TIME Magazines announced today that German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the formidable backbone of the largest nation in Europe, won its Person of the Year award, edging out competitors such as Donald J. Trump and the Black Lives Matter movement.

Merkel, who has held the leadership role for the past decade, has seen increasing clouds of unrest on all fronts including the rise of the Islamic State, with their increasingly violent proclamations of existence, the influx of Syrian refugees which she continues to handle with strength and courage.

The violent attacks against neighboring France has only increased the tenacity of the leader who stood with French President François Hollande almost one year ago marching against the rise of Terrorism, radicalization and the Islamic state.

The most senior ranking member of the G7, Merkel is well respected among her peers even the suspended Russian President Vladimir Putin. She is described throughout the world as “de facto leader of EU” by Forbes Magazine who also named the former research scientist as the “most powerful women in the world.” The only woman to ever attain the Forbes ranking and Merkel has received it a record nine times

Born in Hamburg, West Germany, Merkel saw the unimaginable as the Berlin Wall fell in the late 1980’s and East and West Germany become one unified country which propelled her into politics. She has held the Chancellor position since 2005 and also the leader of the Christian Democratic Union for a record 15 years. She is the only female in history to hold either position.

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