Angela Merkel: Photo book shows portraits of Herlinde Koelbl from 30 years

It is a unique project: the photographer Herlinde Koelbl accompanied Angela Merkel for 30 years and shows her rise from the young CDU politician to the first female Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. It is not only the documentation of an exceptional career, but also the portrait of a woman who has changed office.

It all began in 1991 when Merkel became Federal Minister for Women and Youth at the age of 36. Merkel was born in Hamburg on July 17, 1954, but grew up in the GDR. After studying physics, she worked as a scientist in Berlin. It was there in the mid-eighties that she met her second husband, the quantum chemist Joachim Sauer, with whom she has been married since 1998. Merkel’s first marriage to the physicist Ulrich Merkel was divorced in 1982 and kept his last name.

Herlinde Koelbl photographed Angela Merkel for 30 years

Angela Merkel began to be politically active in the years of change, and in 1990 she became a member of the CDU. She quickly made a career under Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl, but was smiled at as “Kohl’s girl”. Later she stood openly against the former chancellor in the party donation affair and was elected CDU federal chairman in April 2000. Five years later she won the Bundestag election against incumbent Gerhard Schröder (SPD) and remained Chancellor for 16 years.

Angela Merkel has been accompanied by photographer Herlinde Koelbl over the decades. Initially eight years for the illustrated book “Traces of Power. The Transformation of Man through Office.” In the long-term study, Koelbl portrayed and interviewed 15 leading German politicians and entrepreneurs. Merkel was initially not very enthusiastic about the project. “I rebelled against it and was anything but happy when you were back in front of the door. I thought: What’s the nonsense?” Said the politician in an interview with the photographer.

Later she found the project “interesting”. But not only that: A deep relationship of trust had emerged. From 2006 to 2021, Koelbl continued to meet and photograph Merkel every year – without letting anyone in on their meetings. The result is an extraordinary series of portraits that shows how Angela Merkel has changed in 30 years. The photos can be seen in an illustrated book of around 250 pages, which is now available in the Taschen Verlag has appeared.