Ursula von der Leyen was appointed president of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union, in July 2019.

She is the first woman to serve in the role, which is responsible for legislation affecting more than 450 million Europeans.

​From 2005 until 2019, von der Leyen served in Angela Merkel's cabinet--the longest tenure of any cabinet member.

​For the last six years of her time in the cabinet, she was Germany's defense minister.
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She was reelected for a second five-year term in July 2024. She has said one of her most important tasks in her second term is strengthening Europe's democracy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursula_von_der_Leyen