Merkel's journey to the top

… defying convention along the way. An East German woman lacking political connections first heads to the top of the conservative party, then becomes Germany's leader. She's been reelected twice so far and is currently serving in her ninth year as chancellor. Although childless, German writer Juli Zeh has dubbed her "Mutti" - Germany's reassuring mother.

When little Angela Dorothea Kasner was growing up, who would have thought she'd become among the most powerful people in the world? Hard work, practicality, restraint, earthiness - little Angie grew up in a Protestant household in the town of Templin in East Germany. Her father was a pastor, and her mother took care Angie and her three younger siblings.

Grandma Greta and grandpa Ludwig pose with their son Horst Kazmierczak, Angela Merkel's father. The Kazmierczak family lived in Poznan, a Polish city once under Prussian rule, and changed their name to Kasner in 1930 upon immigrating to Berlin. Discovery of the German chancellor's Polish origins in 2013 caused a flurry - not least in Poland.

After graduating from high school in 1973 with nearly perfect grades, Angie went on a camping break. She particularly excelled in Russian and mathematics, and was a member of the communist Free German Youth. Merkel is the first German leader to come from the former East Germany.

Angela studied physics in Leipzig - it was there she met her first husband, Ulrich Merkel. Angela caught his attention, he later recalled, as "a very friendly, open and natural young lady." She liked to travel - as here in Prague (third from right) in 1982. After completing her undergraduate studies, she then worked at the East German science academy and did her doctorate in quantum chemistry.

Merkel became politically active in the opposition to the East German government as the Iron Curtain was falling in 1989. Her party merged with the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) after German reunification. Chancellor Helmut Kohl took Merkel under his wing, and appointed her to his cabinet - despite her lack of connections and experience.

Merkel worked her way up in the center-right CDU, first becoming general secretary and then party leader. When the party formed a grand coalition with the Social Democrats after the 2005 election, she became the first female chancellor of Germany. Merkel has often co-opted Social Democratic positions, pulling the CDU more toward the left.

Merkel had a good grasp on the male-dominated world of politics. As head of Europe's largest economy, she set the tone during the financial crisis and fought for Germany's interests. Critics accuse her of too much political maneuvering, and say she doesn't speak plainly enough at times - such as with regard to the spying scandal with the US National Security Agency.

Perhaps not - but Putin does have a high opinion of her, and both can converse in fluent German and Russian. Russia's annexation of Crimea strained the relationship between Putin and Merkel - although Putin was never as chummy with her as he was with Merkel's predecessor, Gerhard Schröder.

Along the way, Merkel split up with her first husband: "One day she packed up her things and moved out," he said. She later married Joachim Sauer, a chemistry professor. Although she never had any children of her own, Sauer has two sons from a previous marriage. Merkel and Sauer live in a modest apartment in Berlin (pictured above) and do their own grocery shopping.

Merkel likes to spend her holidays on the Italian island of Ischia where she goes swimming and hiking with her husband. In winter, she often enjoys cross-country skiing.

Merkel doesn't get dressed up often. Here, she attended the opening of the Oslo Opera with then-Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg. Merkel, a classical music lover, also regularly visits the Wagner Festival in Bayreuth, Germany.

Merkel follows the German football team and attends their most important matches. After their World Cup victory, she, along with President Joachim Gauck, visited the team in their locker room. She even took a selfie with forward Lukas Podolski. Polls suggest nearly 70 percent of Germans are satisfied or very satisfied with the chancellor.