Angela Merkel says she will not seek re-election as German Chancellor

By Bianca Britton, CNN
Updated 12:27 PM EDT, Mon October 29, 2018
HAMBURG, GERMANY - JULY 08: German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks to the media following the conclusion of the G20 economic summit on July 8, 2017 in Hamburg, Germany. G20 leaders have reportedly agreed on trade policy for their summit statement but disagree over climate change policy. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
PHOTO: Sean Gallup/Getty Images
HAMBURG, GERMANY - JULY 08: German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks to the media following the conclusion of the G20 economic summit on July 8, 2017 in Hamburg, Germany. G20 leaders have reportedly agreed on trade policy for their summit statement but disagree over climate change policy. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
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(CNN) —  

German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced on Monday that she would not seek re-election when her term expires in 2021.

Merkel, who has been Chancellor since 2005, made the announcement during a news conference today in Berlin.

“It is time today for me to start a new chapter,” Merkel told reporters in Berlin.

PHOTO: Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Related Article Angela Merkel's Bavarian allies lose majority in crushing vote

“This fourth term is my last term as Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. In the next Bundestag election in 2021, I will not run again as Chancellor. I will not run for the German Bundestag any more, and I do not want any other political office.”

Merkel told reporters that being Chancellor has been a “very challenging and fulfilling task.”

Merkel’s decision appears to mark the beginning of the end of her 13-year dominance of European politics.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks to delegates of her political party, the Christian Democratic Union, in February 2018.
Photos: In photos: The life and career of Angela Merkel
PHOTO: Sean Gallup/Getty Images
German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks to delegates of her political party, the Christian Democratic Union, in February 2018.
Merkel was born in Hamburg, West Germany, in 1954, but she grew up in East Germany. Her father, Horst Kasner, was a Lutheran minister and her mother, Herlind, was an English teacher.
Photos: In photos: The life and career of Angela Merkel
PHOTO: Ossenbrink/SIPA
Merkel was born in Hamburg, West Germany, in 1954, but she grew up in East Germany. Her father, Horst Kasner, was a Lutheran minister and her mother, Herlind, was an English teacher.
Merkel, left, attends a New Year
Photos: In photos: The life and career of Angela Merkel
PHOTO: Joerg Glaescher/laif/LAIF/Redux
Merkel, left, attends a New Year's Eve party with friends in Berlin in 1972. In 1977, at the age of 23, she married her first husband, Ulrich Merkel. They divorced in 1982, but she kept the name.
Merkel poses with her siblings, Marcus and Irene Kasner.
Photos: In photos: The life and career of Angela Merkel
PHOTO: Laurence Chaperon/ROBA Images
Merkel poses with her siblings, Marcus and Irene Kasner.
Merkel visits a children
Photos: In photos: The life and career of Angela Merkel
PHOTO: Ebner/ullstein bild via Getty Images
Merkel visits a children's home during her campaign to become a member of the Bundestag, Germany's parliament, in 1990. Before turning to politics, Merkel had trained as a physician. She was also a spokeswoman for the "Democratic Awakening," East Germany's opposition movement before reunification.
A month after being elected to the Bundestag, Merkel was appointed to Germany
Photos: In photos: The life and career of Angela Merkel
PHOTO: dpa picture alliance/Alamy Stock Photo
A month after being elected to the Bundestag, Merkel was appointed to Germany's Cabinet in January 1991. Chancellor Helmut Kohl named her Minister for Women and Youth.
Merkel looks at Kohl during a conference of the Christian Democratic Union, their political party, in 1991. At the time, Merkel was a deputy chairwoman for the party.
Photos: In photos: The life and career of Angela Merkel
PHOTO: Thomas Imo/Photothek/Getty Images
Merkel looks at Kohl during a conference of the Christian Democratic Union, their political party, in 1991. At the time, Merkel was a deputy chairwoman for the party.
Merkel changed Cabinet positions in 1994, becoming Minister of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. Here, she visits a water-control station in Bad Honnef, Germany, in 1995.
Photos: In photos: The life and career of Angela Merkel
PHOTO: Ulrich Baumgarten/Getty Images
Merkel changed Cabinet positions in 1994, becoming Minister of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. Here, she visits a water-control station in Bad Honnef, Germany, in 1995.
Merkel, as the country
Photos: In photos: The life and career of Angela Merkel
PHOTO: ullstein bild/Getty Images
Merkel, as the country's leader on environmental issues, irons wrapping paper to show how it can be recycled.
Merkel and Health Minister Horst Seehofer attend a Cabinet meeting in 1995.
Photos: In photos: The life and career of Angela Merkel
PHOTO: ullstein bild/Getty Images
Merkel and Health Minister Horst Seehofer attend a Cabinet meeting in 1995.
Merkel sits in a "strandkorb," or beach basket, in an undated photo. In 2000, Merkel became the Christian Democratic Union
Photos: In photos: The life and career of Angela Merkel
PHOTO: Chaperon/ullstein bild/Getty Images
Merkel sits in a "strandkorb," or beach basket, in an undated photo. In 2000, Merkel became the Christian Democratic Union's first female chairperson. It was the opposition party at the time.
Merkel, left, attends the opening of the Wagner Festival, an annual music festival in Bayreuth, Germany, in 2001.
Photos: In photos: The life and career of Angela Merkel
PHOTO: Franziska Krug/Getty Images
Merkel, left, attends the opening of the Wagner Festival, an annual music festival in Bayreuth, Germany, in 2001.
Merkel spends part of her summer in Langballig, Germany, in 2002.
Photos: In photos: The life and career of Angela Merkel
PHOTO: Laurence Chaperon/ROBA Images
Merkel spends part of her summer in Langballig, Germany, in 2002.
Merkel meets Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2002, one of many meetings they would have over the years. Merkel speaks Russian fluently, while Putin speaks German.
Photos: In photos: The life and career of Angela Merkel
PHOTO: Sergey Velichkin/SPTNK/ AP
Merkel meets Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2002, one of many meetings they would have over the years. Merkel speaks Russian fluently, while Putin speaks German.
Merkel speaks in Nuremberg, Germany, ahead of federal elections in 2005.
Photos: In photos: The life and career of Angela Merkel
PHOTO: Laurence Chaperon/ROBA Images
Merkel speaks in Nuremberg, Germany, ahead of federal elections in 2005.
Merkel is sworn in as Germany
Photos: In photos: The life and career of Angela Merkel
PHOTO: Alamy Stock Photo
Merkel is sworn in as Germany's first female chancellor in November 2005.
Merkel visits the White House in January 2006. A few days later she also visited the Kremlin in Russia.
Photos: In photos: The life and career of Angela Merkel
PHOTO: Laurence Chaperon/ROBA Images
Merkel visits the White House in January 2006. A few days later she also visited the Kremlin in Russia.
US President George W. Bush shows off a barrel of pickled herrings he was presented after arriving in Stralsund, Germany, in July 2006.
Photos: In photos: The life and career of Angela Merkel
PHOTO: Brooks Kraft LLC/Corbis/Getty Images)
US President George W. Bush shows off a barrel of pickled herrings he was presented after arriving in Stralsund, Germany, in July 2006.
Merkel visits troops stationed in Turkey in February 2013. Later that year she was re-elected for a third term.
Photos: In photos: The life and career of Angela Merkel
PHOTO: Laurence Chaperon/ROBA Images
Merkel visits troops stationed in Turkey in February 2013. Later that year she was re-elected for a third term.
Merkel and her husband, Joachim Sauer, walk with US President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama before a dinner in Berlin in June 2013. Merkel and Sauer have been married since 1998.
Photos: In photos: The life and career of Angela Merkel
PHOTO: Rainer Jensen/EPA/Redux
Merkel and her husband, Joachim Sauer, walk with US President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama before a dinner in Berlin in June 2013. Merkel and Sauer have been married since 1998.
Merkel speaks to Obama on the sidelines of a G7 summit near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, in June 2015.
Photos: In photos: The life and career of Angela Merkel
PHOTO: Michael Kappeler/AFP/Getty Images)
Merkel speaks to Obama on the sidelines of a G7 summit near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, in June 2015.
Merkel was named Time magazine
Photos: In photos: The life and career of Angela Merkel
PHOTO: Courtesy of Time Magazine
Merkel was named Time magazine's Person of the Year in 2015. Time Editor-at-Large Karl Vick described her as "the de factos leader of the European Union" by virtue of being leader of the EU's largest and most economically powerful member state. Twice that year, he said, the EU had faced "existential crises" that Merkel had taken the lead in navigating -- first the Greek debt crisis faced by the eurozone, and then the ongoing migrant crisis.
Merkel and Obama test a virtual-reality headset at a trade fair in Hanover, Germany, in April 2016.
Photos: In photos: The life and career of Angela Merkel
PHOTO: Christian Charisius/EPA/Redux
Merkel and Obama test a virtual-reality headset at a trade fair in Hanover, Germany, in April 2016.
Merkel and US President Donald Trump hold a joint news conference at the White House in March 2017.
Photos: In photos: The life and career of Angela Merkel
PHOTO: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP
Merkel and US President Donald Trump hold a joint news conference at the White House in March 2017.
Merkel raises her glass during a toast at the Trudering Festival in Munich, Germany, in May 2017.
Photos: In photos: The life and career of Angela Merkel
PHOTO: Michaela Rehle/Newsco/REUTERS
Merkel raises her glass during a toast at the Trudering Festival in Munich, Germany, in May 2017.
Merkel records her annual televised New Year
Photos: In photos: The life and career of Angela Merkel
PHOTO: Michele Tantussi/Getty Images
Merkel records her annual televised New Year's address in December 2017.
In this photo provided by the German Government Press Office, Merkel talks with Trump as they are surrounded by other leaders at the G7 summit in June 2018. According to two senior diplomatic sources, the photo was taken when there was a difficult conversation taking place regarding the G7
Photos: In photos: The life and career of Angela Merkel
PHOTO: Jesco Denzel/Bundesregierung Handout via Getty Images
In this photo provided by the German Government Press Office, Merkel talks with Trump as they are surrounded by other leaders at the G7 summit in June 2018. According to two senior diplomatic sources, the photo was taken when there was a difficult conversation taking place regarding the G7's communique and several issues the United States had leading up to it.
Merkel attends a Bundestag session in June 2018. She pressed lawmakers to back a tough but humane asylum and migration policy for the European Union.
Photos: In photos: The life and career of Angela Merkel
PHOTO: John MacDougall/AFP/Getty Images
Merkel attends a Bundestag session in June 2018. She pressed lawmakers to back a tough but humane asylum and migration policy for the European Union.
In this handout photo provided by the German Government Press Office in July 2018, Merkel meets a newborn calf during a visit to the Trede family dairy farm in Nienborstel, Germany.
Photos: In photos: The life and career of Angela Merkel
PHOTO: Jesco Denzel/Bundesregierung Handout via Getty Images
In this handout photo provided by the German Government Press Office in July 2018, Merkel meets a newborn calf during a visit to the Trede family dairy farm in Nienborstel, Germany.
Merkel offers flowers to Volker Bouffier, the state premier of Hesse and the deputy chairman of the Christian Democratic Union, ahead of a party leadership meeting in October 2018. The day before, her coalition government suffered heavy losses in a key regional election in Hesse.
Photos: In photos: The life and career of Angela Merkel
PHOTO: Tobias Schwarz/AFP/Getty Images
Merkel offers flowers to Volker Bouffier, the state premier of Hesse and the deputy chairman of the Christian Democratic Union, ahead of a party leadership meeting in October 2018. The day before, her coalition government suffered heavy losses in a key regional election in Hesse.
Merkel speaks at a debate on the future of Europe during a plenary session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, in November 2018. Merkel made a call for a future European army and for a European Security Council that would centralize defense and security policy on the continent.
Photos: In photos: The life and career of Angela Merkel
PHOTO: Frederick Florin/AFP/Getty Images
Merkel speaks at a debate on the future of Europe during a plenary session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, in November 2018. Merkel made a call for a future European army and for a European Security Council that would centralize defense and security policy on the continent.
Merkel touches the scepter of a Carnival prince during the annual Carnival reception in Berlin in February 2019.
Photos: In photos: The life and career of Angela Merkel
PHOTO: Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Merkel touches the scepter of a Carnival prince during the annual Carnival reception in Berlin in February 2019.
Merkel poses for photos with students as she visits a secondary school in Berlin in April 2019.
Photos: In photos: The life and career of Angela Merkel
PHOTO: Tobias Schwarz/AFP/Getty Images
Merkel poses for photos with students as she visits a secondary school in Berlin in April 2019.
Merkel talks with European Council President Donald Tusk and British Prime Minister Theresa May at a roundtable meeting in Brussels, Belgium, in April 2019. May was in Brussels to formally present her case for a short Brexit delay.
Photos: In photos: The life and career of Angela Merkel
PHOTO: Leon Neal/Getty Images Europe/Getty Images
Merkel talks with European Council President Donald Tusk and British Prime Minister Theresa May at a roundtable meeting in Brussels, Belgium, in April 2019. May was in Brussels to formally present her case for a short Brexit delay.