Angela Merkel was born on 17 July 1954 in Elim hospital. A German politician, Merkel trained as a physicist and grew up in East Germany, entering politics after the fall of the Berlin Wall. She joined the Christian Democratic Union and served as a minister under Helmut Kohl, becoming party leader in 2000. In 2005 she was elected the first female chancellor of Germany, and she remained in office for sixteen years, until 2021. She played a leading role in the European response to the euro crisis and the Russian annexation of Crimea, and in 2015 she decided to admit large numbers of refugees, a policy that was hotly debated. She was one of the most influential leaders in Europe.
Before and after
- 15 June 1954Founding of Union of European Football Associations
- 27 June 1954The first nuclear power plant supplies a grid
- 30 June 1954Birth of Serzh Sargsyan
- 13 July 1954Death of Frida Kahlo
- 17 July 1954Birth of Angela Merkel
- from 21 July 1954 to 4 July 1976Rise of National Liberation Front of South Vietnam
- 28 July 1954Birth of Hugo Chávez
- 29 July 1954Publication of The Fellowship of the Ring
- 12 August 1954Birth of François Hollande
More in Wars, politics & history
- from 12 March 1947 to 25 December 1991Cold War
- from 3 April 1948 to 1 December 1951Marshall Plan
- 10 December 1948Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- 26 July 1953Cuban Revolution
- 26 December 1991Dissolution of the Soviet Union
- 24 February 2022Full-scale Russo-Ukrainian war
The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.