Dictionary of Meaning
<<Back
Please select a letter:
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
G |
H |
I |
J |
K |
L |
M |
N |
O |
P |
Q |
R |
S |
T |
U |
V |
W |
X |
Y |
Z |
0-9
Click here for Shopping
Angela Merkel
*** Shopping-Tip: Angela Merkel
{{Infobox PM
|name=Angela Merkel
|image =Angela_Merkel.jpg
|country-de=Germany
|term=
22 November,
2005–present
|before=
Gerhard Schröder
|after=Incumbent
|date_birth =
July 17,
1954
|place_birth =
Hamburg,
Germany
|party=
Christian Democratic Union (Germany) Christian Democratic Union
}}
'''Dr. Angela Dorothea Merkel''' (
IPA pronounced /{{IPA|ˈaÅ‹É¡ela doroˈteË?a ˈmÉ›É?kÉ™l}}/, born
July 17,
1954) is the current
Chancellor of Germany. As chairwoman of the
Christian Democratic Union (Germany) Christian Democratic Union (CDU) she leads a coalition with its sister party, the
Christian Social Union in Bavaria Christian Social Union (CSU), and with the
Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). The coalition was formed after two months of negotiations following the
German federal election, 2005 2005 federal election.
Merkel, elected to the
Bundestag (Germany) German Parliament from
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, has been the chairwoman of the CDU since 2000, and Chairwoman of the CDU-CSU parliamentary party group from 2002 to 2005. She is the first female Chancellor of Germany, the first former citizen of the
East Germany GDR to lead the
German reunification re-unified Germany and the first woman to lead Germany since it became a modern
Nation-state nation state in 1871.
Background
Image:Kohlmerkel.jpeg thumb|right|German elder statesman [[Helmut Kohl visiting his former protégée Angela Merkel in the Chancellor's Office he ordered built in Berlin, 2006]]
Merkel was born as '''Angela Dorothea Kasner''' in
Hamburg, Germany, the daughter of Horst Kasner, a
Lutheranism Lutheran pastor, and his wife Herlind (née Jentzsch), a teacher. In 1954 her father received a pastorship at the church in Quitzow, near
Perleberg, and the family moved to
Templin. Merkel grew up in the countryside only 80 km (50 miles) north of
Berlin, in the
Communist state communist East Germany German Democratic Republic (GDR).
Like most pupils, Merkel was a member of the official, communist-led youth movement
Free German Youth Free German Youth (FDJ). Later she became a member of the district board and secretary for
Agitprop agitation and propaganda at the Academy of Sciences in that organisation. However, she didn't take part in the secular coming of age ceremony
Jugendweihe, which was common in GDR, and was
Confirmation (sacrament) confirmed instead.
She was educated in Templin and at the
University of Leipzig, where she studied
physics from 1973 to 1978. Merkel worked and studied at the ''Central Institute for
Physical chemistry of the Academy of Sciences'' from 1978 to 1990. After graduating with a
doctorate in physics she worked in
quantum chemistry.
In 1989, she got involved in the growing
democracy movement after the
fall of the Berlin Wall, joining the new party
Demokratischer Aufbruch. Following the first (and only) democratic election in the GDR, she became the deputy spokesperson of the new government under
Lothar de Maizière. At the first post-reunification general election in December 1990, she was elected to the Bundestag from a
constituency which includes the
German districts districts of
Nordvorpommern and
Rügen, as well as the city of
Stralsund. Her party merged with the west German CDU and she became Minister for Women and Youth in
Helmut Kohl's cabinet. In 1994, she was made Minister for the Environment and Reactor Safety, which gave her greater political visibility and a platform on which to build her political career. As one of Kohl's protégées and his youngest cabinet minister, she was referred to by Kohl as "das Mädchen" ("the girl").
According to an article in ''
Der Spiegel'', her background in the former GDR has served her well in post-reunification politics. For the first thirty-six years of her life, she honed her skills at disguising her inner thoughts and feelings — essential for survival in a society where every room might contain a State Security Police (
Stasi) informer, and especially for a pastor's daughter. Speaking near-perfect English and remarking on her background as an "
Ossi", she says: "Anyone who really has something to say doesn't need
cosmetics make-up". Besides being fluent in English, Angela Merkel speaks
Russian language Russian fluently.
From 1977 until their divorce in 1982, she was married to
physicist Ulrich Merkel. Since 1998, she has been married to Berlin
chemistry professor
Joachim Sauer. She has no children.
Leader of the Opposition
Image:Merkel greeting soldiers.jpg thumb|250px|right|Chancellor Angela Merkel greeting soldiers before the Chancellor's Office
When the Kohl government was
German federal election, 1998 defeated in the 1998 general election, Merkel was named Secretary-General of the CDU. In this position, Merkel oversaw a string of Christian Democrat election victories in six out of seven provincial elections in 1999 alone, breaking the SPD-Green coalition's hold on the
Bundesrat of Germany Bundesrat, the legislative body representing the
States of Germany Länder. Following a party financing
scandal, which compromised many leading figures of the CDU (most notably Kohl himself and then-party chairman
Wolfgang Schäuble, Kohl's hand-picked successor), Merkel criticized her former mentor, Kohl, and advocated a fresh start for the party without him. She was elected to replace Schäuble, becoming the first female chair of her party, on
April 10,
2000. Her election surprised many observers, as her personality offered a contrast to the party she had been chosen to lead; Merkel is a Protestant woman, originating from predominantly Protestant northern Germany, while the CDU is a male-dominated, socially conservative party with deep
Catholicism Catholic roots, and has its stronghold in western and southern Germany. In November of 2001, despite her pledge to clean up the party, she refused to hold further inquiries into the financing scandal.
Following Merkel's selection as CDU leader, she enjoyed considerable popularity among the German population and was favoured by Germans to become
Gerhard Schröder Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's challenger in the
German federal election, 2002 2002 election. However, she was unpopular in her own party and particularly its sister party (the
Bavarian
Christian Social Union in Bavaria Christian Social Union, or CSU), and was subsequently out-manoeuvred politically by CSU leader
Edmund Stoiber, who had had the privilege of challenging Schröder but squandered a large lead in the opinion polls to lose narrowly. After Stoiber's defeat in 2002, in addition to her role as CDU chairwoman, Merkel became leader of the conservative opposition in the lower house of the German parliament, the
Bundestag. Her rival,
Friedrich Merz, who had held the post of parliamentary leader prior to the 2002 election, was eased out to make way for Merkel.
{{Christian Democracy}}
Political platform
Merkel supported a substantial
reform movement reform agenda concerning Germany's economic and social system and was considered to be more pro-
free market (and pro-
deregulation) than her own party (the CDU); she advocated changes to German labour law, specifically, removing barriers to firing employees and increasing the allowed number of work hours in a week, arguing that existing laws made the country less competitive because companies cannot easily control labour costs at times when business is slow (see [http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/0,1518,249207,00.html]).
She argued for Germany's
nuclear power to be phased out less quickly than the Schröder administration had planned.
Merkel advocated a strong transatlantic partnership and German-American friendship. In the spring of 2003, defying strong public opposition, Merkel came out in favour of the
2003 invasion of Iraq U.S. invasion of Iraq, describing it as "unavoidable" and accusing Chancellor
Gerhard Schröder of
anti-Americanism. This led some critics to characterize her as an American
lackey. She criticised the government's support for
Accession of Turkey to the European Union Turkish Membership in the
European Union and favoured a "privileged partnership" instead. In doing so, she was seen as being in unison with an overwhelming majority of Germans in rejecting Turkish membership in the European Union, particularly due to fears that large waves of
immigration may impose an unbearable burden on Germany and that there would be too much
Islamist influence within the
European Union EU.
Comparisons
As a female politician from a
centre right party, and a scientist, Merkel has been compared by many in the
English language English as well as the German press to former
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Some have referred to her as "
Iron Lady" or "Iron Girl" (alluding to Thatcher); despite the name, some political commentators see little similarity between their respective agendas (see [http://www.slate.com/id/2122001/]).
Candidacy for Chancellor
Image:AMerkel.jpg thumb|250px|left|Angela Merkel
On
May 30,
2005, she won the CDU/CSU nomination as challenger to Chancellor
Gerhard Schröder of the
Social Democratic Party of Germany SPD in the
German federal election, 2005 2005 national elections. Her party began the campaign with a 21% lead over the
SPD in national
opinion polls, although her personal popularity lagged behind that of the
incumbent. However, the CDU/CSU campaign suffered when Merkel, having made economic competence central to the CDU's platform, confused
gross income gross and
net income twice during a televised debate. She regained some momentum after she announced that she would appoint
Paul Kirchhof, a former judge at the German Constitutional Court and leading fiscal policy expert, as Minister of Finance.
Both Merkel herself and the CDU again lost ground significantly after Kirchhof proposed the introduction of a
flat tax in Germany, again undermining the party's credibility on economic affairs and convincing many voters that the CDU's platform of deregulation was designed to benefit only the rich. This was compounded by Merkel proposing to increase
VAT to reduce Germany's deficit and fill the gap in revenue from a flat tax. The SPD were able to increase their support simply by pledging not to introduce flat taxes or increase VAT. Although Merkel's standing recovered after she distanced herself from Kirchhof's proposals, she remained considerably less popular than Schröder, and the CDU's lead was down to 9% on the eve of the election. Merkel was also criticized for plagiarizing a passage from a speech used by
President of the United States President Ronald Reagan in a 1980 US presidential debate for her own television election duel with Gerhard Schröder, the Social Democratic chancellor.
On
September 18, Merkel's CDU/CSU and Schröder's SPD went head-to-head in the national elections, with the CDU/CSU winning 35.2% (CDU 27.8%/CSU 7.4%) of the second votes to the SPD's 34.2%. Neither the SPD-Green coalition nor the CDU/CSU and its preferred coalition partners, the
Free Democratic Party (Germany) Free Democratic Party, held enough seats to form a majority in the Bundestag, and both Schröder and Merkel claimed victory. A
Grand Coalition between the CDU/CSU and SPD faced the challenge that both parties demanded the chancellorship. However, after three weeks of
negotiations, the two parties reached a deal whereby Merkel would become Chancellor and the SPD would hold 8 of the 16 seats in the cabinet (see [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4325600.stm] and [http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/10/13/germany.government.ap/]). The coalition deal was approved by both parties at party conferences on
November 14 (see [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4434812.stm]). Merkel was elected Chancellor by the majority of delegates (397 to 217) in the newly assembled Bundestag on
November 22, but 51 members of the governing coalition voted against her or abstained (see [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4458430.stm]).
{{wikinews|Schröder gives up German chancellorship ambitions, makes way for Merkel}}
Image:20060113-1 d-0019-2-515h.jpg right|thumb|US President [[George W. Bush welcomes Chancellor Merkel to the
Oval Office ]]
Reports have indicated that the Grand Coalition will pursue a mix of policies, some of which directly contradict aspects of Merkel's political platform as leader of the opposition and candidate for Chancellor. The coalition intends to cut public spending whilst increasing
VAT,
social insurance contributions and the top rate of
income tax.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4429518.stm] Employment protection will no longer cover employees during their first two years in a job, pensions will be frozen and subsidies for first-time home buyers will be scrapped. On foreign policy, Germany will maintain its strong ties with
France and eastern European states, particularly
Russia, and will continue its support for
Turkey one day joining the
European Union. However it is unlikely Germany will push for a lifting of the
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 EU embargo on arms sales to the
People's Republic of China, as Merkel has repeatedly stated her opposition to such a move.
Merkel has stated that the main aim of her government will be to reduce unemployment, and that it is this issue on which her government will be judged (see [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4431262.stm]).
Chancellor
Image:Merkel and chirac.jpg thumb|Chancellor Merkel is greeted with a [[Hand-kissing|hand kiss by French President
Jacques Chirac]]
Her first foreign trip took place the day after she was sworn in as Chancellor, and went to
Paris for a meeting with the French president,
Jacques Chirac. In his speech, Chirac emphasized the importance of the Franco-German Companionship for Europe. After the meeting with Chirac, she travelled to
Brussels for talks with EU leaders and the Secretary-General of
NATO,
Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. She then traveled to
London where she met with the British Prime Minister,
Tony Blair. On November 28 she received her first state guest:
Hifikepunye Pohamba President Pohamba of
Namibia, a former German colony in Africa, who visited Berlin for five days. In her first government address on
November 30,
2005, she announced her objective of improving the German Economy and reducing unemployment. On
January 13,
2006, she visited the United States for the first time as Chancellor.
In early 2006, polls showed that Angela Merkel, having been in office for only about 100 days, now has the highest approval rate among Germans ever to be recorded for a chancellor since 1949.
Merkel's Cabinet
The Cabinet of Angela Merkel was sworn in at 16:00
Central European Time CET,
November 22,
2005.
* Angela Merkel (CDU) — Chancellor
*
Franz Müntefering (SPD) — Vice Chancellor and Minister for Labour and Social Affairs
*
Thomas de Maizière (CDU) — Minister for Special Affairs and Director of the
Bundeskanzleramt Chancellor's Office
*
Frank-Walter Steinmeier (SPD) — Minister of Foreign Affairs
*
Wolfgang Schäuble (CDU) — Minister of the Interior
*
Franz Josef Jung (CDU) — Minister of Defence
*
Brigitte Zypries (SPD) — Minister of Justice
*
Peer Steinbrück (SPD) — Minister of Finance
*
Michael Glos (CSU) — Minister for Economics and Technology
*
Horst Seehofer (CSU) — Minister for Consumer Protection, Food, and Agriculture
*
Ursula Schmidt Ulla Schmidt (SPD) — Minister for Health
*
Wolfgang Tiefensee (SPD) — Minister for Transport, Building, Urban Development and Development of East Germany
*
Ursula von der Leyen (CDU) — Minister for Family, Senior Citizens, Women, and Youth
*
Annette Schavan (CDU) — Minister for Research and Education
*
Sigmar Gabriel (SPD) — Minister for Environment
*
Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul (SPD) — Minister for Economic Co-operation and Development
On
October 31, after the defeat of his favored candidate for the position of Secretary General of the SPD,
Franz Müntefering indicated that he will resign as Chairman of the party in November. Ostensibly responding to this,
Edmund Stoiber (CSU), who was originally nominated for the Economics and Technology post, announced his withdrawal on
November 1. While this was initially seen as a blow to Merkel's attempt at forming a viable coalition and cabinet, the manner in which Stoiber withdrew has earned him much ridicule and has severely undermined his position as a Merkel rival. Separate conferences of the CDU, CSU and SPD approved the proposed Cabinet on
November 14.
Quotations
{{unreferenced}}
*Merkel is of the opinion that the
European Union EU has failed to define its common interests "for the (commercial) battles of the future" now that Europe's
Cold War priorities of keeping "peace and freedom" have been achieved: "This is where I think Europe needs to learn a lot, not to concentrate too much on whether bicycle paths are built the same way in
Portugal and north-west Germany."
*Domestically, Merkel has advocated change in the country's consensual model: "In Germany, we are always facing the danger that we are a little bit too slow. We have to speed up our changes."
*"The state has to be the gardener, not the fence."
*After reaching a deal with the
SPD to form a
Grand Coalition, Merkel stated: "I am absolutely certain — I know — that the success of this coalition will be measured by the question: Are there more jobs?"
*Merkel urged her party to approve the deal at a conference in
Berlin, saying: "Germany stands at a crossroads where it is about whether we will preserve what makes this country strong - a social market economy in times of globalisation."
*"Such a Palestinian Authority (
Hamas-ruled) cannot be directly supported by money from the EU."
Trivia
* In her office she has a picture of Russian Empress
Catherine the Great, a German-born princess described by Merkel as "a strong woman".
Selected published works
*{{cite journal
| first=Angela
| last=Merkel
| coauthors=Ilka Böger, Hans Joachim Spangenberg, Lutz Zülicke
| year=1982
| title = Berechnung von Hochdruck-Geschwindigkeitskonstanten für Zerfalls- und Rekombinationsreaktionen einfacher Kohlenwasserstoffmoleküle und -radikale (Calculation of High
Pressure (physics) Pressure Rate constant Velocity Constants for
Chemical reaction Reactions of
Chemical decomposition Decay and Recombinations of simple
Hydrocarbon Molecules and
Radical (chemistry) Radicals)
| journal = Zeitschrift für Physikalische Chemie
| volume = 263
| issue = 3
| pages = 449-460
}}
*{{cite journal
| first=Angela
| last=Merkel
| coauthors=Lutz Zülicke
| title = Berechnung von Geschwindigkeitskonstanten für den C-H-Bindungsbruch im Methylradikal (Calculation of Velocity Constants for the Break of the
Carbon-
Hydrogen-
Chemical bond Bond in the
Methyl Radical)
|journal=Zeitschrift für Physikalische Chemie
|year=1985
|volume=266
|issue=2
|pages=353-361
}}
*{{cite journal
| first=Angela
| last=Merkel
| coauthors=Lutz Zülicke
|title=Nonempirical parameter estimate for the
Statistical mechanics statistical adiabatic theory of unimolecular fragmentation carbon-hydrogen bond breaking in methyl
|journal=Molecular Physics
| year=1987
| volume = 60
| issue = 6
| pages = 1379-1393}}
*{{cite journal
| first=Angela
| last=Merkel
| coauthors=Zdenek Havlas,
Rudolf ZahradnÃk
|title=Evaluation of the rate constant for the S
N2 reaction
fluoromethane +
hydride:
methane +
fluoride in the gas phase
|journal=Journal of American Chemical Society
|year=1988
|volume=110
|issue=25
|pages=8355-8359
}}
*{{cite journal
| first=Angela
| last=Merkel
|title=The role of science in
sustainable development
|journal=Science
|year=1998
|volume=281
|issue=5375
|pages=336-337
}}
External links
*{{de icon}} [http://www.bundeskanzlerin.de/ The Office of the Chancellor]
*{{de icon}} [http://www.angela-merkel.de Angela Merkel's Homepage] - Merkel's personal website.
-
English version of CDU website - Official party website.
*{{PND|119545373}}
-
Angela Merkel Sworn in as German Chancellor - report from Deutsche Welle.
*
Günter Grass, ''
The Guardian'', September 16, 2005, [http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1571286,00.html "We must not be blackmailed by Merkel's neoliberal gang"] German Nobel prize-winning author expresses his view against Merkel and in favour of Schröder
-
"The career of CDU leader Angela Merkel", by Lena Sokoll, July 8, 2005 (Engl. version)
-
Carnival in Germany : Photos of the Rose Monday Parade, February 7, 2005 [http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/0,1518,340620,00.html] Political satire at Carnival Parades is a very old and proud German tradition. Here George W. Bush and Merkel are ridiculed because of their stance on the Iraq war; with "Wiedereröffnung" meaning "Reopening".
*{{de icon}} [http://www.cdunion.de/ CDUnion] - A weblog for Merkel.
*{{de icon}} [http://stoppt-merkel.de/ Stoppt Merkel] - A weblog opposing Merkel's candidacy.
*Ruth Elkins, ''
The Independent'', June 19, 2005, [http://news.independent.co.uk/people/profiles/article226396.ece "Angela Merkel: Iron Mädchen"]
*Clay Risen, ''
Slate (magazine) Slate'', July 5, 2005, [http://www.slate.com/id/2122001/ "Deutschland's Iron Lady"]
*Severin Weiland, ''
Der Spiegel'', June 3, 2005, [http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,358868,00.html "Angela Merkel The Underestimated"]
*{{de icon}} [http://www.br-online.de/cgi-bin/ravi.pl;jsessionid=?v=video/&g2=1&f=ll-nockherberg-zuckerpuppe00.rm "Die Zuckerpuppe aus der Schwarzgeldtruppe"], Merkel parody from the traditional deriding of politicians at the inauguration of the strong-beer season at the
Nockherberg, 2000
*Ralf Neukirch, ''
Der Spiegel'', October 11, 2005, [http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,379211,00.html "Germany's New Chancellor: Merkel's Surprising Rise to the Top]
*DW staff, ''
Deutsche Welle'', October 11, 2005, [http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,5830,1600411,00.html "Kohl's Girl" Makes Good]
*Ralf Neukirch, Gabor Steingart and Stefan Aust
Der Spiegel, Interview with Chancellor-designate Angel Merkel, October 17, 2005, [http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/spiegel/0,1518,380168,00.html "I am immune to the Seduction of Power"]
-
Angela Merkel: A 'Continental European Politician in the Making' Knowledge@Wharton, March 9, 2006
-
Merkel's meteoric rise to power October 11, 2005, Profile of Angela Merkel's career from www.expatica.com
-
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/01/10/germany.merkel.reut/index.html-
Angela Merkel Mutter der Nation
{{start box}}
{{succession box|
title=
Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth Minister for Women and Youth of Germany|
before=
Hannelore Rönsch|
after=
Claudia Nolte|
years=1991–1994|
}}
{{succession box|
title=
Minister for the Environment and Reactor Safety of Germany Minister for the Environment and Reactor Safety|
before=
Klaus Töpfer|
after=
Jürgen Trittin|
years=1994–1998|
}}
{{succession box|
title=
Christian Democratic Union (Germany) Secretary General of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany|
before=
Peter Hintze|
after=
Ruprecht Polenz|
years=1998–2000|
}}
{{incumbent succession box|
title=
Christian Democratic Union (Germany) Chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany|
before=
Wolfgang Schäuble|
start=2000–|
}}
{{succession box|
title=
CDU#Relationship with the CSU Chairwoman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group|
before=
Friedrich Merz|
after=
Volker Kauder|
years=2002–2005|
}}
{{incumbent succession box|
title=
Chancellor of Germany|
before=
Gerhard Schröder|
start=2005–|
}}
{{end box}}
Category:1954 births Merkel, Angela
Category:Chancellors of Germany Merkel, Angela
Category:Current female heads of government Merkel, Angela
Category:Current national leaders Merkel, Angela
Category:Female heads of government Merkel, Angela
Category:German women Merkel, Angela
Category:Leaders of political parties Merkel, Angela
Category:Living people Merkel, Angela
Category:Lutherans Merkel, Angela
Category:People from Hamburg Merkel, Angela
Category:East German people Merkel, Angela
af:Angela Merkel
ar:أنغيلا ميركل
ast:Angela Merkel
bs:Angela Merkel
br:Angela Merkel
bg:Ð?нгела Меркел
ca:Angela Merkel
cv:Ð?нгела Меркель
cs:Angela Merkelová
da:Angela Merkel
de:Angela Merkel
et:Angela Merkel
el:Άγκελα ÎœÎÏ?κελ
es:Angela Merkel
eo:Angela Merkel
eu:Angela Merkel
fa:آنگلا مرکل
fr:Angela Merkel
ga:Angela Merkel
ko:앙겔� 메르켈
hr:Angela Merkel
io:Angela Merkel
id:Angela Merkel
is:Angela Merkel
it:Angela Merkel
he:×?× ×’×œ×” מרקל
la:Angela Merkel
li:Angela Merkel
hu:Angela Merkel
mk:Ð?нгела Меркел
ml:�ന��ജല മെര��ക�കല��
ms:Angela Merkel
nl:Angela Merkel
ja:アンゲラ・メルケル
no:Angela Merkel
nn:Angela Merkel
pl:Angela Merkel
pt:Angela Merkel
ro:Angela Merkel
ru:Меркель, Ð?нгела
sq:Angela Merkel
scn:Angela Merkel
simple:Angela Merkel
sk:Angela Merkelová
sr:Ð?нгела Меркел
sh:Angela Merkel
fi:Angela Merkel
sv:Angela Merkel
ta:�ங�கலா மெர�கல�
tr:Angela Merkel
uk:Ð?нґела Меркель
zh:å®‰æ ¼æ‹‰Â·é»˜å…‹çˆ¾
*** Shopping-Tip: Angela Merkel
