Angela Merkel

She was the first woman Chancellor of Germany at her election in 2005. She was then re-elected in 2009 and again in 2013,she is considered one of the most powerful European leaders since World War II. Although she was born in West Germany, Angela Merkel was raised in East Germany. She spent years as a scientist, and became politically active in 1989. In 1990, Merkel became a spokeswoman for East Germany, and her media-friendly zeal led to her election to the legislative body, followed by an appointment to Chancellor Helmut Kohl's cabinet. With Kohl as her political mentor, Merkel rose in the ranks of the Christian Democratic Union party, but in the late 1990s, when Kohl faced a financial scandal, Merkel publicly distanced herself and secured her position as the party leader by 2000.. After successfully steering Germany through the economic rapids of 2009-2012, Merkel was handily re-elected to a third term in September of 2013. She was named Time magazine's Person of the Year in 2015, in part for her strong response to that year's refugee crisis in Europe. The magazine called her the "Chancellor of the Free World."