In photos: Germany's 'eternal chancellor' Merkel through the years

In power for so long that a whole generation of Germans grew up knowing only her as chancellor, Angela Merkel is due to bow out of politics following Sunday's elections. Let's take a look back at images of the East German quantum chemist who leapt into politics, becoming the world's most powerful woman.

Newly appointed German Chancellor Angela Merkel (L) takes the oath of office in the parliament in Berlin, Germany, Nov. 22, 2005.

Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and then opposition's main candidate in upcoming general elections, Angela Merkel holds a meeting with her "team of experts" at the CDU headquarters, in Berlin, Germany, Sept. 14, 2005.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel rests her head in her hands, as she follows a debate with Labour Minister Franz Muentefering (L) at the Bundestag in Berlin, Germany, June 14, 2007.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, wearing a flak jacket, looks out of the door during her helicopter flight to the German ISAF headquarters in Mazar-e-Sharif, north of Afghanistan, Nov. 3, 2007.

German Chancellor and leader of the conservative Christian Democratic Union party (CDU) Angela Merkel reacts after first exit polls in the German general election at party headquarters in Berlin, Germany, Sept. 27, 2009.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (R) and former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl (C) and his wife Maike Kohl-Richter attend a ceremony staged by the Christian Democrats Party (CDU) to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the German reunification, in Berlin, Germany, Oct. 1, 2010.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (C) reacts during an official photo taking at the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Brussels, Belgium, Oct. 4, 2010.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel congratulates Germany's midfielder Mesut Özil in the dressing room after the Euro 2012 qualifying football match between Germany and Turkey at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany, Oct. 8, 2010.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel wears 3D glasses before the premiere of the movie "Pina" by German director Wim Wenders at the Berlinale film festival, in Berlin, Germany, Feb. 13, 2011.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel feeds penguins at the Ozeaneum sea museum in Stralsund, Germany, May 6, 2011.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel celebrates after Philip Lahm scored against Greece during the Euro 2012 football championship quarterfinal match between Germany and Greece at the Gdansk Arena, in Gdansk, Poland, June 22, 2012.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel drinks a beer after her speech in a beer tent in Munich, Germany, May 15, 2013.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel reacts as she listens to Gregor Gyisi of the Left party answer her speech on the government's policy on Ukraine at the Bundestag, Germany's lower house of parliament, in Berlin, Germany, March 13, 2014.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (2R) celebrates a disallowed goal during the first half of the 2014 FIFA World Cup final football match between Germany and Argentina at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 13, 2014.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel gestures after addressing delegates during her conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party's congress in Essen, western Germany, Dec. 6, 2016.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel drinks after signing a coalition deal during a ceremony in Berlin, Germany, March 12, 2018.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel plays with a handball given to her by the German Handball Federation's president as she received the German national handball team, in Berlin, Germany, April 8, 2019.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel drinks a dry ice cocktail designed by young students of the Junior University in Wuppertal, Germany, May 13, 2019.

U.S. President Donald Trump (L) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel lean in for a kiss during the family photo with invited guests at the G-7 summit in Biarritz, France, Aug. 25, 2019.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (L) reacts after receiving a gift from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the Turkish-German University in Istanbul, Turkey, Jan. 24, 2020.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel feeds Australian lorikeets at Marlow Bird Park in Marlow, Germany, Sept. 23, 2021.

A combination of pictures taken from August 2004 to August 2021 shows German Chancellor Angela Merkel wearing jackets of different colors while attending various public events.

A combination of pictures taken from August 2004 to September 2021 shows German Chancellor Angela Merkel folding her hands in front of her jackets of various colors during public events.