Angela Dorothea Merkel (pronounced
[aŋˈɡeːla doʁoˈteːa ˈmɛʁkl̩] (
listen);[1]
née Kasner; born 17 July 1954) is the
Chancellor of Germany and party leader of the
Christian Democratic Union (CDU).[2]
Merkel is the first woman to have become Chancellor of Germany.
A
physical chemist by professional background, Merkel entered politics
in the wake of the
Revolutions of 1989 and briefly served as the deputy spokesperson
for
Lothar de Maizière's democratically elected
East German government prior to the
German reunification. Following reunification in 1990, she was
elected to the
Bundestag, where she has represented a constituency in the state of
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern since. She served as
Federal Minister for Women and Youth 1991–1994 and as
Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear
Safety 1994–1998 in
Helmut Kohl's
fourth and
fifth cabinets. She was Secretary General of the CDU 1998–2000, and
was elected chairperson in 2000. From 2002 to 2005, she was also chair
of the
CDU/CSU parliamentary coalition.
After her election as Chancellor following the
2005 federal election, she led a
grand coalition consisting of her own CDU party, its Bavarian sister
party, the
Christian Social Union (CSU), and the
Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), until 2009. In the
2009 federal election, the CDU obtained the largest share of the
votes, and formed a coalition government with the CSU and the liberal
Free Democratic Party (FDP).[3]
In 2007, Merkel was
President of the European Council and chaired the
G8, the second
woman (after
Margaret Thatcher) to do so. She played a central role in the
negotiation of the
Treaty of Lisbon and the
Berlin Declaration. One of her priorities was also to strengthen
transatlantic economic relations by signing the agreement for the
Transatlantic Economic Council on 30 April 2007. Merkel is seen as
playing a crucial role in managing the
financial crisis at the European and international level, and has
been referred to as "the decider."[4]
In domestic policy,
health care reform and problems concerning future
energy development have been major issues of her tenure.
Angela Merkel has been described as "the
de
facto leader of the
European Union" and is currently
ranked as the world's second most powerful person by the
Forbes
magazine, the highest ranking ever achieved by a woman.[5][6]
Early life
Merkel was born Angela Dorothea Kasner in
Hamburg,
West Germany, the daughter of
Horst Kasner (1926–2011),[7]
native of Berlin, and his wife Herlind, born in 1928 in
Danzig (now
Gdańsk,
Poland) as Herlind Jentzsch, a teacher of
English and
Latin.
Her mother was once a member of the
Social Democratic Party of Germany.[8]
In an interview with
Der Spiegel in 2000, Merkel stated that she was one quarter
Polish.[9]
The
Preußische Allgemeine Zeitung, attempting to establish if this
referred to her grandparents on her mother's side, Willi Jentzsch and
Gertrud Drange, reported that, according to their researches, they were
both of German descent and lived in Danzig where Willi Jentzsch was a
Gymnasium teacher.[10]
She has a brother, Marcus (born 7 July 1957) and a sister, Irene (born
19 August 1964).
Merkel's father studied
theology in
Heidelberg and, afterwards, in Hamburg. In 1954 her father received
a pastorate at the church in
Quitzow (near
Perleberg in
Brandenburg), which then was in
East Germany, and the family moved to
Templin.
Thus Merkel grew up in the countryside 80 km (50 mi) north of
Berlin.
Gerd Langguth, a former senior member of Merkel's Christian
Democratic Union, states in his book[11]
that the family's ability to travel freely from East to West Germany
during the following years, 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). However, she did not take part in the
secular
coming of age ceremony
Jugendweihe, which was common in East Germany, and was
confirmed instead. Later, at the Academy of Sciences, she became a
member of the FDJ district board and secretary for "Agitprop"
(Agitation and Propaganda). Merkel herself claimed that she was
secretary for culture. When Merkel's onetime FDJ district chairman
contradicted her, she insisted that: "According to my memory, I was
secretary for culture. But what do I know? I believe I won't know
anything when I'm 80."[12]
Merkel's progress in the compulsory Marxism-Leninism course was graded
only genügend (sufficient, passing grade) in 1983 and 1986.[13]
At school, she learned to speak
Russian fluently, and was awarded prizes for her proficiency in
Russian and Mathematics.[14]
Merkel was educated in Templin and at the
University of Leipzig, where she studied
physics
from 1973 to 1978. While a student, she participated in the
reconstruction of the ruin of the
Moritzbastei, a project students initiated to create their own club
and recreation facility on campus. Such an initiative was unprecedented
in the
GDR of that period, and initially resisted by the
University of Leipzig. However, with backing of the local leadership
of the
SED party, the project was allowed to proceed.[15]
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.) for her thesis on
quantum chemistry,[16]
she worked as a researcher and published several papers.
In 1989, Merkel got involved in the growing
democracy movement after the
fall of the Berlin Wall, joining the new party
Democratic Awakening. 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.[17]
Member of Bundestag and cabinet minister
At the
first post-reunification general election in December 1990, she was
elected to the Bundestag from the
constituency
Stralsund – Nordvorpommern – Rügen, which is coextensive with the
district of
Vorpommern-Rügen. This has remained her electoral district until
today. Her party merged with the west German CDU[18]
and she became Minister for Women and Youth in
Helmut Kohl's 3rd cabinet. In 1994, she was made
Minister for the Environment and Nuclear 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 "mein Mädchen" ("my
girl").[19]
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 state
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 claiming 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 strongholds in western and southern
Germany, and the Bavarian sister party, the CSU, has deep
Catholic roots.
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 outmanoeuvred
politically by CSU leader
Edmund Stoiber, to whom she eventually ceded the privilege of
challenging Schröder; however, he 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.[citation
needed]
Merkel supported a substantial
reform agenda concerning
Germany's
economic and social system and was considered to be more pro-market
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.[20]
Merkel argued for Germany's
nuclear power to be phased out less quickly than the Schröder
administration had planned.[21]
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. She criticised the government's support for the
accession of Turkey to the European Union and favoured a "privileged
partnership" instead. In doing so, she reflected public opinion that
grew more hostile toward Turkish membership of the European Union.[22]
Path to election
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
point lead over the
SPD in national
opinion polls, although her personal popularity lagged behind that
of the
incumbent. However, the CDU/CSU campaign suffered[citation
needed] 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.[citation
needed]
Merkel and the CDU lost ground after Kirchhof proposed the
introduction of a
flat
tax in Germany, again undermining the party's broad appeal 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.
On 18 September 2005, 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.[23][24]
The coalition deal was approved by both parties at party conferences on
14 November 2005.[25]
Merkel was elected Chancellor by the majority of delegates (397 to 217)
in the newly assembled Bundestag on 22 November 2005, but 51 members of
the governing coalition voted against her.[26]
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 coalition's
intent was to cut public spending whilst increasing
VAT (from 16 to 19%),
social insurance contributions and the top rate of
income tax.[27]
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.[28]
Chancellor of
Germany
On 22 November 2005, Merkel assumed the office of Chancellor of
Germany following a
stalemate election that resulted in a
grand coalition with the
SPD. She was
re-elected in 2009 with a larger majority and was able to form a
governing coalition with the
FDP.
Foreign policy
On 25 September 2007, Merkel met the
14th Dalai Lama for "private and informal talks" in Berlin in
the
Chancellery amid protest from
China.
China afterwards cancelled separate talks with German officials,
including talks with Justice Minister
Brigitte Zypries.[29]
One of her priorities was to strengthen transatlantic economic
relations by signing at the White House the agreement for the
Transatlantic Economic Council on 30 April 2007. The Council is
co-chaired by an EU and US official, and aims at removing barriers to
trade in a further integrated transatlantic free trade area.[30]
This project has been described as ultra-liberal by the French left-wing
politician
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, fearing a transfer of sovereignty from citizens
to multinationals and an alignment of the European Union on the American
foreign policy and institutions.[31][32]
Der Spiegel reported that tensions between Chancellor Merkel
and U.S. President Barack Obama[33]
were eased during a meeting between the two leaders in June 2009.
Commenting on a White House Press Conference held after the meeting,
Spiegel stated, "Of course the rather more reserved chancellor
couldn't really keep up with [Obama's]...charm
offensive," but to reciprocate for Obama's "good natured" diplomacy,
"she gave it a go...by mentioning the experiences of Obama's sister in
Heidelberg, making it clear that she had read his autobiography".[34]
In 2006 Merkel expressed concern for
overreliance on Russian energy, but she received little support from
others in
Berlin.[35]
Merkel is in favor of the
Association Agreement between
Ukraine
and the
European Union; but stated in December 2012 that its implementation
depends on reforms in Ukraine.[36]
Israel
Merkel has visited
Israel
four times. On 16 March 2008, Merkel arrived in Israel to mark the 60th
anniversary of the Jewish state. She was greeted at the airport by
Prime Minister
Ehud Olmert, an honor guard and many of the country's political and
religious leaders, including most of the Israeli Cabinet.[37]
Until then, US President
George W. Bush had been the only world leader Olmert had bestowed
with the honor of greeting at the airport.[38][39]
Merkel spoke before
Israel's
parliament, the only foreigner who was not a head of state to have
done so,[40]
although this provoked rumbles of opposition from Israeli MPs on the far
right.[41]
At the time, Merkel was also both the
President of the European Council and the chair of the
G8. Merkel has
supported Israeli diplomatic initiatives, opposing the Palestinian bid
for membership at the UN. However, Merkel was offended when settlement
building continued beyond the Green Line,[42]
and felt personally betrayed by the Israeli government's behavior.[43]
Liquidity crisis
Following
major falls in worldwide stock markets in September 2008, the German
government stepped in to assist the
mortgage company
Hypo Real Estate with a bailout which was agreed on October 6, with
German banks to contribute €30 billion and the
Bundesbank €20 billion to a credit line.[44]
On 4 October 2008, a Saturday, following the
Irish Government's decision to guarantee all deposits in private
savings accounts, a move she strongly criticized,[45]
Merkel said there were no plans for the German Government to do the
same. The following day, Merkel stated that the government would
guarantee private savings account deposits, after all.[46]
However, two days later, on 6 October 2008, it emerged that the pledge
was simply a political move that would not be backed by legislation.[47]
Other European governments eventually either raised the limits or
promised to guarantee savings in full.[47]
India
Merkel and
Indian Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh made a ‘Joint Declaration’ emphasising the
Indo-German strategic partnership in 2006.[48]
It turned the focus of future cooperation onto the fields of energy,
science and technology, and defence. A similar Declaration, signed
during Merkel’s visit to
India in
2007, noted the substantial progress made in Indo-German relations and
set ambitious goals for their development in the future.[48]
The relationship with India on the basis of cooperation and partnership
was further strengthened with Merkel's visit to India in 2011. At the
invitation of the Indian government, the two countries held their first
intergovernmental consultations in
New
Delhi. These consultations set a new standard in the implementation
of the strategic partnership, as India became only the third
non-European country with which Germany has had this nature of
comprehensive consultations.[48]
India became the first
Asian
country to hold a joint cabinet meeting with Germany during Merkel's
state visit.[49]
The Indian government presented the
Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding for the year
2009 to Merkel. A statement issued by the Government of India stated
that the award “recognises her personal devotion and enormous efforts
for sustainable and equitable development, for good governance and
understanding and for the creation of a world better positioned to
handle the emerging challenges of the 21st century.”[48]
Failure
of multiculturalism
In October 2010 Merkel told a meeting of younger members of her
conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party at
Potsdam
that attempts to build a
multicultural society in Germany had "utterly failed",[50]
stating: "The concept that we are now living side by side and are happy
about it does not work"[51]
and that "we feel attached to the Christian concept of mankind, that is
what defines us. Anyone who doesn't accept that is in the wrong place
here."[52]
She continued to say that immigrants should integrate and adopt
Germany's culture and values. This has added to a growing debate within
Germany[53]
on the levels of immigration, its effect on Germany and the degree to
which Muslim immigrants have integrated into German society.
Approval
Midway through her second term, Merkel's approval plummeted in the
country, resulting in heavy losses in state elections for her party.[54]
A poll in August 2011 found her coalition with only 36% support compared
to a rival coalition which had 51%.[55]
However, she scored well on her handling of the recent euro crisis (69%
rated her performance as good rather than poor), and her approval rating
reached an all-time high of 77% in February 2012.[56]
Cabinets
The
first cabinet of Angela Merkel was sworn in at 16:00
CET, on 22 November 2005.
On 31 October 2005, after the defeat of his favoured 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 1 November 2005. 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 14 November 2005
The
second cabinet of Angela Merkel was sworn in on 28 October 2009.[57]
Personal life
In 1977, Angela Kasner married physics student Ulrich Merkel. The
marriage ended in divorce in 1982.[58]
Her second and current husband is quantum chemist and professor
Joachim Sauer, who has largely remained out of the media spotlight.
They first met in 1981,[59]
became partners later and married privately on 30 December 1998.[60]
She has no children, but Sauer has two adult sons from a previous
marriage.[61]
Merkel is known to dislike
dogs.[62]
Honours
In 2006, Angela Merkel was awarded the
Vision for Europe Award for her contribution toward greater European
integration. In 2007, Merkel was awarded an
honorary doctorate from the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem.[63][64]
In March 2006, the Italian President of the Republic gave the German
Chancellor the recognition of Dama di Gran Croce Ordine al Merito
della Repubblica Italiana.
She received the
Karlspreis (Charlemagne Prize) for 2008 for distinguished
services to European unity.[65][66]
In January 2008, Merkel was awarded
Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.[67]
She was also awarded the honorary doctorate from Leipzig University in
June 2008,[68]
University of Technology in Wrocław (Poland) in September 2008[69]
and
Babeş-Bolyai University from
Cluj-Napoca,
Romania
on 12 October 2010 for her historical contribution to the European
unification and for her global role in renewing international
cooperation.[70][71][72]
In March 2008 she received the B'nai B'rith Europe Award of Merit.[73]
Merkel topped
Forbes
magazine's list of "The
World's 100 Most Powerful Women" in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011,
and 2012.[74]
New Statesman named Angela Merkel in "The World's 50 Most
Influential Figures" 2010.[75]
On June 16, 2010, the American Institute for Contemporary German
Studies at
Johns Hopkins University in Washington D.C. awarded Chancellor
Merkel its Global Leadership Award (AICGS) in recognition of her
outstanding dedication to strengthening German-American relations.[76]
On September 21, 2010, the
Leo Baeck Institute, a research institution in New York City devoted
to the history of German-speaking Jewry, awarded Angela Merkel the
Leo Baeck Medal. The medal was presented by former U.S. Secretary of
the Treasury and current Director of the Jewish Museum Berlin, W.
Michael Blumenthal, who cited Merkel's support of Jewish cultural life
and the integration of minorities in Germany.[77]
On 15 February 2011, she received the
Presidential Medal of Freedom from U.S. President
Barack Obama.[78]
The medal is presented to people who have made an especially meritorious
contribution to the security or national interests of the United States,
world peace, or cultural or other significant public or private
endeavors.[79]
On 31 May 2011, she received the
Jawaharlal Nehru Award for the year 2009 from the
Indian government. She received the award for International
understanding.[80]
On November 28, 2012, she will receive the Heinz Galinski Award in
Berlin, Germany.
Comparisons
As a female politician from a
centre right party who is also a scientist, Merkel has been compared
by many in the English-language press to former
British Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher. Some have referred to her as "Iron
Lady", "Iron Girl", and even "The Iron Frau" (all alluding to
Thatcher, whose nickname was "The Iron Lady"—Thatcher also has a science
degree: an Oxford University degree in chemistry). Political
commentators have debated the precise extent to which their agendas are
similar.[81]
Later in her tenure, Merkel acquired the
nickname "Mutti" (from a German familiar form of 'mother'),
said by
Der Spiegel to refer to an idealised mother figure from the
1950s and 1960s.[82]
She has also been called the "Iron Chancellor", in reference to
Otto von Bismarck.[83]
In addition to being the first female German chancellor, the first to
represent a Federal Republic of Germany that included the former East
Germany (though she was born in the West and moved to the East a few
weeks after her birth, when her father decided to return to East Germany
as a Lutheran pastor[84]),
and the youngest German chancellor since the Second World War, Merkel is
also the first born after World War II, and the first chancellor of the
Federal Republic with a background in natural sciences. She studied
physics; her predecessors studied law, business or history or were
military officers, among others.
Forbes
has named her the fourth most powerful person in the world as of 2011.[85]
Controversy
Merkel has been criticised for being personally present and involved
at the M100 Media Award handover[86]
to Danish
cartoonist
Kurt Westergaard. This happened at a time of fierce emotional debate
in Germany over disparaging remarks about Muslim immigrants made by the
former
Deutsche Bundesbank executive
Thilo Sarrazin.[87]
The
Zentralrat der Muslime[88][89]
and the left party[90]
(Die
Linke) as well as the
German Green Party[91][92]
criticised the action by the centre-right chancellor. The
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper wrote: "This will
probably be the most explosive appointment of her chancellorship so
far."[93]
Others have praised Merkel and called it a brave and bold move for the
cause of freedom of speech.
In September 2010, concerning a debate on integration, Merkel said to
the Frankfurter Allgemeine that "Germans will see more mosques".[94]
In October 2010, following a speech by the President of the Federal
Republic of Germany
Christian Wulff during the
German reunification day, she stated that "Islam is part of
Germany".[95]
Members of her cabinet and Merkel herself also support the idea of,
and are already introducing, Islamic education and classes in schools.[96][97][98][99]