Worldchanger of the Week: Angela Merkel

While it is a sad reality that men have dominated politics for centuries, a new age is rising where women politicians are rising up and making a difference. For this worldchanger of the week, we travel to west-central Europe and into the rising democracy of Germany.

Angela Merkel was born on July 17<span>th</span>, 1954, and did not enter politics until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Prior to her political experience, she was a trained physicist and worked at the Central Institute for Physical Chemistry: Academy of Sciences.

In 1990, she joined the Christian Democratic Union, where her involvement led her to becoming a minister for women and youth under Chancellor Helmut Kohl. In 1998, Kohl was defeated and Merkel was pronounced the Secretary-General of the Christian Democratic Union. Her luck was changed in 2000 when she was pronounced as the leader of the Christian Democratic Union, and in 2005 she changed history by becoming the first female chancellor to lead Germany.

Merkel is a pivotal example of the beginning revolution for women’s rights. While the battle is still being fought both nationally and internationally for women, Merkel shows the fruits of standing up and defying socially constructed gender roles.