Germany's president has honored former Chancellor Angela Merkel with the country's highest Order of Merit. The occasion has been an opportunity to evaluate her legacy.
Former Chancellor Angela Merkel received the highest Order of MeritImage: John MacDougall/AFP/Getty Images
The president, a largely symbolic position in Germany, has a range of awards and medals he can bestow upon "individuals who have rendered distinguished services to the nation," according to the presidential office. The Order of Merit is the most distinguished, which since 1951 has been "awarded to Germans as well as foreigners for achievements in the political, economic, social or intellectual realm."
There is no financial reward attached to the Order of Merit.
While more than 260,000 people have received an Order of Merit of some kind, according to the presidential office, Merkel will be only the third to receive the highest version of it available to German citizens: the Großkreuz, or "large cross." One final higher level is reserved for foreign dignitaries and the German president himself.
Three chancellors' charm
The other two were also chancellors, of then-West Germany, and belonged to the same conservative party as Merkel, the Christian Democratic Union. Konrad Adenauer, the country's first leader after Adolf Hitler, was awarded the Großkreuz in 1954. Helmut Kohl, who oversaw German reunification and green-lit the euro to replace the Deutsche Mark, was honored in 1998.
Germany's chancellors
Germany has had nine chancellors since 1949: eight male, one female. Here's an overview of the people and their legacies.
Image: AP Photo/picture alliance
Friedrich Merz (CDU), 2025 -
Friedrich Merz is the 10th chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. He is also the chairman of Germany's center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Merz, a former European Parliament lawmaker and commercial lawyer who was born in 1955, hails from a rural area of Germany's most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia. He is a staunch Catholic and made a career in business
Image: Evan Vucci/AP/picture alliance
Olaf Scholz (SPD), 2021 - 2025
Olaf Scholz took over as German chancellor, after having served as finance minister and vice chancellor for three years. The conservative and soft-spoken Social Democrat displayed stoicism and unwavering self-confidence. The former mayor of Hamburg looked back on a decades-long political career, which included a number of upsets.
Image: Kay Nietfeld/dpa/picture alliance
Angela Merkel (CDU), 2005-2021
Angela Merkel was elected Germany’s first female chancellor. Through her pragmatic style of leadership, she successfully sidelined competitors within her party and navigated through numerous crises over 16 years in government.
Image: Laurence Chaperon
Gerhard Schröder (SPD), 1998-2005
After Helmut Kohl’s fourth term in office, German voters were in a mood for change. Gerhard Schröder became chancellor in the first coalition of SPD and environmentalist Greens. For the first time, German armed forces were deployed abroad under a NATO mandate, including to Afghanistan. Schröder's reorganization of the welfare system, the so-called Agenda 2010, became a real test for his party.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Helmut Kohl (CDU), 1982-1998
His term lasted 16 years. For many years, Helmut Kohl was seen as sitting things out, in an unflinching, patient style, with no particular interest in big reforms. But his big historic achievement stands in stark contrast to this: German reunification and reconstruction of the former GDR. Kohl was not only the Chancellor of German Unity — he also pushed for further European integration.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Helmut Schmidt (SPD), 1974-1982
Helmut Schmidt took over as chancellor after Willy Brandt resigned. In the face of inflation and economic stagnation, Schmidt’s style was fact-oriented and efficient. He took a hard stance towards the left-wing extremist group Red Army Faction (RAF). He had to step down as a result of a no-confidence vote in parliament when his coalition partner, the FDP switched allegiances.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Willy Brandt (SPD), 1969-1974
Social upheaval in Germany led to a change in politics, with Willy Brandt becoming the first Social Democratic chancellor. He kneeled before the memorial in the former Warsaw Ghetto — a historic gesture of seeking forgiveness for Nazi cruelty and a sign of reconciliation. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971 for his contribution to easing tensions with countries in the East.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Kurt Georg Kiesinger (CDU), 1966-1969
Kurt Georg Kiesinger forged Germany’s first "grand coalition" between the CDU and SPD. The government managed to add new impetus to the country’s stagnating economy. Kiesinger’s membership in Adolf Hitler's NSDAP party became the subject of heated debate. In 1968, Beate Klarsfeld publicly slapped him in the face during the 1968 Christian Democrat convention calling him a Nazi.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Ludwig Erhard (CDU), 1963-1966
In 1963, the CDU urged 87-year-old Adenauer to step down. Ludwig Erhard was chosen as his successor, having earned some popularity as minister of economics. He supported social economics and become the "father" of the west-German economic boom. He was rarely seen without a cigar in his mouth and is said to have smoked 15 per day. In 1966, Erhard stepped down as chancellor.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Konrad Adenauer (CDU), 1949-1963
Konrad Adenauer was the first German chancellor. During his term in office, the young federal republic became a sovereign state, with foreign policies looking towards the west. His style of governing was seen as authoritarian. Adenauer was from the Rhineland region and pushed for Bonn to become the German capital. But he was never a great fan of the Rhineland's popular Carnival tradition.
Image: picture alliance/Kurt Rohwedder
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Adenauer and Kohl presided over momentous periods in post-war German history. Regardless of one's political views or the consequences of their decisions, Albrecht von Lucke, a commentator for Blätter political journal, told DW that they were compelled to make "daring" policy choices.
Merkel, in von Lucke's view, did not rise to that level of leadership, calling her time in power an "era of 16 lost years."
"We are only just beginning to see how problematic Angela Merkel's legacy is," he said. "To give Angela Merkel such an award now is totally premature and not the right award. It still isn't clear what her merits are and what her failures are."
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Merkel's legacy: open to interpretation
A worsening climate crisis and Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, which kicked off shortly after Merkel left office, have muted the widespread support she enjoyed both at home and abroad while in power.
Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a long-standing relationship as leaders of their respective countriesImage: /AP Photo/picture alliance
Once dubbed the "climate chancellor," Germany under Merkel often missed its own targets to reduce greenhouse emissions. Critics have said that Merkel was too soft on Russia, while Germany's increasing energy dependence on Russia during Merkel's tenure was undoubtedly a mistake.
In a rare public appearance last year, Merkel denounced Russia's war in Ukraine, but defended her diplomatic efforts.
Defenders of Merkel's leadership note that her Russia policy was not much different to that of other chancellors, regardless of party. Germany has long nurtured closer economic, energy and cultural ties with Russia than many of Germany's European allies, often to the latter's displeasure.
While some see her years as chancellor as a lost opportunity, others give her credit for merely defending the status quo during a period of immense upheaval.
Angela Merkel on her 16 years as Germany's chancellor
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Uncomfortable spotlight
"She managed to keep the EU together and strengthen it in tumultuous times," Lucas Schramm, a political scientist at Munich's Ludwig-Maximilians-University, told DW.
The banking, debt, and refugee crises all hit the European Union on Merkel's watch. The United Kingdom left the bloc, while the United States under President Donald Trump was openly hostile towards it.
"Contemporary heads of state and government recently have said that Merkel is being missed at European Council summits because of her authority," Schramm said.
The debate over Merkel's legacy is far from over, and subject to events yet to fully play out. Whether well-deserved or premature, the decision to award her with the Order of Merit on Monday puts the retired chancellor back in the public spotlight.
That's a place she tried to avoid while in office and has stayed largely out of since returning to life as a private citizen of the German Republic.
Edited by: Lucy James
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