Angela Merkel (Germany)

Angela Merkel was appointed the first female chancellor of Germany in 2005. Many regard her as the leader of the European Union, and some would even say the leader of the free world as a whole. She has been recognized as playing a significant role in the management of the financial crisis that struck the world in 2007 and 2008 after the US housing bubble collapsed and spread to a worldwide scale. She has focused her goals on controlling climate change, economic development, healthcare, and has been a major voice in the European migrant crisis that began in 2015. The migrant crisis in particular generated opposition, which contributed to a reduced majority for Merkel in the election held this September.