When the Berlin Wall fell on Nov. 9, 1989, then-35-year-old Angela Merkel didn’t rush to the border as many of her fellow East Germans did. Instead, she kept her weekly Thursday date at a local sauna, coolly confident that she had time on her hands. She did: 16 years at the very top of European politics, in fact. That calm patience is a leitmotif that has defined the journey of a woman who has arguably become the most important politician of the 21st century. A quantum chemist whose father was a Lutheran pastor in the communist East, Merkel has led Germany, Europe and — many would argue — the world through rare tumult since she became her country’s first female chancellor in 2005. Now as she prepares to step away from politics when her current term expires with Germany’s federal elections on Sept. 26, this Daily Dose tracks her legacy and introduces you to leaders vying to gain Merkel-level clout. Recall what world leaders have said about her and let one of modern history’s most straight-faced politicians leave you with a laugh-out-loud moment.