Angela Merkel’s rule in Germany might be over, but she definitely made her mark on world politics.
As Germany’s new chancellor, Olaf Scholz, takes office on Wednesday, the world is remembering Merkel’s historic contribution.
During her 16-year chancellorship, Merkel stood out as an indispensable crisis manager, managing to hold an increasingly fractious European Union together, while raising Germany’s profile and influence to unprecedented levels.
A scientist who grew up in former East Germany, Merkel rose to prominence in 1991 after chancellor Helmut Kohl appointed her as minister for women and youth. By 2005, she successfully took over the reins at CDU and became the country's first female chancellor.
Her tenure saw her having to handle major international crises, from the 2008 global recession to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The four terms in power meant that Merkel worked with four US presidents, five British prime ministers, four French presidents, and eight Italian premiers.
Named “The World’s Most Powerful Woman” by Forbes magazine for the past 10 years in a row, Merkel was also lauded for being a powerful role model for women, with politics still almost exclusively dominated by male figures.
But it's not just her calmness under pressure and ability to defuse the tensest of situations, both at home and abroad, that made her a largely popular international figure.
Merkel’s “rhombus” hand gesture, or “Merkel-Raute,” became so popular it received its own Wikipedia entry, an emoji, and it was eventually immortalised at the Madame Tussauds museum.
Although the end of her tenure as chancellor also marks an end to Merkel’s 31-year-long career as a politician, many believe that this is not the last the world sees of her.
German
Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, welcomes President Jacques Chirac of
France, right, at the chancellery in Berlin, May 3, 2007.
German
Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks with U.S. President Barack Obama at
Schloss Elmau hotel near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, during the G-7
summit, June 8, 2015.
German
Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, and Russian President Vladimir Putin
hold a news conference after bilateral talks in Dresden, on Oct. 10,
2006
German
Chancellor Angela Merkel gestures regarding the space between chairs as
she speaks with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Brussels.
German
Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks with U.S. President Donald Trump,
seated at right, during the G7 summit in La Malbaie, Quebec, Canada,
June 9, 2018.
Two
German youths walk past an election poster featuring the Christian
Democratic Union's (CDU) leader and main candidate Angela Merkel in
Berlin 11 August 2005.
German
Chancellor Angela Merkel, centre, is surrounded by other leaders as
they walk to pose for a photo in Heiligendamm, Germany, June 7, 2007.
German
Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra
Modi, walk through the garden of the government guest house, Meseberg
Palace.
British
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, left, greets German Chancellor Angela
Merkel as she arrives at the COP26 U.N. Climate Summit in Glasgow,
Scotland, on Nov. 1, 2021.
German
Chancellor Angela Merkel feeds a lemur that sits on her shoulder during
her visit at the bird park in Marlow, northeastern Germany, Thursday,
April 30, 2015.
Albanian
Prime Minister Edi Rama, left, and the German Chancellor Angela Merkel
join the welcome ceremony at the Palace of Brigades in Tirana, Albania,
Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021
French
President Emmanuel Macron, right, holds the hands of German Chancellor
Angela Merkel during a ceremony in Compiegne, north of Paris, Nov. 10,
2018.
Chancellor
Angela Merkel and Chinese President Xi Jinping attend a welcome
ceremony for Chinese panda bears Meng Meng and Jiao Qing at the Zoo in
Berlin in 2017
Chancellor
Angela Merkel follows proceedings at the Defence Ministry during the
Grand Tattoo (Grosser Zapfenstreich), a ceremonial send-off for her, in
Berlin, December 2 2021
A
new wax figure of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, is presented to
the media next to a wax figure from 2005, right, at Madame Tussauds in
Berlin, Sept. 19, 2013.
Angela Merkel arrives for a television debate with Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder at a television studio in Berlin, Sept. 4, 2005.
