ANGELA MERKEL

AGE: 52
OCCUPATION: Chancellor of Germany
NUMBER OF TIME COVERS: 0
PREVIOUS APPEARANCES ON THE TIME 100: 1

PRO: The first woman elected to lead her country, she has managed to push through one major economic reform her center-right party had promised -- a steep cut in corporate taxes that she hopes will draw investment.

CON: Health-care reform has proved tougher. Her party's popularity dipped considerably amid the political haggling; the plan that ultimately passed has not exactly made the German people happy.