German politician who served as chancellor from 2005 to 2021, the first woman to hold the office and the second longest serving chancellor in German history. Raised in East Germany, where she trained as a physicist, she entered politics after reunification in 1990 and rose through the Christian Democratic Union. As chancellor she steered Germany and the European Union through the 2008 financial crisis and the 2015 refugee crisis, when she kept German borders open to over a million asylum seekers, a decision praised by supporters and blamed by critics for strengthening the far right.
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Source Angela Merkel (Britannica)
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1. Angela Merkel (Wikipedia)
2. Angela Merkel (Britannica)
Encyclopaedia BritannicaEntity description, gender reference sentenceQuote, Entity description, gender reference sentence
Raised in East Germany, where she trained as a physicist, she entered politics after reunification in 1990 and rose through the Christian Democratic Union.
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