Angela Dorothea Merkel
Posted by: Rutha28 - 9/10/2010
Position: Prime Minister of the Germany
Country: Germany
Affiliation: Democrat/Left Wing
Website: http://www.angela-merkel.de/
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angela_Merkel
Bio
Angela Dorothea Merkel, ( née Kasner, born 17 July 1954) is the current Chancellor of Germany. Merkel, elected to the Bundestag (German Parliament) from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, has been the chairman of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) since 10 April 2000, and Chairman of the CDU-CSU (Christian Social Union) parliamentary coalition from 2002 to 2005.
From 2005 to 2009 she led a grand coalition with the Christian Social Union (CSU), its Bavarian sister party, and the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), formed after the 2005 federal election on 22 November 2005. In the elections of 27 September 2009, her party, the CDU, obtained the largest share of the votes, and formed a coalition government with the CSU and the Free Democratic Party (FDP). Her government was sworn in on 28 October 2009.
In 2007, Merkel was also President of the European Council and chaired the G8. She played a central role in the negotiation of the Treaty of Lisbon and the Berlin Declaration. In domestic policy, health care reform and problems concerning future energy development have thus far been major issues of her tenure.
Merkel is the first female Chancellor of Germany. In 2007 she became the second woman to chair the G8, after Margaret Thatcher.
Angela Merkel was born Angela Dorothea Kasner, the daughter of Horst Kasner (born 6 August 1926 in Berlin-Pankow), a Lutheran pastor and his wife, Herlind (born 8 July 1928 in Danzig, as Herlind Jentzsch), a teacher of English and Latin. Her mother was once a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany. Her grandparents on her mother's side, one of them being Masurian, lived in Elbing in East Prussia. Merkel stated that she is one quarter Polish in an interview with Der Spiegel in 2000. She has a brother, Marcus (born 7 July 1957), and a sister, Irene (born 19 August 1964).
In 1977, Angela Kasner married physics student Ulrich Merkel. The marriage ended in divorce in 1982. 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, came together later, but married privately only on 30 December 1998. She has no children, but Sauer has two adult sons by a previous marriage.
Key Beliefs
- Health care reform
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Energy Development
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Economy
Key Accomplishments
- In 2007 Merkel was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
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Merkel is the first female Chancellor of Germany.
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Merkel topped Forbes magazine's list of "The World's 100 Most Powerful Women" in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010.