1973
| Abitur (higher education entrance qualification) in Templin |
1973 - 1978
| Studied Physics at Leipzig University |
1978 - 1990
| Member of the academic staff at the Central Institute of Physical Chemistry at the Academy of Sciences |
1986
| Awarded a doctorate |
1989
| Member of "Demokratischer Aufbruch" (Democratic Awakening) |
since 1990
| Member of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) |
1990
| Deputy Government Spokeswoman of the de Maizière Government in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) |
since 1990
| Member of the German Bundestag |
1991 - 1998
| Deputy Chairwoman of the CDU |
1993 - 2000
| Chairwoman of the CDU Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania |
1991 - 1994
| Federal Minister for Women and Youth |
1994 - 1998
| Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety |
1998 - 2000
| General Secretary of the CDU Germany |
2000 - 2018
| Chairwoman of the CDU Germany |
2002 - 2005
| Chairwoman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the German Bundestag |
since November 2005
| Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany |