Traditionally, the American President has been considered the leader of the free world. But ever since Trump was elected, that designation has been repeatedly questioned. Now with Trump pulling America out of the Paris climate accords, his world leader status is toast. So who is repeatedly proposed as leader of the free world? Angela Merkel, chancellor of Germany: Quitting Paris Pact, Trump Abdicates Leadership of the Free World: (click on link for an excellent cartoon):
The authoritarian regime in China will now be playing an even larger role in the world economy. Meanwhile, if anyone is the leader of the beleaguered free world, it is German Chancellor Angela Merkel. After Trump’s failure to reassert America’s commitment to come to the defense of fellow NATO members, Merkel said it is time for Europeans to “really take our fate into our own hands.”
So who is this accomplished world leader, with whom many of us may have only a vague familiarity?
Some interesting highlights from her Wikipedia page:
* Because her father, a Lutheran minister, was assigned to a church in Brandenburg, Merkel grew up in East Germany.
* She joined the Free German Youth, the youth movement of the ruling Socialist Unity Party, which allowed easier access to college, and was a member of its secretariat. Her position was Secretary for Culture. She refused to spy on her colleagues.
* She speaks fluent Russian.
* She studied physics at the University of Leipzig from 1973 to 1978, and physical chemistry at the Academy of Sciences in Berlin-Adlershof from 1978 to 1990, earning a doctorate in physical chemistry in 1986, then working there as a researcher.
* Her thesis was in quantum chemistry. According to Google Scholar, her published research papers included:
** Havlas, Merkel, Kalcher, Janoschek, & Zahradnik. (1988). Ab initio quantum chemical study of the SN2 reaction, CH3F+H- → CH4+F- in the gas phase, Chemical Physics.
** Zulicke & Merkel. (1990). Theoretical approach to reactions of polyatomic molecules, International Journal of Quantum Chemistry.
** Schneider & Merkel. (1989). The lowest bound states of triplet (BH2)+, Chemical Physics Letters.
And similar bestsellers.
* One month after the fall of the Berlin Wall, she joined the new Democratic Awakening party.
* She was elected to the Bundestag in 1990, then appointed to the Cabinet of Chancellor Helmut Kohl as Minister for Women and Youth. She was considered a protegee of Kohl.
* In 1994, she was promoted to Minister for the Environment and Nuclear Safety.
* In 1998, Kohl was defeated, and Merkel was appointed as Secretary-General of the CDU party, now the opposition party.
* In 2000, she was elected as the leader of the CDU, first female leader of a German party.
* In 2005, she was elected Chancellor of Germany. Although she won that election in a virtual tie, she won again in 2009 and 2013. She is now running for re-election. She governs via coalitions of her party with others, which have changed over time.
* She has been called the de facto leader of the European Union numerous times, and is senior leader in the G7.
* She has received multiple awards and honorary doctorates.
* Some of her positions have been troubling; she is considered to be a conservative-centrist:
** She has stated that Germany does not work as a multicultural society; immigrants should adapt. OTOH, “She also publicly declared that Germany suffers not from ‘too much Islam’ but ‘too little Christianity’."
** She has proposed limiting social spending, stating that Europe cannot afford to be so “generous,” especially in light of an aging population.
** She supported a flat tax and deregulation, which was criticized as benefiting the rich. She later reversed her party’s position.
I hope that’s not TMI, but I find it interesting how women become accomplished. And that Angela Merkel is accomplished both in science and in politics.