Angela Merkel's incredible rise to a quantum chemist and the world's most powerful woman

Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel is the undisputed leader Europeans turn to.

Merkel's rise from humble beginnings under an oppressive East German regime to the top spot as Germany's leader.

Angela Kasner was born in Hamburg, West Germany, on July 17, 1954.

Angela Dorothea Kasner was born to

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A perfectionist by nature, she excelled in her studies.

She excelled in academics, especially math, science, and languages.

In her teenage years, her parents encouraged her to join the Communist youth organization, the Freie Deutsche Jugend, or Free German Youth, to develop skills for a career in politics.

After flunking a physics course in high school, she decided to pursue a degree from the University of

She became a physicist.

She used her promising career in science to hide from the oppressive East German regime.

After earning her doctorate, she worked as a chemist at the Academy of Sciences, where she was one of a few female researchers.

She was convinced that a career in science would protect her from the constraints of the East German regime.

Merkel and her husband divorced in 1982. She later married Joachim Sauer, a chemistry professor.

She has always valued routine and consistency.

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Her decision to stick to her typical routine is an example of her stark contrast to the way most people in Berlin reacted that night.

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Her first job in politics was unpacking boxes.

In 1989, Merkel made a move toward a career in politics and joined the center-right activists of the Democratic Awakening party.

Her first job was unpacking boxes of new computers and setting them up for the office.

A year later, she became the

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She was a rarity in the political world.

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She excelled at her political appointments.

Merkel's rise to the top accelerated when she joined the largest party in West Germany, Christlich Demokratische Union.

She was selected for multiple positions by Helmet Kohl, her mentor and the leader of the .

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She took down the leader of her party by writing a fiery op-ed ...

Kohl called her his "Maedchen," or little girl, up until she publicly called for his resignation in 1999 after he was caught rewarding party funds to his friends.

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And then she made history.

She became popular with voters for her classiness.

During a live television presidential debate,

She brokered a massive bailout for 19 nations.

Merkel's most

She uses a scientific approach in politics.

"People often accuse me of not acting fast enough. That I let things go on too long. For me it's important I deliberate all options ... running through scenarios, and not simply theoretical experiments in my head.

"But I also try to live with that decision for a while. I think about it for a whole day, to see how it develops. What it will mean, what people are going to say about it, who's going to write something about it, who's going to criticize it," Angela Merkel.

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She doesn't flinch at the machismo of her counterparts.

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She is adored by her World Cup winning soccer team.

"The chancellor's visit to the German team during the World Cup shows that she takes people and their interests seriously," said market researcher Manfred Güllner of the Forsa Institute.

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Angela Merkel is the world's most powerful woman ...

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Angela Merkel's incredible rise to a quantum chemist and the world's most powerful woman

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