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Angela Merkel
Angela Dorothea Merkel is a German politician who has been Chancellor of Germany since 2005 and, in addition, Leader of the Christian Democratic Union since 2000. Merkel, who grew up in East Germany, studied Physics at the University of Leipzig and later worked as a quantum chemist.
Merkel rose to political prominence as Minister for Women and Youth in the federal government under Chancellor Helmut Kohl in the mid-nineties and was appointed Chairwoman of the CDU in 2000. Under her leadership, the CDU and its sister party, the CSU, were catapulted to what has since become an absolute majority in the Bundestag. As Germany’s leader, Merkel has become an influential figure in European and global politics, pushing for closer ties to the European Union and advocating for the liberalization of trade and labor markets.
A proponent of the European single currency, Merkel has also emerged as a champion of austerity measures and budget reform, as well as green energy. She has, however, been criticized for her handling of the 2009 minority government, as well as for her support of the failed attempt to introduce “accelerated deportations” for asylum seekers in Germany. Merkel is, nevertheless, lauded for her successful management of the 2015 European refugee crisis and her ability to secure a coalition government with the renegade CSU in 2018.
Source: OpenAi