Angela Dorothea Merkel, born 17 July 1954, is a German politician who has served as Chancellor of Germany since 2005 and leader of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) since 2000. She was born in Hamburg, West Germany, and moved to East Germany as an infant. Merkel earned a doctorate in quantum chemistry in 1986 and worked as a research scientist until 1989. She entered politics after the 1989 Revolutions, briefly serving as deputy spokesperson for East Germany's first democratically elected government in 1990. After German reunification, she was elected to the Bundestag for Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and has been reelected since. Merkel held ministerial roles from 1991, including Federal Minister for Women and Youth and Federal Minister for the Environment. She became CDU Secretary-General in 1998 and party leader in 2000.
Following the 2005 federal election, Merkel became Germany's first female Chancellor, leading a grand coalition government. She formed coalition governments after the 2009, 2013, and 2017 elections. Merkel served as President of the European Council in 2007, helping negotiate the Treaty of Lisbon and the Berlin Declaration. Her tenure as Chancellor has focused on managing the financial crisis, health care reform, energy development, and the migrant crisis. On 26 March 2014, she became the longest-serving incumbent head of government in the European Union and is currently the senior G7 leader.
Germany
