_x000D_Screenshot: href=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcW-Wk4pjQ0″>AFP – YouTube

What is Germany’s highest honor for a former leader? 

The Order of Merit for special achievement is Germany’s highest distinction for a former leader. On April 17, 2023, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier honored former Chancellor Angela Merkel with this award for her near-record 16 years of leading the country. She was the first woman, the first East German-born, and the longest-serving chancellor since Otto von Bismarck in the 19th century. Only two other ex-chancellors received the honor: Konrad Adenauer, the first chancellor of West Germany after World War II, and Helmut Kohl, the chancellor who oversaw Germany’s reunification in 1990.