FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY
CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL

Born: July 17, 1954 in Hamburg.
1978: graduated with a degree in physics from Karl Marx University in Leipzig.
Worked as a researcher in the quantum chemistry department of the Central Institute for Physical Chemistry at the East Berlin Academy of Sciences, German Democratic Republic (DDR), where she attained her doctorate in 1986.
1990: deputy spokesperson in the last DDR government.
1990: German Bundestag deputy.
1991: Federal Minister for Women and Youth.
1994-1998: Minister for the Environment and Nuclear Reactor Safety.
In 1989, joined the Demokratische Aufbruch (Democratic Awakening) organization. In 1990 joined the Christian Democratic Union. In 1991,  elected deputy Christian Democratic Union chairperson. From 1993 to 2000 headed the CDU branch in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. In 1998, became CDU Secretary-General.
November 22, 2005: elected German Chancellor.
Married.