Former German chancellor Angela Merkel has turned down a job offer from the UN, her office said on Wednesday, as she settles into retirement after 16 years in power.
UN sources confirmed that Secretary General Antonio Guterres had asked Ms Merkel to lead an advisory panel on a “common agenda” for government after the pandemic that he set out late last year.
Ms Merkel “spoke with the UN secretary general last week, thanked him and told him she would not be accepting the offer”, her office said in a statement, confirming media reports.
The 67-year-old Ms Merkel left office last month and was succeeded by Social Democrat Olaf Scholz at the helm of a three-way coalition with the Greens and the pro-business Free Democrats.
Despite feverish speculation as to what she might do next, Ms Merkel remained tight-lipped, hinting only at a quiet life of books and sleep.
However, her long-time aide Beate Baumann revealed last month that they were collaborating on Ms Merkel's political memoirs, a project she said would take two to three years.
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After a long goodbye, Angela Merkel finally reached the end on Wednesday of her 16-year term as Germany’s first female chancellor, Europe’s most powerful leader and one of the world’s most durable crisis managers. Getty Images -
Mrs Merkel poses with ministers and other members of her government after a cabinet meeting in Berlin on November 24, 2021. AFP -
Mrs Merkel receives a bouquet of flowers from Olaf Scholz as she arrives for probably her last weekly cabinet meeting on November 24. Getty Images -
From right to left, US President Joe Biden, Ms Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pose before a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rome, in October 2021. AP -
Mrs Merkel visiting flood-ravaged areas to survey the damage and meet survivors in July 2021, in Schuld, near Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler. Getty Images -
Mrs Merkel addressing the nation via a video statement about the continuing Covid-19 pandemic, on March 18, 2020. It was the first time in her 15-year tenure as chancellor that Mrs Merkel addressed citizens directly via a televised statement other than her New Year's Eve message. Getty Images -
Mrs Merkel speaks to China's President Xi Jinping and Russia's President Vladimir Putin during a group photo session in front of Japan's Osaka Castle, at the G20 summit in June 2019. Getty Images -
Mrs Merkel deliberates with former US president Donald Trump on the sidelines of the June 2018 G7 summit in Canada. Getty Images -
Mrs Merkel and Mr Putin meet at Schloss Meseberg palace, the German government retreat, in August 2018. Getty Images -
Mrs Merkel wears safety goggles during a visit to the European Astronauts Centre in Cologne, in 2016. Getty Images -
Mrs Merkel poses for a selfie with Anas Modamani, a refugee from Syria, as she visited the AWO Refugium Askanierring shelter for migrants and refugees in September 2015, in Berlin. Getty Images -
Mrs Merkel speaks with former US president Barack Obama during a G7 summit in 2015. AP Photo -
Mrs Merkel and German President Joachim Gauck celebrate with the German national football team after its 1-0 victory in the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Final match against Argentina in 2014. Getty Images -
Mrs Merkel waves at an election campaign rally for federal elections in Dusseldorf, in 2013. Getty Images -
Mrs Merkel smiles as she sits in the chancellor's chair for the first time at the German lower house of parliament in November 2005. Getty Images -
Mrs Merkel raises her fists at the Lower Saxony Christian Democratic Party's annual general meeting in 2005. Getty Images -
Mrs Merkel speaks at the CDU party congress in December 2003, in Leipzig. Getty Images
