The first democratic government to rule West Germany since the end of World War II saw Christian Democratic Union leader Konrad Adenauer form a governing coalition with the Free Democrats and the German Party (a now-defunct national conservative party). When Adenauer's conservatives won re-election four years later, he once again turned to the same coalition partners.

After four years of ruling West Germany on their own between 1957 and 1961, the conservative Union lost their majority in the Bundestag and were forced to enter into coalition with the Free Democrats again. Adenauer resigned in 1963 for his part in the so-called "Spiegel" scandal. His Minister of Economic Affairs Ludwig Erhard (left) was elected by parliament to take over

The first ever "grand coalition" was not the product of an election. Ludwig Erhart was re-elected in 1965 and continued to rule alongside the FDP. However, the following year the Free Democrats left the government over budget disputes. Erhart also resigned and Kurt Kiesinger (right) was chosen to take over. With the FDP out, he governed with the Social Democrats, led by Willy Brandt (left).

Willy Brandt became Germany's first Social Democratic chancellor in the post-war period. Despite winning fewer votes than the CDU/CSU, Brandt struck a deal with the FDP to give them a narrow majority in the Bundestag. It wouldn't be the last time the liberals would be called out for a perceived lack of loyalty. In 1974, Brandt was replaced by Helmut Schimdt, who went on to win two more elections.

The 13-year friendship between the SPD and FDP ended in 1980 as the two parties' differing ideologies became irreconcilable. The liberals again switched sides that year, dropping out of the coalition and seeking a deal with the conservatives. That caused the SPD-led government to collapse and a reborn CDU/CSU-FDP coalition formed under the leadership of Helmut Kohl (pictured).

Shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall, East Germany held its first ever elections. The Christian Democrats under Lothar de Maiziere took over 40 percent of the vote. They went into coalition with two small parties: German Social Union and Democratic Awakening, whose members included one Angela Merkel. In October that year, the government signed the reunification treaty with West Germany.

In 2002, Helmut Kohl's 16-year rule came to an end and the Social Democrats under Gerhard Schröder returned to power. The SPD formed a coalition with the Green party, who became a governing party less than 20 years after being founded. Unlike under Brandt, the SPD now led a left-wing government, rather than a center-left coalition. The SPD-Green party coalition remained in power until 2005.

"Grand coalitions" do not come easily. When the first exit polls came in, both Schröder (right) and Angela Merkel (left) declared themselves the winner. In the end, Merkel's conservatives defeated the SPD by just 1 percent. Germany's two largest parties agreed to form the country's second-ever grand coalition.

The "grand coalition" experiment ended in 2009, after the SPD picked up a disappointing 23 percent in the federal elections. The Free Democrats, by contrast, gained almost 5 percent to give them over 14 percent of the vote. Merkel and the FDP's Guido Westerwelle (left) formed a coalition with relative ease. It was, after all, Germany's 11th CDU/CSU-FDP government.

After taking more than 40 percent of the vote, Merkel's conservatives probably weren't expecting to rule with the SPD. But with her old allies the FDP failing to meet the 5 percent threshold to enter the Bundestag, options were limited. Merkel called on the SPD to join her and "take on the responsibility to build a stable government." She made the same speech again four years later.

Merkel has become known for using the same hand gesture at public appearances and in front of the camera, putting her fingertips together to form what some call the Merkel-rhombus – or in German, the "Merkel-Raute." If she has done so consciously or as a routine gesture out of habit is a question that have contemporary critics and journalists puzzled. Just what is she trying to say with it?

The German chancellor is known for her commanding and engaged appearance, often appearing quite somber, especially in Europe. Though she has been known to crack a smile at the right time, here, at the recent European leaders summit in Bratislava, she was more composed. To her left is Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke and to her right, the Prime Minster of Belgium, Charles Michel.

Merkel has come into the spotlight for her response to last year's influx of refugees.. Questions about her response to the crisis can be answered when elements of her personal life are considered, as Rinke does in his book. She frequently visits schools and refugee shelters and while doing so, takes time out for selfies, as here in 2015 with Syrian asylum applicant Anas Modamani in Berlin.

As chancellor and head of the CDU party, Merkel faces a bit of difficulty in remaining considerate with some of her working partners. She does not respond with the huffiness her SPD party colleague Sigmar Gabriel is known for. Against attacks by the head of CSU Bavaria, the "archetypical Bavarian man," Horst Seehofer, she responds with cool objectivity.

For trained physicist Angela Merkel, the world of the internet and digital media is said to be relatively foreign, although her team does now have an Instagram account, which is fed by her official photographer. Still, that didn't stop her from grabbing the ear of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg at a lunch meeting at the UN in 2015.

The daughter of a Protestant minister, Merkel's values are said by Rinke to have been shaped by her Christian upbringing. In 2016, she was given a private audience with Pope Francis I at the Vatican, where the two exchanged words on their favorite books.

Merkel is not known to let it all hang out and, though rare due to her full schedule, celebrations are done in style. In 2013, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Élysee agreement between Germany and France, Merkel invited the entire parliament to toast the two countries' friendly relations over champagne.

The chancellor gets only a few free vacation moments each year and even when on holiday, as here in Poland, she is not free from the prying eyes of the public. Her husband, Joachim Sauer, also pictured here, is rarely in the spotlight.