Ulrich Merkel

In 1977 Ulrich Merkel married a fellow physics student, 23-year-old Angela Merkel. They had a one-room flat in Leipzig and a year later, after graduating, moved to East Berlin, finding a run-down flat with no toilet and no hot water. Ulrich Merkel spent the next three years fixing up the flat after work while his wife made progress on her doctorate. However, one day in 1982, Angela packed her things, moved out and ended the marriage. She went on to become the Chancellor of Germany and Forbes magazine has named Angela Merkel as the most powerful woman in the world 2006 to 2009 and since 2011.