There have been many prominent public and political figures in the history of Germany. However, Angela Merkel has turned out to be the only woman to date who has been awarded a high state post and became Federal Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. What helped Ms. Merkel to make such a dizzying career?
Angela Merkel: facts from the biography
Angela Merkel is the first woman in German history to hold the post of Federal Chancellor of this country. Ms Merkel took up this high position in 2005. Prior to that, she was head of the Christian Social Union and Christian Democratic Union factions in the Bundestag for over two years.
Ms Merkel made a successful political career back in the early 90s of the last century, when she entered the government of Helmut Kohl, where she headed the Ministry of Women and Youth Affairs. A little later, Merkel was in charge of the government for the protection of nature and the environment. Her responsibilities also included issues related to the safety of nuclear reactors.
Angela Merkel is a physicist by education. From the late 70s to the early 90s, she was engaged in scientific work. Has a doctorate; in 1986 she successfully defended her dissertation on quantum physics.
The future chancellor of Germany was born in 1954 into the family of a Lutheran pastor who lived at that time in Hamburg, which was part of West Germany. But childhood Merkel (nee Kasner) was spent in the GDR. During her school years, Angela was fond of mathematics, physics and the Russian language. The interests of the future head of the German government influenced the choice of an educational institution - Angela studied physics for five years at the University of Leipzig.
In Leipzig, Angela met her future husband, Ulrich Merkel, with whom she lived for several years. After completing her studies with honors, Merkel moved to Berlin, where she continued to work at the Institute of Physical Chemistry, established at one time by the Academy of Sciences of the GDR. By the end of the 1980s, Angela Merkel entered politics. This was the time of political transformations in East Germany, which sought to unite with the FRG. Merkel actively supported new trends in the country's public life, which ended with the reunification of the two German states.
"Iron Lady" of Germany
In more than two decades spent in politics, Angela Merkel was able to occupy a high position in public life in Germany and gain popularity among the German population. After becoming Federal Chancellor, Merkel began to pursue a rapprochement with the United States in foreign policy.
Successful actions of the government in the field of the country's economy allowed the German "iron lady" in 2009 to be re-elected to the post of chancellor. And in December 2013, Merkel received the post of head of government for the third time.
Germany's famous political leader remains a mystery to journalists, trying to keep his privacy intact. This causes some irritation in the press, which, however, does not prevent Merkel's fans from admiring the personal and business qualities of the first female chancellor in German history.
