Angela Merkel

About Angela Merkel

Angela Merkel, ranked #366 in historical importance by the Pantheon project, served as the Chancellor of Germany for sixteen years, from 2005 to 2021. Her tenure was defined by her steady leadership through the Eurozone sovereign-debt crisis, the 2015 European migrant crisis, and her significant role in shaping European Union policy on issues ranging from climate change to international relations with Russia and the United States, solidifying her status as a pivotal modern global political figure.

Despite this high historical ranking, her current internet attention appears relatively modest compared to some contemporaries. Merkel accumulated 1.4 million annualized Wikipedia views in 2025. This places her attention nearly three times *below* what her historical rank suggests, as indicated by her +3x overattention gap, meaning other figures rank lower historically but capture more online traffic. To provide context, she has significantly less attention than figures like Xi Jinping (#719 importance, 4.1M views) or even Arnold Schwarzenegger (#618 importance, 6.4M views).

While her long tenure suggests lasting relevance, the trend lines indicate a cooling of immediate online interest. Her 2025 Momentum shows a substantial -54% drop when comparing Q1 traffic to Q3 traffic, suggesting her immediate post-chancellorship media visibility is waning, though her Year-over-Year change remains positive at +3.5%.