChancellorHelmut Kohl
Preceded byKlaus Töpfer
Succeeded byJürgen Trittin
Minister for Women and Youth
In office
18 January 1991 – 17 November 1994
ChancellorHelmut Kohl
Preceded byUrsula Lehr
Succeeded byClaudia Nolte
Member of the Bundestag
In office
2 December 1990 – 26 October 2021
ConstituencyStralsund – Nordvorpommern – Rügen
Personal details
Born
Angela Dorothea Kasner

(1954-07-17) 17 July 1954 (age 69)
Hamburg, West Germany (Germany since 1990)
Political partyChristian Democratic Union (1990–present)
Other political
affiliations
Democratic Awakening (1989–1990)
Spouse(s)Ulrich Merkel (1977–1982)
Joachim Sauer (1998–present)
Alma materUniversity of Leipzig
ProfessionPhysical chemist
Signature

She was born in Hamburg, at the time part of West Germany, and grew up in the former German Democratic Republic, where she lived until the reuniting of Germany in 1990. Merkel is now married to Joachim Sauer, a professor of chemistry. From 2000 to 2018, she was the chairperson (was in charge of) the German conservative party, the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU).[2]

Merkel became Germany's first female chancellor on 22 November 2005 in a coalition of the two biggest German political parties, the CDU/CSU and SPD. After the next election in 2009, she formed a coalition with the German liberal party FDP. After the 2013 and 2017 Federal Elections, she again emerged as chancellor of a coalition government.[3]

Her father was a Lutheran pastor and her mother was a school teacher. Before becoming a politician, she worked as a researcher in Physical Chemistry. In December 2015, she was named as Time magazine's Person of the Year.[4]

In October 2018, Merkel announced her permanent retirement from politics, as she said she would not seek reelection as leader of the CDU at the party convention in December 2018 and as Chancellor in 2021.[5] After this, another female politician, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, replaced her as CDU leader.

References change

  1. "Biographie: Angela Merkel". hdg.de. 2010. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
  2. "Bundeskanzlerin; Biografie". bundeskanzlerin.de. 2011. Archived from the original on 24 December 2010. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
  3. "German Chancellor Angela Merkel makes a hat-trick win in 2013 Elections and formed a coalition with the SPD". Archived from the original on 26 September 2013. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  4. Gibbs, Nancy (9 December 2015). "Why Angela Merkel is TIME's Person of the Year". Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  5. "Angela Merkel to step down in 2021". BBC News. 2018-10-29. Retrieved 2018-10-29.