Angela Merkel

Introduction & Top Questions
Early life
Political career
Chancellorship
- First two terms and the euro-zone debt crisis
- The migrant crisis and softening support
Assessment

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images, Videos & Interactives

Reunification of Germany: How it happened

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel smiling in a close-up portrait, wearing a dark blazer, with a blurred background.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande, and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko stand in a row in front of national flags.

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel stand outdoors, holding hands and looking at each other during a commemorative ceremony in Compiegne, France.

At a Glance

Angela Merkel summary

Quizzes

Michael Faraday (L) English physicist and chemist (electromagnetism) and John Frederic Daniell (R) British chemist and meteorologist who invented the Daniell cell.

Faces of Science

Italian-born physicist Dr. Enrico Fermi draws a diagram at a blackboard with mathematical equations. circa 1950.

Physics and Natural Law

Cleopatra hieroglyphic carving the Ancient Egyptian queen Cleopatra. Wall of the Temple of Horus at Edfu, Egypt.

Women in Power Quiz

Related Questions

How did Angela Merkel become Germany’s leader of the opposition after the 2002 election?
How did Angela Merkel respond to Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014?
How did Angela Merkel respond to the euro-zone debt crisis?
How did Angela Merkel vote on Germany’s same-sex marriage bill?
How did Angela Merkel’s refugee policy affect support for the Alternative for Germany?
How did the Fukushima nuclear accident influence Angela Merkel’s energy policy?
How did the fall of the Berlin Wall affect Angela Merkel’s political career?
How long did Angela Merkel serve as chancellor of Germany?
What economic policies were priorities of Angela Merkel’s third coalition government?
What role did Angela Merkel have in East Germany’s government in 1990?
What role did Angela Merkel play at the United Nations Climate Conference in Berlin in 1995?
When did Angela Merkel plan for Germany to end its use of nuclear power?
When did Angela Merkel receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom?
When did Angela Merkel serve as chancellor of Germany?
When was Angela Merkel first elected to the Bundestag?
Where did Angela Merkel work as a scientist before entering politics?
Which French president worked with Angela Merkel on the euro-zone debt crisis?
Which German political party did Angela Merkel lead?
Which cabinet post did Helmut Kohl give Angela Merkel in 1991?
Which constituency did Angela Merkel represent in the Bundestag?
Which government ministry did Angela Merkel lead after the 1994 German election?
Which parties formed Angela Merkel’s first coalition government as chancellor?
Which parties formed Angela Merkel’s third government in 2013?
Which political group did Angela Merkel join after the Berlin Wall fell?
Who became the CDU-CSU candidate for chancellor in the 2002 German election?
Who succeeded Angela Merkel as chancellor of Germany?
Why did Angela Merkel allow a Bundestag vote on same-sex marriage in 2017?
Why did Angela Merkel decide not to seek another term as CDU leader in 2018?
Why did Angela Merkel decide to leave the chancellorship in 2021?
Why did Angela Merkel decide to phase out nuclear power in Germany?
Why did Angela Merkel need a new coalition partner after Germany’s 2013 election?
Why did Angela Merkel not run for chancellor in Germany’s 2002 election?
Why did Angela Merkel publicly call on Helmut Kohl to step aside in 1999?
Why did Angela Merkel remain in office as caretaker chancellor after the 2021 election?
Why did Germany form a grand coalition government after the 2005 election?
Why did Horst Seehofer threaten to resign from Angela Merkel’s government in 2018?
Why did talks between Angela Merkel’s party and the Free Democratic Party collapse in 2017?
Why did the Alternative for Germany gain support in the 2016 regional elections?
Why did the Free Democratic Party fail to remain in Angela Merkel’s government after the 2013 election?
Why was Angela Merkel able to form a coalition with the Free Democratic Party after the 2009 election?
Why was Angela Merkel called “Kohl’s girl”?
Why was it difficult for Angela Merkel to form a government after the 2017 election?
Where was Angela Merkel educated?
What did Angela Merkel accomplish?
What did Angela Merkel do to help the world?
How did Heinrich Himmler die?
What happened to Adolf Eichmann after the end of World War II?
How did Joseph Goebbels rise to power in the Nazi Party?
How did Joseph Goebbels affect the Nazi movement?
How was Hermann Göring captured?
What were Wilhelm II’s main policies as German emperor?
What role did Wilhelm II play in World War I?

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External Websites

Wilson Center - Angela Merkel: The Authorized Biography
Official Site of The Federal Chancellor of the Republic of Germany
CNN World - Angela Merkel Fast Facts
BBC - Witness History - Angela Merkel's Rise to Power
Brookings - Angela Merkel's final year
World Trade Organization - Angela Merkel highlights multilateralismÂ’s role in global co-operation, womenÂ’s participation in trade
Council on Foreign Relations - Is Angela Merkel a Feminist?

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Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

Angela Merkel - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
Angela Merkel - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

Angela Merkel

chancellor of Germany

Also known as: Angela Dorothea Kasner

Written by

Nicki Peter Petrikowski

Nicki Peter Petrikowski is a freelance writer, editor, and translator.

Nicki Peter Petrikowski

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Nov. 3, 2026 •History

Angela Merkel (born July 17, 1954, Hamburg, West Germany) is a German politician who served as chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. She was the first woman to hold that office and the second longest-serving chancellor in German history. Merkel’s parents, Horst and Herlind Kasner, met in Hamburg, where her father was a theology student and her mother was a teacher of Latin and English. After completing his education, her father accepted a pastorate...

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