CHAPTER 4
Rise to Power
Helmut Kohl, whom I often called 'the giant,' saw potential in me. I
was appointed Minister for Women and Youth, and later Minister for
the Environment. Navigating the male-dominated ranks of the CDU as
a woman from the East was a unique challenge. However, it was the
CDU donation scandal in 1999 that forced my hand. I wrote an article in
the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung calling for the party to move
beyond Kohl. In 2000, I became the leader of the CDU, and in 2005, I
was elected the first female Chancellor of Germany.
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