German Chancellor Angela Merkel will receive an honorary doctorate from the University of Haifa “in recognition of her leadership grounded in principles of equality, freedom and human rights; for serving as a model to women around the world; in appreciation of her warm friendship and robust ties between the Federal Republic of Germany and the State of Israel.”
The ceremony will take place during her two-day visit to Israel slated for Oct. 3-4.
“Throughout her life, Dr. Merkel has demonstrated exemplary standards of excellence, wisdom and humanity,” said Professor Ron Robin, president of the University of Haifa. “It is a great privilege to confer upon her an honorary doctorate degree, and I am enormously proud and excited by the occasion.”
Merkel’s groundbreaking scholarship and leadership has earned her recognition by policy-makers and leaders worldwide, emphasize administrators. A courageous trailblazer who has broken through walls and glass ceilings, she has worked to create a more egalitarian society based on human dignity and equality—values embodied by the University of Haifa.
The university is highlighting her public service as a government leader for more than two decades, noting that Merkel has stood against racism and anti-Semitism, and sought to forge connections between Jews and non-Jews in Germany and throughout Europe. She has also strengthened scientific collaborations between Israel and Germany, particularly at the university level.
Born in Hamburg, Merkel earned a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Leipzig. As a faculty member, she served at the Central Institute of Physical Chemistry at the Academy of Sciences in Berlin until 1990 and published dozens of scientific articles. She was the first woman to be appointed Chancellor of Germany, the first woman elected to head the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the youngest German chancellor since the 1950s and the first to come up through the academic ranks.
As part of the Oct. 4 awards ceremony to be held at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, Merkel will meet with a diverse group of graduate students from the University of Haifa, including Germans who are studying there.
