Ursula von der Leyen

Ursula von der Leyen, born on October eighth, nineteen fifty-eight, in Brussels, Belgium, is a distinguished German physician and politician. She has held the prestigious position of President of the European Commission since December first, two thousand nineteen, making history as the first woman to do so. Raised in a bilingual household, she was influenced by her father, Ernst Albrecht, one of the early European civil servants, and moved to Germany in nineteen seventy-one as he ventured into German politics.

Her academic journey began at the London School of Economics, where she graduated in nineteen seventy-eight. She later earned her medical license from Hanover Medical School in nineteen eighty-seven. After marrying fellow physician Heiko von der Leyen, she spent part of the nineteen nineties in the United States before returning to Germany, where she became active in local politics in the Hanover region.

Von der Leyen's political career took off when she joined the federal cabinet in two thousand five, initially serving as Minister for Family Affairs and Youth. She subsequently held the roles of Minister for Labour and Social Affairs and Minister for Defence, the latter making her the first woman to occupy that position. Her tenure in Angela Merkel's cabinet spanned from two thousand five to two thousand nineteen, during which she was recognized as a leading figure in German and European politics.

In July two thousand nineteen, she was elected by the European Parliament to lead the European Commission, and in July two thousand twenty-four, she was re-elected with an absolute majority. Her leadership has been marked by significant initiatives, including the establishment of an International Criminal Tribunal for the Russian Federation. Recognized for her influence, Forbes named her the most powerful woman in the world for four consecutive years from two thousand twenty-two to two thousand twenty-five.