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Angela Merkel’s Life in Photos

Merkel as a child with a toy stroller.
Merkel, then Angela Kasner, as a child with a toy stroller.Laurence Chaperon
Angela Kasner prepares a meal on a campfire while camping with friends in Himmelpfort, German Democratic Republic on July 1973.
Angela Kasner prepares a meal on a campfire while camping with friends in Himmelpfort, German Democratic Republic on July 1973. Glaescher/laif/Redux
Angela Kasner, 18, with friends at a New Year's Eve party in Berlin in 1972.
Angela Kasner, 18, with friends at a New Year's Eve party in Berlin in 1972.Glaescher/laif/Redux
Angela Kasner dances with a young man at a New Year's Eve party in Berlin in 1972.
Angela Kasner dances with a young man at a New Year's Eve party in Berlin in 1972.Glaescher/laif/Redux
Angela Merkel
Angela Kasner posing for a group photo during the Mathematics Olympiad in Teterow, Germany, in 1971.AFP/Getty Images
Angela Merkel visits a fisherman's hut in Lobbe on the island of Ruegen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany during her campaign on Nov. 2, 1990.
Angela Merkel visits a fisherman's hut in Lobbe on the island of Ruegen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany during her campaign on Nov. 2, 1990.ullstein bild/Getty Images
Angela Merkel
Then-Federal Minister for Women and Youth Angela Merkel, in 1991.Ulrich Baumgarten—Getty Images
Politician Angela Merkel in her office in Bonn, Germany on Feb. 15, 1991.
Politician Angela Merkel in her office in Bonn, Germany on Feb. 15, 1991.Sven Simon/dpa/Corbis
Angela Merkel
Angela Merkel, then-Federal Minister for Women and Youth on an airplane, in Germany in 1991.Erwin Falk—Ullstein Bild/Getty Images
Environmental Minister Angela Merkel (C) serves some coffee as German Chancellor and CDU leader Helmut Kohl (R) and party secretary Peter Hintze (L) look on at the annual CDU (Christian Democratic Union) party congress, October 21.
Environmental Minister Angela Merkel (center) serves some coffee as German Chancellor and CDU leader Helmut Kohl (R) and party secretary Peter Hintze (L) look on at the annual CDU (Christian Democratic Union) party congress on Oct. 21, 1996.Peter Mueller—Reuters
Angela Merkel
Angela Merkel in a beach chair at the Baltic Sea, in Germany in 2000.Chaperon—Ullstein Bild/Getty Images
Angela Merkel
Then-Chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union, Angela Merkel sits in a Porsche 911 during her visit at Porsche in Stuttgart, Germany, in 2002.Thomas Imo—Getty Images
Angela Merkel
Angela Merkel stands on a dune as she poses for photographers during a visit to the North Sea island of Borkum, Germany, in 2004.David Hecker—AFP/Getty Images
Angela Merkel
An Angela Merkel campaign bus in Berlin, in 2005.Seyboldt—Ullstein Bild/Getty Images
Angela Merkel
Angela Merkel campaigns in Regensburg, Germany, in 2005.Franziska Krug—Getty Images
Angela Merkel on the eve of her election in 2005 with parents Herlind Kasner, Angela Merkel’s mother, from Hamburg. She was a Latin and English teacher. And her father, Horst Kasner, was originally from Berlin. He was a pastor in the Protestant Church in Germany.
Angela Merkel on the eve of her election in 2005 with parents. Herlind Kasner, Angela Merkel’s mother, from Hamburg was a Latin and English teacher. Her father, Horst Kasner, originally from Berlin, was a pastor in the Protestant Church in Germany.Laurence Chaperon
Angela Merkel
President George W. Bush and Chancellor Angela Merkel talk to the media at the Bush ranch in Crawford, Texas, in 2007. Gerald Herbert—AP
Angela Merkel
Hillary Clinton and Angela Merkel speak during the Munich Security Conference at Hotel Bayerischer Hof in Munich in 2011.Miguel Villagran—Getty Images
Angela Merkel
Angela Merkel chats with Pope Francis after their meeting in his private library at the Vatican, in 2013.Guido Bergmann—Getty Images
Angela Merkel
Chancellor Merkel poses with other G8 leaders in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, in 2013.Matt Cardy—Getty Images
Chancellor Angela Merkel stands in front of her election campaign tour bus before a CDU board meeting in Berlin on Sept. 16, 2013.
Chancellor Angela Merkel stands in front of her election campaign tour bus before a CDU board meeting in Berlin on Sept. 16, 2013.Fabrizio Bensch—Reuters
Chancellor Angela Merkel and German President Joachim Gauck celebrate with the players in the Germany dressing room after the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Final match between Germany and Argentina at Maracana on July 13, 2014 in Rio de Janeiro.
Chancellor Angela Merkel and German President Joachim Gauck celebrate with the players in the Germany dressing room after the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Final match between Germany and Argentina at Maracana on July 13, 2014 in Rio de Janeiro.Lars Baron—FIFA/Getty Images
Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomes Queen Elizabeth II upon her arrival at the Federal Chancellery during the royal couple's four-day visit to Germany on June 24, 2015 in Berlin. The Queen and Prince Philip visited Berlin, Frankfurt and the concentration camp memorial at Bergen-Belsen during their first to Germany since 2004.
Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomes Queen Elizabeth II upon her arrival at the Federal Chancellery during the royal couple's four-day visit to Germany on June 24, 2015 in Berlin. The Queen and Prince Philip visited Berlin, Frankfurt and the concentration camp memorial at Bergen-Belsen during their first to Germany since 2004. Getty Images
Chancellor Angela Merkel and her husband Joachim Sauer arrive at the Schloss Bellevue Palace on June 24, 2015 in Berlin.
Chancellor Angela Merkel and her husband Joachim Sauer arrive at the Schloss Bellevue Palace on June 24, 2015 in Berlin.Sean Gallup—Getty Images
Marche republicaine contre le terrorisme et en hommage aux victimes des attentats contre Charlie Hebdo et le supermarche cacher
From left: French President Francois Hollande, Chancellor Angela Merkel, President of the European Council Donald Tusk, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas during a silent march against terrorism in Paris on Jan. 11, 2015 following the terrorist attacks on the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo and a kosher supermarket.Orban/Redux
After a break during the peace talks for the conflict in Ukraine in Minsk (Belarus), Chancellor Merkel and President Putin of Russia, return to the negotiation table. Feb. 11, 2015.
After a break during the peace talks for the conflict in Ukraine in Minsk (Belarus), Chancellor Merkel and President Putin of Russia, return to the negotiation table. Feb. 11, 2015.Steffen Kugler—Bundesregierung
At the protocol entrance of the chancellery in Berlin Chancellor Angela Merkel bids farewell to the Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong, after his visit to Berlin. Feb. 3, 2015.Steffen Kugler—BundesregierungAt the protocol entrance of the chancellery in Berlin Chancellor Angela Merkel bids farewell to the Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong, after his visit to Berlin. Feb. 3, 2015.

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