But as Angela Merkel turns 70 today, there will be no gathering of dignitaries to pay tribute to her legacy. Instead, she will celebrate "in private", a spokesperson for her office told the German news agency dpa.
A more formal celebration will be held on 25 September, though not at the headquarters of her political party, the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), but in the studious setting of Berlin's Academy of Sciences and Humanities. There will be no laudatory speeches by allies but, instead, a lecture by the art historian Horst Bredekamp on the theme of "light and shade in the Enlightenment".
The theme could not be more appropriate for a politician who has emphatically cut ties with the world of politics in a way that few of her peers have managed.
This story is from the July 18, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the July 18, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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