'' () (b. 'Angela Dorothea Kasner',
17 July 1954, in
Hamburg,
Germany), is the
Chancellor of
Germany. Merkel, elected to the
German Parliament from
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, has been the chairwoman of the
Christian Democratic Union CDU since
9 April 2000, and Chairwoman of the CDU-CSU parliamentary party group from 2002 to 2005. She leads a
Grand coalition with its sister
party, the
Christian Social Union (CSU), and with the
Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), formed after the
2005 federal election on
22 November 2005.
Health care reform and problems concerning
future energy development have thus far been the major issues of her tenure.
Merkel, who holds a doctorate in physics, is simultaneously the first female Chancellor of Germany, the first citizen of the former
German Democratic Republic to assume the
chancellery of
reunited Germany, and the first woman to lead Germany since it became a modern
nation-state in
1871. She is also, as of
2007, the
youngest person to be German chancellor since the
Second World War. Merkel, considered by ''
Forbes Magazine'' to be the most powerful woman in the world at present, is only the third woman to serve on the
G8 after
Margaret Thatcher &
Kim Campbell and in 2007 became the second woman to chair a G8 summit after Margaret Thatcher.
In her function as
Chancellor of Germany, Merkel was (rotative, 1st term 2007) also president of the
European Council.
In 2007, Merkel became a Member of the
Council of Women World Leaders, a group of women heads of state and government.
Background
Angela Merkel was born as 'Angela Dorothea Kasner' in
Hamburg, the daughter of Horst Kasner (b.
6 August 1926 in
Berlin-
Pankow), a
Lutheran pastor originally from
Berlin, and his wife, Herlind (b.
8 July 1928 in
Elbing as Herlind Jentzsch), a teacher of
English and
Latin. Her mother is a member of the
Social Democratic Party of Germany. Her grandparents on her mother's side were living in
Elbing in
East Prussia. She has a brother, Marcus (b. 7 July 1957), and a sister, Irene (b. 19 August 1964).
Merkel's father studied
Theology in
Heidelberg and, afterwards, in Hamburg. In 1954 her father received a pastorship at the church in
Quitzow near
Perleberg in
Brandenburg, and the family moved to
Templin. Thus Merkel grew up in the countryside 80 km (50 miles) north of
Berlin, in the
socialist German Democratic Republic (GDR).
Gerd Langguth, a former senior member of Merkel's Christian Democratic Union states in a book
[1] that the family's ability to travel freely from East to West Germany, as well as their possession of two automobiles, leads to the conclusion that Merkel's father had a 'sympathetic' relationship with the communist regime, since such freedom and perquisites for a Christian pastor and his family would have been otherwise impossible in East Germany.
Like most pupils, Merkel was a member of the official, socialist-led youth movement
Free German Youth (FDJ). Later she became a member of the district board and secretary for "
Agitprop" (agitation and propaganda) at the Academy of Sciences in that organisation. However, she did not take part in the
secular coming of age ceremony
Jugendweihe, which was common in East Germany, and was
confirmed instead.
Merkel was educated in Templin and at the
University of Leipzig, where she studied
physics from 1973 to 1978. Merkel worked and studied at the Central Institute for
Physical Chemistry of the Academy of Sciences in
Berlin-Adlershof from 1978 to 1990. After being awarded a
doctorate (''Dr. rer. nat.'') based on a doctoral thesis on
quantum chemistry[2] she worked in research.
In 1989, Merkel got involved in the growing
democracy movement after the
fall of the Berlin Wall, joining the new party
Demokratischer Aufbruch. Following the first (and only) democratic election of the East German state, she became the deputy spokesperson of the new pre-unification caretaker government under
Lothar de Maizière. At the first post-reunification general election in December 1990, she was elected to the Bundestag from a
constituency which includes the
districts of
Nordvorpommern and
Rügen, as well as the city of
Stralsund. This has remained her electoral district until today. Her party merged with the west German CDU and she became Minister for Women and Youth in
Helmut Kohl's 3rd cabinet. In 1994, she was made Minister for the Environment and Reactor Safety, which gave her greater political visibility and a platform on which to build her political career. As one of Kohl's protégées and his youngest cabinet minister, she was referred to by Kohl as "''das Mädchen''" ("the girl").
Besides being fluent in English, due to her education in the GDR Angela Merkel speaks
Russian fluently.
From 1977 until their divorce in 1982, Merkel was married to
physicist Ulrich Merkel. Since 1998, she has been married to Berlin
chemistry professor
Joachim Sauer. She has no children, but Sauer has two adult sons.
Leader of the Opposition
When the Kohl government was
defeated in the 1998 general election, Merkel was named Secretary-General of the CDU. In this position, Merkel oversaw a string of Christian Democrat election victories in six out of seven regional elections in 1999 alone, breaking the SPD-Green coalition's hold on the
Bundesrat, the legislative body representing the
states. Following a party financing
scandal, which compromised many leading figures of the CDU (most notably Kohl himself, who refused to reveal the donor of DM 2,000,000 because he had given his word of honour and the then party chairman
Wolfgang Schäuble, Kohl's hand-picked successor, who wasn't cooperative either), Merkel criticized her former mentor, Kohl, and advocated a fresh start for the party without him. She was elected to replace Schäuble, becoming the first female chair of her party, on
10 April 2000. Her election surprised many observers, as her personality offered a contrast to the party she had been chosen to lead; Merkel is a
Protestant, originating from predominantly Protestant northern Germany, while the CDU is a male-dominated,
socially conservative party with deep
Catholic roots, and has its strongholds in western and southern Germany.
Following Merkel's election as CDU leader, she enjoyed considerable popularity among the German population and was favoured by many Germans to become
Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's challenger in the
2002 election. However, she did not receive enough support in her own party and particularly its sister party (the
Bavarian
Christian Social Union, or CSU), and was subsequently out-manoeuvred politically by CSU leader
Edmund Stoiber, who had had the privilege of challenging Schröder but squandered a large lead in the opinion polls to lose the election by a razor-thin margin. After Stoiber's defeat in 2002, in addition to her role as CDU chairwoman, Merkel became leader of the conservative opposition in the lower house of the German parliament, the
Bundestag. Her rival,
Friedrich Merz, who had held the post of parliamentary leader prior to the 2002 election, was eased out to make way for Merkel.
Political platform
Merkel supported a substantial
reform agenda concerning Germany's economic and social system and was considered to be more pro-
market (and pro-
deregulation) than her own party (the CDU); she advocated changes to German labour law, specifically, removing barriers to laying off employees and increasing the allowed number of work hours in a week, arguing that existing laws made the country less competitive because companies cannot easily control labour costs at times when business is slow (see
[1]).
Merkel argued for Germany's
nuclear power to be phased out less quickly than the Schröder administration had planned.
Merkel advocated a strong transatlantic partnership and German-American friendship. In the spring of 2003, defying strong public opposition, Merkel came out in favour of the
U.S. invasion of Iraq, describing it as "unavoidable" and accusing Chancellor
Gerhard Schröder of
anti-Americanism. This led some critics to characterize her as an American
lackey. She criticised the government's support for
Turkish Membership in the
European Union and favoured a "
privileged partnership" instead. In doing so, she was seen as being in unison with many Germans in rejecting Turkish membership in the European Union.
Comparisons
As a female politician from a
centre right party, and a scientist, Merkel has been compared by many in the
English as well as the German press to former
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Some have referred to her as "
Iron Lady", "Iron Girl" and even "The Iron Frau" (alluding to Thatcher, whose nickname was "The Iron Lady" -- Thatcher also had a degree in chemistry). Political commentators have debated the precise extent to which their agendas are similar (see
[2]).
In addition to being the first female German chancellor and the youngest German chancellor ever, Merkel is also the first one from East Germany (although born in Hamburg), the first one born after World War II, and the first one with a background in natural sciences. She studied physics; her predecessors law, business and history.
Merkel topped
Forbes magazine's list of "
The World's 100 Most Powerful Women" in 2006 and 2007.
[3]
Candidacy for Chancellor
On
30 May 2005, Merkel won the CDU/CSU nomination as challenger to Chancellor
Gerhard Schröder of the
SPD in the
2005 national elections. Her party began the campaign with a 21% lead over the
SPD in national
opinion polls, although her personal popularity lagged behind that of the
incumbent. However, the CDU/CSU campaign suffered when Merkel, having made economic competence central to the CDU's platform, confused
gross and
net income twice during a televised debate. She regained some momentum after she announced that she would appoint
Paul Kirchhof, a former judge at the German Constitutional Court and leading fiscal policy expert, as Minister of Finance.
Merkel and the CDU lost ground after Kirchhof proposed the introduction of a
flat tax in Germany, again undermining the party's credibility on economic affairs and convincing many voters that the CDU's platform of deregulation was designed to benefit only the rich. This was compounded by Merkel proposing to increase
VAT to reduce Germany's deficit and fill the gap in revenue from a flat tax. The SPD were able to increase their support simply by pledging not to introduce flat taxes or increase VAT. Although Merkel's standing recovered after she distanced herself from Kirchhof's proposals, she remained considerably less popular than Schröder, and the CDU's lead was down to 9% on the eve of the election. Merkel was also criticized for plagiarizing a passage from a speech used by
President Ronald Reagan in a 1980 US presidential debate for her own television election duel with Gerhard Schröder, the Social Democratic chancellor.
On
18 September Merkel's CDU/CSU and Schröder's SPD went head-to-head in the national elections, with the CDU/CSU winning 35.3% (CDU 27.8%/CSU 7.5%) of the second votes to the SPD's 34.2%. Neither the SPD-Green coalition nor the CDU/CSU and its preferred coalition partners, the
Free Democratic Party, held enough seats to form a majority in the Bundestag, and both Schröder and Merkel claimed victory. A
Grand Coalition between the CDU/CSU and SPD faced the challenge that both parties demanded the chancellorship. However, after three weeks of
negotiations, the two parties reached a deal whereby Merkel would become Chancellor and the SPD would hold 8 of the 16 seats in the cabinet (see
[3] and
[4]). The coalition deal was approved by both parties at party conferences on
November 14 (see
[5]). Merkel was elected Chancellor by the majority of delegates (397 to 217) in the newly assembled Bundestag on
22 November but 51 members of the governing coalition voted against her (see
[6]).
Reports had indicated that the Grand Coalition would pursue a mix of policies, some of which differ from Merkel's political platform as leader of the opposition and candidate for Chancellor. The coalitions intent was to cut public spending whilst increasing
VAT (from 16 to 19%),
social insurance contributions and the top rate of
income tax.
[4] Employment protection will no longer cover employees during their first two years in a job, pensions will be frozen and subsidies for first-time home buyers will be scrapped. On foreign policy, Germany would maintain its strong ties with
France and eastern European states, particularly
Russia, and support
Turkey for one day joining the
European Union.
Merkel had stated that the main aim of her government would be to reduce unemployment, and that it is this issue on which her government will be judged.
[5]
Chancellorship
Merkel's first foreign trip took place on the day she was sworn in as Chancellor, and went to
Paris for a meeting with the then French president,
Jacques Chirac. In his speech, Chirac emphasized the importance of the Franco-German Companionship for Europe. After the meeting with Chirac, she travelled to
Brussels for talks with EU leaders and the Secretary-General of
NATO,
Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. She then traveled to
London where she met with the then British Prime Minister,
Tony Blair. On November 28 she received her first state guest:
President Pohamba of
Namibia, a former colony of South Africa, which itself is a former colony of the
United Kingdom who visited Berlin for five days. In her first government address on
30 November,
2005 she announced her objective of improving the German Economy and reducing unemployment. In early 2006, polls showed that Angela Merkel, having been in office for only about 100 days, had the highest approval rate among Germans ever to be recorded for a chancellor since 1949. Many economic commentators referred to the 'Merkel factor' at this time, which apparently caused a rapid rise in consumer confidence and market spending.
However, Merkel's popularity has fallen since June 2006, when the sweeping health care reform that would lead to lower health insurance fees was scrapped, replaced with a compromise deal that led to higher fees. In December 2006, her approval rate was 54%, compared with 61% in December 2005.
[7]
Recent
polls have indicated that her
popularity has recovered significantly, with her currently even topping the list.
[8]
Merkel made her first visit to the
Middle East as
President-in-office of the European Council on
April 1 2007. She offered Europe's help to get
Israel and the
Palestinians back to the negotiating table, and tried to restart huge international efforts for renewed peace talks.
[9]
Income
Holding the third highest state office available within the Federal Republic of Germany and being a
Beamter, Angela Merkel receives approximately 240,000 Euros (c. 300,000 USD) as Chancellor, i.e. one and two thirds of Salary Grade B11, joined by another 150,000 Euros (c. 200,000 USD) for her seat in Parliament.
Cabinet
:''See also
Cabinet Merkel
The Cabinet of Angela Merkel was sworn in at 16:00
CET,
November 22,
2005.
★ Angela Merkel (CDU) – Chancellor
★
Franz Müntefering (SPD) – Vice Chancellor and Minister for Labour and Social Affairs
★
Thomas de Maizière (CDU) – Minister for Special Affairs and Director of the
Chancellor's Office
★
Frank-Walter Steinmeier (SPD) – Minister of Foreign Affairs
★
Wolfgang Schäuble (CDU) – Minister of the Interior
★
Franz Josef Jung (CDU) – Minister of Defence
★
Brigitte Zypries (SPD) – Minister of Justice
★
Peer Steinbrück (SPD) – Minister of Finance
★
Michael Glos (CSU) – Minister for Economics and Technology
★
Horst Seehofer (CSU) – Minister for Consumer Protection, Food, and Agriculture
★
Ulla Schmidt (SPD) – Minister for Health
★
Wolfgang Tiefensee (SPD) – Minister for Transport, Building, Urban Development
★
Ursula von der Leyen (CDU) – Minister for Family, Senior Citizens, Women, and Youth
★
Annette Schavan (CDU) – Minister for Research and Education
★
Sigmar Gabriel (SPD) – Minister for Environment, Nature Preservation and Nuclear Safety
★
Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul (SPD) – Minister for Economic Co-operation and Development
On
October 31, after the defeat of his favored candidate for the position of Secretary General of the SPD,
Franz Müntefering indicated that he would resign as Chairman of the party in November, which he did. Ostensibly responding to this,
Edmund Stoiber (CSU), who was originally nominated for the Economics and Technology post, announced his withdrawal on
November 1. While this was initially seen as a blow to Merkel's attempt at forming a viable coalition and cabinet, the manner in which Stoiber withdrew earned him much ridicule and severely undermined his position as a Merkel rival. Separate conferences of the CDU, CSU and SPD approved the proposed Cabinet on
November 14.
Notable facts
★ In her office Merkel has a picture of the German-born Russian Empress
Catherine the Great, who is described by Merkel as "a strong woman".
[10]
★ In July 2006, during the G8 Summit proceedings at
Konstantinovsky Palace, United States President Bush strode up behind Merkel and clasped his hands upon her shoulders in a massage-like way. Bush's action startled Merkel, causing her to flail her arms. The awkward exchange became a popular
viral video on
YouTube[11] and was humorously referred to on ''
The Daily Show'' in which Jon Stewart quipped that her reaction was a "move she learned in date rape prevention class".
★ At the 2006 WEF (World economic Forum) in Davos, Switzerland the newly elected Merkel was dubbed "Queen of Davos" by the other attendees and subsequently the World's media.
★ On the
8 June 2006, Merkel launched her video podcast via the ''Bundeskanzlerin'' website, making her the first
head of government to launch a regular video podcast.
[12]
Selected published works
★
On the influence of spatial correlations on the rate of chemical reactions in dense gases. I. Quantum statistical theory, , R., Der, Chemical Physics, 1980
★
On the influence of spatial correlations on the rate of chemical reactions in dense systems. II. Numerical results, , R., Der, Chemical Physics, 1980
★
An Extended Kinetic Model and its Reduction by Sensitivity Analysis for the Methanol/Oxygen Gas-Phase Thermolysis, , I., Boeger, Acta Chim. Hung., 1982
★
Berechnung von Hochdruck-Geschwindigkeitskonstanten für Zerfalls- und Rekombinationsreaktionen einfacher Kohlenwasserstoffmoleküle und -radikale (Calculation of High Pressure Velocity Constants for Reactions of Decay and Recombinations of simple Hydrocarbon Molecules and Radicals), , Angela, Merkel, Zeitschrift für Physikalische Chemie, 1982
★
Berechnung von Geschwindigkeitskonstanten für den C-H-Bindungsbruch im Methylradikal (Calculation of Velocity Constants for the Break of the Carbon-Hydrogen-Bond in the Methyl Radical), , Angela, Merkel, Zeitschrift für Physikalische Chemie, 1985
★
Nonempirical parameter estimate for the statistical adiabatic theory of unimolecular fragmentation carbon-hydrogen bond breaking in methyl, , Angela, Merkel, Molecular Physics, 1987
★
Evaluation of the rate constant for the SN2 reaction fluoromethane + hydride: methane + fluoride in the gas phase, , Angela, Merkel, Journal of American Chemical Society, 1988
★
Vibrational Properties of Surface Hydroxyls: Nonempirical Model Calculations Including Anharmonicities, , H., Mix, Coll. Czechoslov. Chem. Commun., 1988
★
The lowest bound states of triplet (BH2)+, , F., Schneider, Chemical Physics Letters, 1989
★
Theoretical approach to reactions of polyatomic molecules, , Angela, Merkel, International Journal of Quantum Chemistry, 1990
★
The role of science in sustainable development, , Angela, Merkel, Science, 1998
References
1. Luke Harding: ''East German past of iron lady unveiled''. The Observer, 26 June 2005
2. Untersuchung des Mechanismus von Zerfallsreaktionen mit einfachem Bindungsbruch und Berechnung ihrer Geschwindigkeitskonstanten auf der Grundlage quantenchemischer und statistischer Methoden (Investigation of the mechanism of decay reactions with single bond breaking and calculation of their velocity constants on the basis of quantum chemical and statistical methods), , Angela, Merkel, Academy of Sciences of the German Democratic Republic (dissertation), 1986, cited in Angela Merkel, , Gerd, Langguth, DTV, 2005, and listed in the Catalogue of the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek under subject code 30 (Chemistry)
3. The World's 100 Most Powerful Women
4. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4429518.stm
5. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4431262.stm
6. Speech by Merkel, to the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday, 17 January 2007
7. "[7]", 2007-25-01
8. www.infratest-dimap.de/download/dt0704.pdf
9. Merkel visits Mideast as EU president
10. Merkel to live in flat
11. Associated Press, "Bush misstep magnified on YouTube / Bush’s German back rub magnified on YouTube", ''MSNBC'', 2006-07-21
12. www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2046783,00.html
External links
★
The Office of the Chancellor
★
Merkel's personal website
★
★
Angela Merkel Sworn in as German Chancellor - report from Deutsche Welle
★
Günter Grass, ''
The Guardian'', 16 September 2005,
"We must not be blackmailed by Merkel's neoliberal gang" German Nobel prize-winning author expresses his view against Merkel and in favour of Schröder
★
"The career of CDU leader Angela Merkel", by Lena Sokoll, 8 July 2005
★
Carnival in Germany : Photos of the Rose Monday Parade, 7 February 2005 [8] Political satire at Carnival Parades is a very old and proud German tradition. Here George W. Bush and Merkel are ridiculed because of their stance on the Iraq war; with "Wiedereröffnung" meaning "Reopening".
★
CDUnion - a weblog for Merkel
★
Stoppt Merkel - a weblog opposing Merkel's candidacy
★ Ruth Elkins, ''
The Independent'', 19 June 2005,
"Angela Merkel: Iron Mädchen"
★ Clay Risen, ''
Slate'', July 5, 2005,
"Deutschland's Iron Lady"
★ Severin Weiland, ''
Der Spiegel'', 3 June 2005,
"Angela Merkel The Underestimated"
★
"Die Zuckerpuppe aus der Schwarzgeldtruppe", Merkel parody from the traditional deriding of politicians at the inauguration of the strong-beer season at the
Nockherberg, 2000
★ Ralf Neukirch, ''
Der Spiegel'', 11 October 2005,
"Germany's New Chancellor: Merkel's Surprising Rise to the Top
★ DW staff, ''
Deutsche Welle'', 11 October 2005,
"Kohl's Girl" Makes Good
★ Ralf Neukirch, Gabor Steingart and Stefan Aust, ''
Der Spiegel'', Interview with Chancellor-designate Angel Merkel, 17 October 2005,
"I am immune to the Seduction of Power"
★
Angela Merkel: A 'Continental European Politician in the Making' Knowledge@Wharton, March 9, 2006
★
Merkel's meteoric rise to power 11 October 2005, Profile of Angela Merkel's career from www.expatica.com
★ http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/01/10/germany.merkel.reut/index.html
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