German leaders congratulate Angela Merkel on 70th birthday
July 17, 2024
German Chancellor Angela Merkel celebrated her 70th birthday away from the public gaze and surrounded only by those closest to her on Wednesday.
Merkel became chancellor in 2005, remaining in office for 16 years, and was the first woman to hold the job.
"The former Chancellor Dr. Merkel will spend her birthday in private," a spokeswoman for Merkel told the German press agency DPA.
"Even during her active political time, the former chancellor generally did not answer private inquiries," the spokeswoman added.
"Her attitude to inquiries of this kind has not changed since she left office."
Praise from fellow politicians
Several politicians congratulated conservative Merkel, including Chancellor Olaf Scholz, her successor from the center-left Social Democrats (SPD).
He referred to Merkel's work around the time of the fall of the Berlin Wall, when she became involved in East Germany's growing democracy movement.
"Angela Merkel can look back on an impressive political career. She began with a rousing victory for democracy in East Germany and German unity, which still moves me today. She worked tirelessly for the country. Happy birthday!" Scholz tweeted.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier praised her as a "role model and a hallmark of our democracy."
"The special thing about this anniversary is that your 70 years of life can be divided into exactly two halves," he said.
"The first 35 years until the fall of the Berlin Wall and the second 35 years in the freedom you longed for," Steinmeier, vice chancellor and foreign minister under Merkel, wrote in a birthday message.
The current leader of Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, Friedrich Merz, offered his congratulations.
"For around three decades you have shaped our country's politics and taken on responsibility: in the CDU, in parliament and in the government," Merz posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also tweeted a message of admiration.
"Dear Ms Merkel, for 16 years you stood for the unity of Europe with humanity and perseverance — always with the deepest conviction for democracy and international law. And you opened more doors for women of my generation," the post read. "All the best from the bottom of my heart!"
The tributes also included former political rival Gerhard Schröder, who Merkel replaced as chancellor after Germany's 2005 general election.
"Of all political opponents, she is a special one. After all, she won," said Schröder, who also told German news magazine Stern that he liked Merkel's "typical North German charm," and her ability to be ironic and self-deprecating.
rc/rt (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)