Former Chancellor Angela Merkel is to be decorated with Germany's highest possible honor on Monday in recognition of her near-record 16 years at the helm of the country.
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier plans to bestow the Order of Merit for special achievement on the four-term chancellor, who will become only the third ex-leader to receive that level of distinction. The other two were Konrad Adenauer, West Germany's first leader, and Helmut Kohl, who led Germany to reunification.
