German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier honored former Chancellor Angela Merkel on the eve of her 70th birthday and called her a “role model and emblem of democracy”, DPA reported, quoted by BTA.
„The special moment in this anniversary is that your 70 years can be divided into two equal halves. The first 35 years mark the period until the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the second 35 years are the time of the freedom you longed for,”, Steinmeier wrote in his message to Merkel on the occasion of her birthday.
The German president adds that in the second half of her life, Merkel, in her capacity as chancellor, resolutely paved the way for the unification of Germany.
Merkel held this post for 16 years - from 2005 to 2021, and was the first woman to head the German government, as well as the first chancellor from the former German Democratic Republic.
Merkel turns 70 tomorrow.
„For you, it has always been important to emphasize the value of freedom and an enlightened society. Your arguments were so convincing because you knew even better from your own experience the inestimable value of life in a liberal democracy,”, Steinmeier also wrote.
He held the position of foreign minister twice during Merkel's administration, DPA recalls.