Who is Ursula von der Leyen, voted the most powerful woman in the world

Ursula’s mother is also a successful academicwith a doctorate from a local university, according to research by journalist Ben Judah published by the BBC.

The family moved to Germany when she was 13.. Ursula, her five siblings and parents lived on a farm near the city of Hanover.

As a child, the Belgian used to ride horses and perform at home plays alongside her brothers.sometimes with politicians from the region —colleagues of the parents— in the audience.

Ursula studied economics in London and medicine in Germany. She obtained her license to practice medicine in 1987, but decided to continue in the academic field, obtaining a doctorate in the field in 1991 and a master’s degree in public health in 2001. Only after her training, the economist and doctor decided to enter politics.

She has been a member of the Christian Democratic Union, the same party as Merkel, since 1990. At the beginning of her political life, she was a member of the Bundestag, Germany’s parliament, between 2009 and 2019.

She was the chancellor’s minister for 14 years. Responsible for the Family portfolios (from 2005 to 2009), Labor (from 2009 to 2013) and, finally, Defense (from 2013 to 2019), according to his biography on the European Commission’s own website.