New Visualization Shows How Long Angela Merkel Has Been in Office Compared to Other World Leaders

We discovered this simple and elegant visualization on Reddit, which was originally created by reddit user pierrebrt. He created the artwork for French newspaper Le Monde. It utilizes clean line work and bold colors to visualize how long chancellor Angela Merkel has been in office compared to other world leaders.

Click below to zoom

So, how long has Angela Merkel been chancellor? She was first elected in 2005, re-elected in 2009, 2013, and 2018. She is the first woman to be elected chancellor, and in 2014, she became the longest-serving head of government in the European Union. In 2021, she decided not to run again, which is historical in that it is the first time since the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany that the incumbent chancellor has not pursued reelection. Despite her incredibly long tenure, Pew Research Center found that confidence in her leadership is at an all-time high during her last full year in office.

The overall appearance of the graphic is stunning; the vertical lines suit the formal nature of the topic while the masterfully chosen cascade of colors captivates the audience. It conveys a lot of information quickly and effectively, and would make an excellent poster for anyone politically inclined. We also love the use of small flags to indicate the countries, and helpful numbers at the bottom as a quick reference guide to how many leaders that country has had throughout Merkel’s duration in office. Who knew politics could be so beautiful and pure?