Angela Voss

Angela Merkel, born Angela Dorothea Kasner in 1954, is a German stateswoman who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. She is the only woman and the only individual from former East Germany to hold this office. Her early life included a move to East Germany, membership in the Free German Youth, and a career as a research scientist with a doctorate in quantum chemistry. Merkel entered politics following the 1989 revolutions, initially serving in the East German government and later in the Bundestag after reunification. She rose through the ranks of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), becoming its first female leader. As Chancellor, she led various coalition governments and played a significant role in international affairs, including EU policy and managing economic crises. Her tenure also saw significant domestic policy initiatives, such as the Energiewende program, and faced challenges like the migrant crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. Merkel stepped down from her political roles in 2018 and 2021, and her legacy has been subject to recent scrutiny regarding her policies towards Russia.

Born Angela Dorothea Kasner in Hamburg, West Germany, in 1954, her family relocated to East Germany when she was an infant. Her father was a Lutheran pastor, and her mother taught languages. Merkel grew up in rural East Germany and joined the communist Free German Youth (FDJ) movement, a common step for access to higher education. She excelled academically, particularly in Russian and mathematics, graduating with top marks. She studied physics at Karl Marx University in Leipzig and later pursued doctoral studies in quantum chemistry at the Academy of Sciences in Berlin. During her academic career, she reportedly declined a position that would have required her to spy on colleagues for the Stasi. She also worked as a researcher and published academic papers.

The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 marked a turning point for Merkel, leading her into politics. She joined the new party Democratic Awakening and became its press spokeswoman. Following German reunification, she was elected to the Bundestag. As a protégé of Chancellor Helmut Kohl, she was appointed to ministerial positions, first as Minister for Women and Youth and later as Minister for the Environment. After the CDU lost the 1998 election, she became the party's general secretary and subsequently its first female leader in 2000. She also served as the first female leader of the Opposition.

In 2005, Merkel was elected Chancellor, leading a grand coalition. She was the first woman and the first chancellor from former East Germany to hold the office. Throughout her tenure, she led several coalition governments, navigating Germany through the 2008 financial crisis, the Euro area crisis, and the 2010s migrant crisis. Her foreign policy emphasized international cooperation within the EU and NATO. Domestically, her Energiewende program aimed to develop renewable energy and phase out nuclear power. She also oversaw reforms in healthcare and dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic. Merkel stepped down as Chancellor after the 2021 federal election.

“Life in the GDR was sometimes almost comfortable in a certain way, because there were some things one simply couldn't influence.”

“I can only rely on my memory, if something turns out to be different, I can live with that.”