Angela Merkel (born 17 July 1954 in Hamburg) is a German politician and a former research scientist who has been the Chancellor of Germany since 2005 and the leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) since 2000. She is the first woman to hold either office.

Chancellor, Germany

The first political star from the former East Germany since reunification, Chancellor Merkel is also the backbone and an original architect of the 28-member European Union with a GDP of $15.8T.

She is number one on the list.