Minister Shacklebolt had best prepare for the next coming months. In previous years, the Minister for Magic rarely attended UN events, but in the interest to increase bonds between the muggle and magical worlds, his advisors have pushed for more inclusion in muggle politics—including the Minister making an appearance at the UN General Assembly Session in mid-September.
As charismatic as our minister may be, Shacklebolt might find it hard to charm Angela 'Iron Chancellor' Merkel, the Chancellor for Germany and the de facto leader of the European Union, who is known for being self-assured and demanding.
Born on 17 July 1954, Angela Merkel took the world by storm in short order. Merkel was raised only a few kilometers outside of East Berlin (you may remember that Muggles divided the country from 1945 to 1990). Though she showed political prowess in her youth, Merkel studied in the STEM fields in university earning a doctorate in Physical Chemistry from the Academy of Sciences in Berlin.
So how exactly did she become the first woman and first former citizen of the GDR to hold office of Chancellor? Following the reunification of Germany in 1990, Merkel chose to run for office and was elected to the Bundestag legislative body, a position for which she consececutively won re-election.
She took on the welfare of women and children when she was appointed to the Cabinet in 1991 as Minister of Women and Youth. Merkel worked under Chancellor Helmut Kohl as his youngest Cabinet Minister and was one of his protégées.
Due to a funding scandal in 1999, Merkel was elected to replace the former leader of the Christian Democratic Union party, thus making her the first leader of a German political party to be female. Merkel’s appointment astounded many people because she contrasted so strongly against her opponents: her being a Protestant from the North and they being Catholic conservatives from the West and South.
The public quickly began to support Merkel and her bid for Chancellor. Although the election ended in a stalemate, Merkel was chosen and appointed as Chancellor of Germany on 22 November 2005 and has now served under three presidents. She supported large amounts of reform dealing with Germany’s economic
and social system, as well as fostering a transatlantic partnership between Germany and the United States.
Although she is the longest serving incumbent member of the European Union and has put quite a bit of work into her political life, Merkel has also been able to refrain from sacrificing her personal life. Merkel retained the surname from her first marriage, but in 1998, she married her second husband, Joachim Sauer, a quantum chemist. The couple never had children, but perhaps it’s because she has taken on her country as her children, alluding to one of her nicknames 'Mutti,' a familiar form of 'mother' in German.
Chancellor Merkel has been named by many as the most powerful woman in the world and she has proven it by the efficient and proactive way she runs her office. Perhaps Minister Shacklebolt should brush up on his levitation charms if he finds himself in a similar position as former Minister Fudge who almost flew out of a window at the hands of the last formidable lady in office.
MUGGLE OF THE MONTH
Angela
Merkel