Angela Merkel

During the 2005 federal election, Merkel was appointed as Chancellor of Germany. She became the first woman to be elected as Chancellor and the first Chancellor since German reunification to have been raised in former East Germany.

In foreign policy, Merkel emphasized international cooperation in the European Union and NATO context and strengthening transatlantic economic relations. She played a crucial role in overseeing the global financial crisis and European debt crisis. She also negotiated a stimulus package in 2008 prioritizing infrastructure spending and public investment to counteract the Great Recession. In terms of domestic policy, Merkel’s “Energiewende” program focused on future energy development, intending to phase out nuclear power in Germany, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and increase renewable energy sources.

Merkel did her education at Karl Marx University, Leipzig, where she studied physics from 1973 to 1978. After receiving her doctorate for her thesis on quantum chemistry in 1986, she worked as a researcher and published several papers. From 1978 to 1990, she worked and studied at the Central Institute for Physical Chemistry of the Academy of Sciences in Berlin-Adlershof.

Out of the many awards Merkel received for her recognized work and leadership, Merkel was ranked the second most powerful person in the world by Forbes in 2012. She was also named the Person of the Year by Time and received several awards, including the Indira Gandhi Peace Prize, Vision for Europe Award, and the Elie Wiesel Award from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.