Chancellor Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany
Angela Merkel was sworn in as Chancellor on November 22, 2005. She is the first woman and the first East German to hold this office. Her CV traces her rise from an academic to a political career.
Born on 17 July 1954 in Hamburg; Protestant, married
Since November 2005
Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany
2002 - 2005
Chairwoman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the German Bundestag
Since 2000
Chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union Germany (CDU)
1998 - 2000
General Secretary of the CDU Germany
1994 - 1998
Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety
1991 - 1994
Federal Minister for Women and Youth
1993 - 2000
Chairwoman of the CDU Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
1991 - 1998
Deputy Chairwoman of the CDU
Since 1990
Member of the German Bundestag
1990
Deputy Government Spokeswoman of the de Maizière Government
Since 1990
Joined the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU)
1989
Member of "Demokratischer Aufbruch" (Democratic Awakening)
1986
Awarded a doctorate
1978 - 1990
Member of the academic staff at the Central Institute of Physical Chemistry at the Academy of Sciences
1973 - 1978
Studied Physics at Leipzig University
1973
Abitur (higher education entrance qualification) in Templin
LINK: http://www.bundeskanzlerin.de
Horst Koehler, President of Germany
Horst Köhler assumed office as Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund on May 1, 2000. This followed his unanimous selection by the Executive Board of the IMF, on March 23, 2000, to serve as Managing Director and Chairman of the Executive Board. He resigned on March 4, 2004, following his nomination for the position of President of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Mr. Köhler earned a doctorate in economics and political sciences from the University of Tübingen, where he was a scientific research assistant at the Institute for Applied Economic Research from 1969 to 1976. After completing his education, he held various positions in Germany’s Ministries of Economics and Finance between 1976 and 1989.
Prior to taking up his position at the IMF, Mr. Köhler was the President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, a post to which he was appointed in September 1998. He was President of the German Savings Bank Association from 1993 to 1998. From 1990 to 1993, he served as Germany’s Deputy Minister of Finance, being responsible for international financial and monetary relations. During this time, he led negotiations on behalf of the German government on the agreement that became the Maastricht treaty on European Economic and Monetary Union, was closely involved in the process of German unification, and held the position of Deputy Governor for Germany at the World Bank. He was personal representative (“sherpa”) of the Federal Chancellor in the preparation of the Group of Seven Economic Summits in Houston (1990), London (1991), Munich (1992), and Tokyo (1993).
Mr. Köhler was the eighth Managing Director of the IMF. He directly succeeded Michel Camdessus, who retired from the IMF on February 14, 2000. Previous Managing Directors were Camille Gutt (Belgium, 1946-51), Ivar Rooth (Sweden, 1951-56), Per Jacobsson (Sweden, 1956-63), Pierre-Paul Schweitzer (France, 1963-73), H. Johannes Witteveen (Netherlands, 1973-78), and Jacques de Larosière (France, 1978-87).
Mr. Köhler was born in Skierbieszów, Poland on February 22, 1943. A German national.
