From Chirac to Blair: How Merkel compares to 3 decades of European leaders

According to German exit polls, Angela Merkel is headed toward a fourth term as chancellor of Germany on Sunday. She is currently the longest-serving leader in the European Union.

Among the European Union’s neighbors, only Russia, Belarus and Turkey have leaders who have been in power longer. 

Germany, like most European countries, does not restrict the number of terms a head of government can serve. The United States, on the other hand, does limit the president to two four-year terms.

Looking back at governments on the European continent since 1990, Ms. Merkel is now among a small cadre of leaders who served more than 12 years, a group that includes Helmut Kohl, her onetime mentor, and François Mitterrand, a former French president.

In the chart below, each line represents the career of one European leader. The leaders still in office are highlighted in blue and purple. 

In the West, Merkel is among the longest serving leaders

Among Western European leaders who were elected after World War II, Ms. Merkel ranks 14th. She's the only leader on the list who is still in power.

Merkel stands apart from other European leaders

The economic strength of Germany along with Ms. Merkel’s longevity in power emphasizes her formidable position compared with other leaders on the continent.

Even before Sunday’s election, some of Ms. Merkel’s allies were suggesting that she could run for yet another term. But analysts doubt she would try. They point to her onetime mentor, Helmut Kohl, who became known as the “eternal chancellor” but was politically weakened in his final term.

Agewise, however, Ms Merkel would be only 67 in 2021, still younger than both Hillary Clinton and President Trump are now.  © The New York Times