We’ll see. Merkel can point to a degree of experience, including with American presidents, that just makes for a sense of judgment and ability to bridge conversations that is in very short supply right now and is really appreciated by politicians who are newer to the game. For a long time, there was a line I heard from many German journalists and politicians that she had no core values, that she was a politician who just went with what was popular and followed public opinion rather than led it — and that may have been true, but it’s no longer true. But on the other hand, at the time of Brexit negotiations, Germany was one of the states that firmly stuck to the EU negotiation line, and that was crucial for the EU to really hold together. And that’s just so remarkably unlike most politicians, on both sides of the Atlantic, that she’s stood out — to be serious, analytical, not always looking for the votes. The 1950s is often viewed as "baby boom" and a period of conformity, when young and old alike followed group norms rather than striking out on their own. Probably these are things that might become clearer in retrospect: being the one who preserves rather than destroys, being the one who maintains, the one who solves crises rather than causes crises. A LATE RISE TO POWER We would have also left the Austrians and the central Eastern Europeans and the Balkan countries with that problem, political economies that were much more vulnerable to stress than ours was. The question is whether, under her leadership, Germany will move further with its positions on eurozone questions. Taking a rare respite from the war, Churchill came to accept an honorary Doctor of Laws degree recognizing his international leadership that “turned back the tide of tyranny in freedom’s darkest hour.”. Her father was the priest-teacher in East Germany, the Protestant pastors’ teacher. She never has any doubt that she is right. Angela Merkel's expected final Bundestag budget debate became a historic speech on responsibility during the pandemic, DW's Christoph Strack writes. I think she just saw the opportunity and realized that this was her moment, and she took it. So she has a certain humility that comes from her particular biography. Psychologists offer insights into how we make donation decisions, Social psychologist details research at University-wide faculty seminar, Experts detail vaccine unknowns, need to continue masking, distancing, Chan School Dean Williams details need for Biden ‘action agenda’, © 2020 The President and Fellows of Harvard College, By Christina Pazzanese Harvard Staff Writer, World War II was at a critical juncture when British Prime Minister Winston Churchill traveled to Harvard in September 1943 at the urging of his ally and friend President Franklin D. Roosevelt 1904, L.L.D. — STEFAN KORNELIUS. German ambassador to the Holy See (2014‒2018); minister of education and research (2005‒2013); deputy chair, Christian Democratic Union party (1998‒2012); longtime Merkel confidante. And, as it turned out, she was the major leader of the party. She was approached by the East German secret police when she started to study at the age of 17, 18, in Leipzig. Merkel looks at a situation and then looks at its possibilities, not its obstacles. Photos from the Summer 2019 Belfer Center newsletter. I’ve never seen that. She leads a country that has become, without any question, the strongest in Europe economically and politically, far stronger than France or Britain, the other two of that triumvirate. Director of the German Council on Foreign Relations (2016‒present); senior director of research and Europe program director at the German Marshall Fund of the U.S. in Berlin (2014‒2016); Fritz Thyssen Fellow at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard (2012‒2013). I can’t explain. So, yes, the family was watched. I was vice chancellor and leader of the Social Democratic party. That effort became known as the Marshall Plan and revitalized the continent. Where all Western societies were engulfed by racial issues or gender issues, gay marriage, all of these things, she pushed her conservative party extremely to the center and changed the political landscape. And there, she led and people learned that Merkel has core values, that they were shaped by being a product and a victim of Communism and being an East German, with all that that means. That’s her style: Work long nights, and then come out with a compromise. She felt that she needed to, as it were, “finish her job.” Whenever she gets to step away, she will do so very happily. German politician and former research scientist who became the first female Chancellor of Germany in 2005. And the Greens, the same. Taking a rare respite from the war, Churchill came to accept an honorary Doctor of Laws degree recognizing his international leadership that “turned back the tide of tyranny in freedom’s darkest hour.”. Angela Merkel (born July 17, 1954) is famous for being world leader. - Png download , Png images ready to use, cut out images, cut out png images She was divorced without children. She was working at an East German scientific institution that was decaying throughout the ’80s. Now, as national-populist forces again threaten to overtake much of Europe and undermine relations between the U.S. and the continent, Harvard again welcomes a pivotal democratic figure, a woman widely regarded as the most respected leader in the world, German Chancellor Angela Merkel. She was a person whom no one could take offense with. Brexit was just starting to become reality. Marshall used his Commencement appearance in June that year to deliver a landmark speech pledging $13 billion for a new, U.S.-led aid program for Europe. She actually took a sauna with a friend while others were crossing, and then joined a crowd. When Merkel and then-Chancellor Gerhard Schröder sat around a table on a news talk show after the 2005 election, it was clear that her party had won the most votes. German Chancellor Angela Merkel at Harvard’s 368th Commencement Ceremony, Analysis & Opinions She reacted the same way as with other topics. Without her, it would have not been possible to stop the war at a certain level in the east of Ukraine. Merkel has been widely described as the de facto leader of the European Union, the most powerful woman in the world and by many commentators since 2016 as the "leader of the free world ". Sign up for updates. Even six months before the Berlin Wall fell, most people thought that its fall would be impossible. Considering the challenges she has faced, I would rank her as one of the great chancellors because she dealt with, like some of her predecessors, a major critical development: the breakdown of the established rules-based system in the wake of the U.S. election. The second stunning thing is that her private character, the base on which all of this stands, has changed remarkably little. That historic shift prompted Merkel to abandon scientific work and embrace a lifelong interest in politics, steadily ascending the ranks of a newly unified German government. She is a typical German in the sense that she considers a close relationship with the U.S. the most important part of Germany’s foreign policy and she’s profoundly disappointed by the destructive impact of Trump’s foreign policy in questioning that basis. — STEFAN KORNELIUS, AMERICA AS A MODEL The Leadership Qualities That Made Angela Merkel 'Time' Magazine's Person of the Year As Germany's chancellor since 2005, Merkel has proven to be a master of leading from behind- … Merkel has always said how much America was an ideal for her when she was still a young adult in the GDR [German Democratic Republic, or East Germany]. On Thursday, Harvard will award Merkel an honorary Doctor of Laws degree during Morning Exercises, and she will address the annual meeting of the Harvard Alumni Association during the Afternoon Program at the 368th Commencement. — NICHOLAS BURNS. She was open-minded and acted politically in the spirit of the new civil rights movements, although she did not belong to one. But Schröder was trying to claim a victory. Now professor of the practice of public leadership and director of the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard Kennedy School (HKS). That was alien to her. But she was never able to explain it, and she will never be, so it will be up to historians to judge. ONE OF THE GREAT CHANCELLORS A member of the Christian Democratic Union, Merkel is the first female Chancellor of Germany. We had Trump in the United States. I think she believes that if you have the competence, if you have the skill, if you have the wherewithal — whoever you are — you should be able to move ahead. She was viewed as “the woman who saved the dignity of Europe.” For Merkel, this decision was critical. So, Kasner, who became Angela Merkel upon marrying fellow scientist Ulrich Merkel in 1977, turned to Berlin, where she would remain until her sudden rise to politics in 1990. Her initial steps led her to a party called the Democratic Awakening, or Demokratischer Aufbruch. DOESN’T NEED POLITICS For us, the most important date is the 9th of October, the Monday of the peaceful rally in Leipzig. You can’t think of a less-likely origin story for a world leader. In the German vernacular, we have this expression that has become a verb: to merkeln, which is “to wait for the strategic opportunity, or see how the chips lie, or how a landscape presents itself, and then make a strategic move.” Because she’s a woman, they call her Mutti, which is short for Mommy. She’s a very down-to-earth woman, very self-critical. - Charles S. Maier, CALM OVER BOMBAST — STEFAN KORNELIUS, WICKEDLY FUNNY She grew up in a pastoral household. What struck all of us who know her from other occasions, she was totally liberated. A case in point is how she managed to charm Alexis Tsipras of Greece. She currently resides in Hamburg, Germany. Germany is the greatest success of American foreign policy. And she knows how to operate on the world stage — no easy task. She went from one political party to another to check on what she liked best. And I find that more credible than with most other politicians I’ve met. Personal representative of the German Chancellor for Africa (2010‒present); BMZ commissioner for Africa (2014‒present); federal commissioner for human rights policy and humanitarian aid in Germany’s Federal Foreign Office (2006‒2010). That was the father who gave her a sense of purpose and responsibility. Both worked their way toward each other. The most dangerous issue in the West is that democracy is under siege. She is extraordinary. She reacted the same way as with other topics. Angela Merkel, the scientist became a leader PNG - Photo #356 - Download Angela Merkel, the scientist who became a world leader transparent PNG image. The 50s were also the beginning of the Space Race, Cold War and the Civil Rights Movement. To leave when you’re at the top is very desirable, and to make sure that you have a successor you think is the best to continue your work. She’s famous for that. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how China’s new power is reaching Europe, the challenges that it poses, and the European responses to this new reality. She quietly assesses the different factors involved in a given situation and then decides which way she wants to go, and does it quietly and without fanfare. One of the participants was Hans-Jürgen Fischbeck from the initiative Democracy Now, whose texts our ecumenical peace group had distributed the weekend before, after the worship. She has not disappeared in the fog of prominence or of being a superhero. She’s someone whom our students can look up to and say, “This is someone I can follow. Her succession plan had collapsed and her party was losing ground to the fringes. What constitutes her success? She is extraordinary. She never had any doubt that she was doing the right thing. — GEORGE PACKER, A NEW EXPERIMENT She went from one political party to another to check on what she liked best. She was divorced without children. Considering the challenges she has faced, I would rank her as one of the great chancellors because she dealt with, like some of her predecessors, a major critical development: the breakdown of the established rules-based system in the wake of the U.S. election. German politician and former research scientist who became the first female Chancellor of Germany in 2005. - George Packer, THE WOMAN CALLED ‘MUTTI’ She disliked, for example, with the Social Democrats, the way that they always addressed each other by first name. — CONSTANZE STELZENMÜLLER, QUIETLY BUILT TRUST In polls , she became Germany’s most popular politician again, with an approval rating of 71%. She always was deeply interested in politics. In advance of her visit, the Gazette spoke with current and former Merkel colleagues, diplomats, scholars, and journalists about her life, her rise to political power, and her extraordinary influence on Germany and the world. She does everything possible not to talk about herself. That effort became known as the Marshall Plan and revitalized the continent. She seems to have no vanity. The first woman to hold the position, Merkel emerged as one of the strongest forces in … — GEORGE PACKER, FREEDOM AND SUPPRESSION - Karl Kaiser, SECRET TO HER SUCCESS AN AUTHENTIC LEADER Of all the honors Merkel has received, the most meaningful to her was the Presidential Medal of Freedom that President Obama presented to her on June 7, 2011. This party was, soon after unification, dissolved. For me, it was her deep conviction that it is her duty as a Christian to help people who are in danger. We would have pushed off the problems in a way that we would have been justifiably accused of irresponsibility for. She kept the European Union together in difficult times, particularly when the question came up of dealing with Russia, which is another crisis where she did well. She leads a country that has become, without any question, the strongest in Europe economically and politically, far stronger than France or Britain, the other two of that triumvirate. Or ask “Who would chair this group in a fair way?” They’d put the gavel in her hands. What you see is what you get, and that also inspires trust. She might have won it, but the price would have been huge. One of the participants was Hans-Jürgen Fischbeck from the initiative Democracy Now, whose texts our ecumenical peace group had distributed the weekend before, after the worship. And she knows how to operate on the world stage — no easy task. Angela Merkel was born in 1950s. Sign up for daily emails to get the latest Harvard news. She kept her head down and did what you had to do in order to have a decent life and a reasonably successful career. She faced challenges associated with all three gender-gap explanations; investments in human capital, … She is considered the de facto leader of the European Union. Merkel's determination to do what she seemingly couldn't, or what others perceived she couldn't, is a telling side of a person who has risen to become one of the most powerful German leaders … So you have to calibrate that role of leading without dominating extremely carefully. - Harvard Gazette, World War II was at a critical juncture when British Prime Minister Winston Churchill traveled to Harvard in September 1943 at the urging of his ally and friend President Franklin D. Roosevelt 1904, L.L.D. It’s obviously her decision to have an orderly transition and not to repeat what happened under some of her predecessors. I met Angela Merkel for the first time on Sept. 23, 1989, at an event organized by the Pastoral College in Templin. There’s no question about that. In terms of European affairs or international affairs, I think [she will be remembered for] her determined stance on Russia and the way she engaged for the EU with Vladimir Putin on Ukraine and Russia, and the way that she became “The European” to talk with Putin. She became a Physicist and even graduated with her Ph.D. She has a set of strong values, and she understands Germany’s history exceedingly well, in part because she comes from East Germany. I think that leader is now Merkel. That’s partially in admiration, because she’s not mommy-ish at all. Last year, this photo of a defiant Donald Trump facing Merkel and other leaders of the European Union at the G7 summit in Quebec went viral. Her strength is to find consensus quietly and not publicly, never to humiliate anybody publicly, and to work until the early morning hours to work out a compromise, which is the method of the European Union. (Flickr.com: EPP, CC-BY-2.0) The German chancellor excelled academically in high school, but after failing her physics she decided to pursue the subject at the University of Leipzig to prove she could master the subject. Director of the German Council on Foreign Relations in Bonn/Berlin (1973‒2003); an adviser to German Chancellors Willy Brandt and Helmut Schmidt; founder and senior associate of the Project on Europe and the Transatlantic Relationship at HKS. Public opinion swung around immediately, and many applauded her. She is breathing and thinking and dreaming politics, I guess. Now, as national-populist forces again threaten to overtake much of Europe and undermine relations between the U.S. and the continent, Harvard again welcomes a pivotal democratic figure, a woman widely regarded as the most respected leader in the world, German Chancellor Angela Merkel. She disliked, for example, with the Social Democrats, the way that they always addressed each other by first name. And that’s sort of been true of her for most of her political career. Mommy Merkel. Staff writer for The New Yorker (2003‒2018) who wrote an authoritative profile of Merkel, “The Quiet German,” in 2014; staff writer for The Atlantic (2018‒present); author, “Our Man: Richard Holbrooke and the End of the American Century” (2019). She took me aside and said, “Please promise me that we will never build new fences in Germany against people who are refugees of civil wars and who only want to save their lives and the lives of their children.” To understand her position, one has to remember that she lived in East Germany, which was divided from West Germany through a fence. She knows who she is. The 66-year-old became the first female German chancellor back in 2005. I would say there was a lack of understanding for the east/west and north/south divides in Europe over various issues: migration, the eurozone, questions of national identity. - Stefan Kornelius, NO PLACEHOLDER The career incentives for our students are so unbalanced — the salaries in the private sector and on Wall Street. She does everything possible not to talk about herself. Her political career could have never been anticipated, and never gave the idea that she could end up as chancellor or that she would be the leader of the Western world somehow. Without the participation of many heads of state and government, the summit would not have been so successful. It is extremely honest, and you still do feel this honesty when she talks about democracy and liberalism and freedom. She was a good East German. She quietly assesses the different factors involved in a given situation and then decides which way she wants to go, and does it quietly and without fanfare.