What is the story of the most powerful woman in the world – politician, scientist and feminist Angela Merkel? In the beginning, she was also criticized for her fashion taste, but she eventually succeeded among men – Diva.sk

Only today did she admit: Yes, I am a feminist …

Angela Merkel is an integral part of Germany, as she eventually headed it for an incredible 16 years, calling Helmut Kohl’s record at the beginning of her political career. She became the first woman to take up the office of Federal Office. She is described as the most powerful woman in the world and the second most powerful man. No woman has come this far on this scale.

Her life journey is at least interesting and admirable.

Despite the enormous respect that radiates from her, we have had the opportunity to see her in many human situations. And although from a young age she stood behind women and her entire career is proof that there is no purely masculine world in which women have nothing to look for, only a few days ago she publicly declared herself a feminist.

The unitarian became a scientist

Angela Merkel grew up in the GDR and as a child she was a very skilful student-unitary. As far as education is concerned, she really had a talent for everything – languages ​​and science, for which she eventually traveled to Leipzig to Karl Marx University after high school. During her studies in physics, she married Ulrich Merkel for the first time, as well as a student. But their marriage lasted only 5 years.

In 1998, she married Joachim Sauer, a university professor of chemistry who still stands by her side today. Many refer to him as an inconspicuous and silent companion, but we cannot deny him an important role in Merkel’s life. She never had children with him, he has two from a previous relationship.

She has also been involved in science in the Czech Republic

After graduating, Angela Merkel really embarked on the path of a scientist, and it is interesting that she completed some scientific work at our neighbors in Prague, at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, because there was equipment that simply was not in the GDR.

The German chancellor is known for her principle. It is not only a respect he has always had in the German population, but also an ordinary daily routine which he does not violate under any circumstances. An example is the fall of the Berlin Wall, where it behaved quite the opposite of anyone in Berlin, as if it were just an ordinary Thursday.

She decided to stick to her typical evening routine – she went to the sauna and then for a beer. Although Merkel behaved as if nothing had changed in her life, it was the fall of the Berlin Wall that opened the door to politics in the highest places.

In politics, it began by unpacking boxes

She started her political career in the Democratic Rise party, where she started by unpacking computer boxes and unloading them in the office. She has been a member of the CDU since 1990 and has been a member of parliament since the same year. It is difficult to judge whether Merkel would be where she is today if Helmut Kohl did not notice her potential.

He appointed her Minister for Women and Youth in 1991. Is it hard to believe, however, that Angela Merkel did not join feminism until the next 30 years?

In Kohl’s next government, she became Minister for the Protection of the Environment, Nature and Safety of Nuclear Reactors in 1994, for which she owes her scientific education. A few years later, in 1999, Merkel’s principledness manifested itself again, in a very vigorous way. Kohl can be considered her political father, he himself used to call her “my little girl”.

Despite his close relationship, it was Merkel who sharply criticized him in the year in question for violating the law on gifts to political parties. She also called on the other members of the party to distance themselves from him, and a few months later she became the chairwoman of the CDU.

The lady in the costumes faced criticism

Did you know that Merkel’s fashion taste did not meet with understanding at all in the beginning? As a doctorate in quantum chemistry, she immediately excelled on the political scene. But her colleagues didn’t like her looks.

Merkel cut her hair short and wore loose skirts and comfortable sandals. Some men didn’t like it so much that they wanted to buy her new and more suitable clothes. However, the office worker never responded to the criticism, and you can see for yourself that not much has changed in her dress over the years. The costumes, short hairstyle, and clasped hands even became her image.

Peace and quiet are her strongest weapons

I guess everyone knows Angela Merkel’s performance, I guess. She never screams, she always acts prudently, she chooses words very much and absolutely nothing seems to upset her. It was peace and a very intelligent and elegant performance that won voters in the beginning.

Nor did she mind when the opponent shouted at her across the podium in the pre-election television debate that she should acknowledge that she was the loser. Merkel reacted as we all know her – with peace in her voice. And the fact is that she soon became a German chancellor.

Journalists have also asked reporters several times whether criticism from politicians or residents has prevented her from finding a prompt solution in some situations and taking it long. At that time, Merkel reacted that she was also aware of the weight of her decisions, so she always acted prudently and sometimes pondered the decision for days. She answers questions about who will be affected and how, what it will bring, who might criticize her, who she might hurt, and consider all her options. He has a huge moral and economic responsibility.

Merkel as the mascot of the football team?

German chancellor is a fan of sports. Finally, she also enjoys swimming, long walks or hiking, which she goes to visit with her husband. Merkel is credited with being the first office worker to appreciate and support sport in Germany. The football team declared her the official mascot and calls her Muttivation, which is from her nickname Mutti, which means mom.

A feminist who didn’t support women enough?

When Angela Merkel has so far been asked if she is a feminist, she has always avoided the answers and never wanted to have this “sticker”. However, she recently turned around and, after 16 years in office, admitted, “Yes, I am a feminist.”

It was a big step Merkel had taken, just a pity just before she left. Many women, and not only women, take it as a symbol of feminism, because it has proven that a woman can actually function completely equally in the “male world”, can hold high positions, can be beneficial to the state.

Merkel is a kind of unification of everything – she has a high level of education, which was not always a matter of course for women, she has enormous power in the political field, she never let herself be judged by her appearance …

However, there is a second view that she is now joining feminists. As they say, each coin has two sides, and not in the case of an office. Ines Kappert, Head of the Gunda Werner Institute of Feminism and Gender Democracy in Berlin,called Merkel’s delayed realization a “slap” to women.

“She was 16 years old to listen to feminists and improve the situation of women in Germany, and she decided not to,” Kappert told AFP. She continued that the office had not made the necessary changes in the company and stated that the gender pay gap in Germany remains one of the highest in the European Union and in 2019 it reached 19 percent. Only last year did her cabinet agree to mandatory quotas for women’s seats on boards of directors.

According to Kappert, Merkel discovered feminism late, which is a huge pity given her position in the world. Despite criticism, she acknowledges that Angela Merkel deserves respect for what she has accomplished. She won a place where not all women can do it.

You can find more about Angela Merkel’s life in our photo gallery: