The office of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who left her post in early December, announced that she had rejected a job offer proposed to her by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Her office told AFP that Merkel “phoned the Secretary-General of the United Nations last week and thanked him and told him that she would not accept the offer.”
Her office did not specify the nature of the United Nations offer, but according to sources within the organization, it was about appointing the head of a council composed of different personalities to deal with the “common agenda” at the United Nations proposed by Guterres at the end of 2021, “with the aim of strengthening and accelerating multilateral agreements.” The seat of this honorary position is not in New York.
Merkel, who announced her withdrawal long ago after the German legislative elections in September 2021, has reiterated on several occasions that she does not want to take any new job after her exit from the Chancellery.
Diary
Since withdrawing from politics permanently on December 8, Merkel, 67, has devoted her time to writing her political memoirs with her former adviser and confidant Pete Baumann.
The writing project, which aims to explain key policy decisions made by Merkel during her 16-year stay in power, is supposed to run for two or three years, according to the chancellor.
As a Member of Parliament for more than 30 years, Merkel now has an office in the Bundestag.
It should be noted that Merkel, who was Germany’s first chancellor and held the country’s highest office for nearly 16 years, did not seek re-election in 2021, and said after leaving the chancellery that she would not engage in political activity after her retirement.
The German chancellor had stressed her need to rest as she wanted to have a break to think about the things that interest her, adding that during the past 16 years she had not had “enough time to do that.”
Regarding the first day without the title of chancellor, Merkel said, “I will try to read, until I feel sleepy, then go to sleep, and then we will see what happens,” according to local media.