The faces of 2020

Great leaders thrive in the midst of turmoil and upheaval, as we have seen this year. Four of the great movers and shakers of 2020 stood out for us.

Ursula von Der Leyen
(Image credit: © JULIEN WARNAND/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Ursula Von der Leyen: the EU’s model of elegance steadies the ship

“I always wanted… to come home,” said Ursula Von der Leyen, 62, last year, when she became the European Commission’s first female president – her family actually hails from Lower Saxony in Germany. But it was in Brussels that the gynaecologist-turned-politician was born, grew up and first “nurtured a passion for the European project”, says the Financial Times. Her first year in the job has been more turbulent than she could ever have anticipated – even leaving aside the hassle of Brexit dealings. The onslaught of the virus left the Commission “paralysed” as member states shut their borders and hoarded medical kit. Restoring harmony has been a major task for a woman “with little experience of EU structures or of managing the conflicting demands of 27 member states”. Her most significant contribution was steering through an €750bn rescue plan in July – hailed as such “a defining achievement” for the integration of the bloc that some called it the EU’s “Hamiltonian moment”.

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