Wikipedia:Today's featured list/November 20, 2023
![Merkel received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from U.S. president Barack Obama in 2011.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e6/Merkel_an_Obama_Presidential_Medal_of_Freedom.jpg/171px-Merkel_an_Obama_Presidential_Medal_of_Freedom.jpg)
Angela Merkel has received awards and honours from national governments, universities, and other non-governmental organisations. Merkel was the chancellor of Germany from 2005 until 2021, a length of tenure only exceeded by that of Helmut Kohl, and was the first female German chancellor. During her chancellorship, she was widely considered the de facto leader of the European Union. Forbes named Merkel the world's second most powerful person in 2012 and the world's most powerful woman fourteen times. Awards and honours received by Merkel include a special issue of the Grand Cross First Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom, and twenty-one doctorates honoris causa. (Full list...)