Angela Merkel, German chemist and politician, Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021.

Angela Dorothea Merkel is a German retired politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. She is the only woman to have held the office, as well as the only former East German, and the first born after World War II. She was Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2005 and Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 2000 to 2018.

The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, is the head of the federal government of Germany. The chancellor is the chief executive of the Federal Cabinet and heads the executive branch. The chancellor is elected by the Bundestag on the proposal of the federal president and without debate. During a state of defence declared by the Bundestag the chancellor also assumes the position of commander-in-chief of the Bundeswehr.

July 17 is the 198th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 167 days remain until the end of the year.