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epa09618275 (25/26) (FILE) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel (L) reacts as she receives the certificate of discharge by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (R), at the Bellevue Palace in Berlin, Germany, 26 October 2021 (reissued 03 December 2021). German conservative party CDU's then leader Angela Merkel was sworn in as German Chancellor on 22 November 2005, following coalition negotiations after the federal elections in Germany. Merkel, the longest-serving leader in the EU to date, was re-elected to office three times in 2009, 2013, and 2017, and announced in October 2018 that she will neither run for re-election as party chair in December 2018 nor seek a fifth term as Chancellor in the September 2021 general elections. She received her certificate of dismissal from the German president on 26 October 2021, her successor is scheduled to be sworn in between 06 and 10 December 2021. EPA/CLEMENS BILAN ATTENTION: This Image is part of a PHOTO SET *** Local Caption *** 57256899