Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen was born on October 8, 1958 in Brussels, Belgium. She is a physician and politician who became the first woman to serve as Germany’s Minister of Defence in 2013. Von der Leyen is a member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) as well as the European People’s Party (EPP).
Born to German parents, her father Ernst Albrecht was a prominent politician in Germany and was one of the first senior officials of the European Union. Ursula attended ‘European School’ and the London School of Economics. She graduated as a physician from the Hannover Medical School in 1987 specializing in women’s health.
She became involved in politics in the late 1990’s and joined the federal cabinet as Minister of Family Affairs and Youth in 2005 and later as Minister of Labour and Social Affairs in 2013.
She became the first woman to be elected President of the European Commission in 2019. She is the only minister to have served continuously in Angela Merkel’s cabinet since Merkel became chancellor, and was often touted as Merkel’s heir apparent.
She is also a contender for the post of secretary-general of NATO and is included in Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2020.
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