Former Chancellor Merkel awarded Germany's top medal

President Frank-Walter Steinmeier awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit for her exceptional service to the German chancellor, who served four terms as chancellor . She also became the third former leader to receive the award. The other two are Konrad Adenauer, the first leader of West Germany, and Helmut Kohl, who led a unified Germany.

“For 16 years, she served Germany with ambition, intelligence and passion,” Steinmeier told Merkel and a group of guests handpicked by Merkel in his speech of praise at the presidential palace in Berlin.

“For 16 years, you have worked for freedom and democracy, for our country and the happiness of its people,” Mr. Steinmeier added.

Ms Merkel, 68, is the first woman to lead Germany and the first chancellor to have grown up behind the Iron Curtain in East Germany.

“She was not only the first woman to hold the office of Prime Minister,” the President said. “With her position as Prime Minister, she ensured that having a woman as head of government would be the norm in our country.”

Merkel stepped down in December 2021 after leading Europe's largest economy through a series of crises, including the global financial crisis, the eurozone debt crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. She ended her term as Germany's second-longest-serving leader since World War II, 10 days shy of Kohl's record.

Mr Steinmeier praised Ms Merkel for “three outstanding skills”.

“First, her insistence on the truth. Second, her art of negotiation and her ability to compromise. And third, her unwavering determination, which has helped to maintain the very fundamental principles of our state,” Steinmeier said.

But, he added, "to do politics well, she also has something else, and that is confidence."

In a brief response after Mr. Steinmeier's speech, Ms. Merkel thanked many people who have helped her during her four terms as chancellor, including some who attended the ceremony such as her husband, Joachim Sauer, her longtime spokesman Steffen Seibert and many political companions.

“Now I can only say thank you and simply say that I have had a very, very good experience,” she said.

Since her resignation, she has also kept a low profile and stayed out of domestic and foreign politics. Her successor, Olaf Scholz, also attended Monday's ceremony.

Hoang Nam (according to AP)

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