Germany's first female chancellor has topped Forbes magazine's list of the world's most powerful women. The 53-year-old daughter of a Lutheran pastor who was raised in rural East Germany, Merkel came to power in 2000 as head of the Christian Democratic Union and became chancellor in 2005. She holds a doctorate in physics and worked as a chemist before entering politics. She is married to a science professor in Berlin.
(Photo: GETTY IMAGES/Andreas Rentz)
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