GERMANY
First Woman Prime Minister, Angela Merkel
Angela Merkel was born in West Germany but after her birth, her family moved to East Germany where she grew up. She majored in physics and became a doctor of physics at the East Berlin Physic-Chemical Research Laboratory. Physics Doctor Merkel started her politician career in 1989 when she became affiliated with a pro-democracy organization. That was the year the Berlin Wall collapsed. She started to gain fame from that time and two years later she became Minister of Woman Youth Department. She is the youngest minister ever in Germany. In 2000, she became the first woman party leader of the Christlich-Demokratisch Union (CDU) and in 2005 she became Prime Minister of Germany. She is the first woman prime minister, the first East German person to become prime minister, and the first prime minister to have a specialty in science. Nowadays, Merkel is referred to by these titles. Merkel is from the East Germany. She was divorced, but has remarried. Because of these aspects of her life, she had a hard time establishing herself in German politics. However, due to her endless endeavours, she became Prime Minister of Germany and as Forbes Magazine selected, the most effective woman in the world.
MYANMAR
Flower of Democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi
The year 1988 was a fateful year to Aung San Suu Kyi. For 30 years outside Myanmar, she lived as a scholar who studied at the University of Oxford and as a housewife married to British national Michael Alias. However, in 1988, she returned to Myanmar to care for her sick mother. It was then she encountered the 8888 pro-democracy movement, which had broken out in Burma. The nation wanted the daughter of the Father of its Country, Aung San, to act on behalf of Burma. Therefore, she began to get involved in the pro-democracy and she founded the National League for Democracy (NLD). However, her activity in political circles lasted just 7 years because she was placed under house arrest 1 for about 14 years by the Burma military. In 1991, she gained ecognition for her pro-democracy movement contribution and was presented the Nobel Peace Prize. Unfortunately, she could not attend the awards ceremony because she was under house arrest. Until her full release from house arrest on November 13th 2010, she remained confined to her home. After attaining freedom, she ran in the election for Assembly and was elected to the congress of Myanmar. She is now the symbol of democracy for Myanmar. Aung San Suu Kyi has fought her entire life and is still fighting for real democracy in Myanmar.
USA
A Second Challenge for Former First Lady
The USA is full of excitement over Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton. She is known throughout the world as former USA First Lady and former USA Minister of National Defense. She is now stating publically that she will run in the next USA Presidential Election. Moreover, the USA public is saying she will likely become its next president. Though many people see her solely as a former First Lady, she is an independent woman. Her political career can be traced back to her university life. She went to Wellesley College, which is a famous women’s college. At that time, Clinton was studying politics and participating in the Young Republican Party Club. She later moved to the Democratic Party because the Republican Party did not fit her ideals. She entered politics in earnest with the assistance of Bill Clinton, who she met at Yale University. The two married after his election as governor. Although she experienced one failure at becoming president, she is now challenging the presidency again. There is one interesting difference from her previous year’s presidential campaign. In the last presidential election, she was seen as a strong woman, which is similar with men’s image in politics. However, she is now showing a softer, more domesticated and homely side to her personality to win the hearts of the American public. As she changes, love for her grows as well.
SOUTH KOREA
Following in her Father’s footsteps or walking alone?
On December 2012, there was an event that rocked the entire nation. The event was the 18th Election Day, and the person elected was the first ever Korean woman president. President Park Geunhye is a member of the Saenuri Party. However, she is well-known in Korea as the daughter of Former President, Park Jeonghui, who some claim
was a dictator. Nevertheless, other people equate him with achieving economic growth in the 1970s. Throughout her father’s presidency, she acted as First Lady, so some people are worry that her rein as president is going to be somewhat dictatorial like her father’s. Others think her political style differs from her father’s. When life in Korean society is moving smoothly, she is understood by the public, but her dogmatic2 haracter causes uproar at times, especially matters related to her personal affairs. The Yoon Changjoong incident received much backlash from many experts due to concern for Yoon’s ability to act as presidential spokesperson. Nonetheless, Park pushed ahead with him. As a result, the nation was disappointed with her decision. However, she is evaluated positively in terms of her foreign policies. After being elected, she made a presidential visit to China to meet Xi Jinping, who is the leader of China, after having met Obama in USA. As China’s worldly influence is increasing and as Japan has always visited China after attending a summit in the USA first, her decision to go to China was seen as an excellent step by political experts.
1 House arrest : [NOUN] To be officially ordered not to leave home.
e.g.] She was placed under house arrest.
2 Dogmatic : [ADJ] Characterized by assertion of unproved or unprovable principles.
e.g.] She was not impressed by his dogmatic assertions.
