She is the only woman to have held the office. Merkel previously served as Leader of the Opposition from to and as Leader of the Christian Democratic Union from to Merkel was born in Hamburg in West Germany. Her family moved to East Germany when she was an infant. Merkel obtained a doctorate in quantum chemistry in and worked as a research scientist until Following German reunification in , Merkel was elected to the Bundestag for the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
After the CDU lost the federal election , Merkel was elected general secretary of the party. She then became the party's first female leader, and the first female leader of the Opposition, two years later. She was the first woman to be elected chancellor, and the first chancellor of reunified Germany to have been raised in the former East Germany. In foreign policy , Merkel emphasised international cooperation, both in the context of the EU and NATO , and initiating the Russian reset and strengthening of Eurasian and transatlantic economic relations.
In the first half of , Merkel served as president of the European Council and played a central role in the negotiation of the Treaty of Lisbon and the Berlin Declaration. Merkel's governments managed the global — financial crisis and the European debt crisis. She negotiated the European Union stimulus plan , which focused on infrastructure spending and public investment to counteract the Great Recession.
In domestic policy, Merkel's Energiewende programme supported the development of renewable energy sources and eventually phased out the use of nuclear power in Germany. Despite the Russian annexation of Crimea , which prompted sanctions around the world, she initiated the construction of the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipelines to Russia and protected their construction from United States sanctions imposed in Reforms to the Bundeswehr , health care reform , the s European migrant crisis , and the COVID pandemic were major issues during her chancellorship.
Merkel stepped down as leader of the CDU in and did not seek a fifth term as chancellor in the federal election. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine , her legacy came under increased scrutiny both in Germany and abroad for her relatively good relations with Russia and increasing the German economy 's dependence on Russia, as well as the downsizing of the military that occurred during her tenure.
