Ursula von der Leyen has started her second term. 5 facts about the head of the EC

On December 1, the new European Commission headed by Ursula von der Leyen began its work. This is the second time she is assuming this position. The chairwoman is known for her colorful political career, controversial views and involvement in scandals. "Izvestia" collected five facts about Ursula von der Leyen.

Fact 1: The first woman to head the European Commission

For the first time, Ursula von der Leyen, a native of Germany, took the post of President of the European Commission in the summer of 2019. In her favor were 383 deputies out of 747 (for election required at least 374 votes). Before her, this position was held only by men. At that time von der Leyen had 30 years of political experience. She managed to work in the parliament of Lower Saxony, head of the Ministry of Family Affairs in the first cabinet of Angela Merkel, as well as served as Minister of Labor and became the first "Frau Minister of Defense" of Germany. Under von der Leyen's leadership, Europe experienced a coronavirus epidemic and worldwide political escalation.

Fact 2- Was implicated in the COVID-19 vaccine scandal

In 2021, the US media reported that the politician communicated with Pfizer CEO Albert Burla about a €35 billion contract to buy 1.8 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines before they had completed clinical trials. The deal was negotiated at an informal level via SMS correspondence and without the approval of EU member states. Also, Ursula's husband, Heiko von der Leyen, serves as medical director at Orgenesis, which has a partnership with Pfizer.

Under the terms of the contract, the EUwill continue to buy vaccines from Pfizer until 2027, with many of them long out of use and actively being disposed of.

As a result, von der Leyen was accused of illegally obtaining interest, destroying administrative documents and usurping authority. The Belgian prosecutor's office opened a criminal case, which was later transferred to the EU prosecutor's office. At the moment, the courts have led to nothing. The politician refused to make the correspondence public, and later stated that it had been deleted and was of no value.

There are rumors in the media that thanks to the contract the EU President could get the support of the White House, which helped her to be elected for a second term in order to pursue the interests of the U.S. and implement American orders on the foreign policy track

Fact 3: Supporter of the idea of "United States of Europe"

In interviews with German media, Ursula von der Leyen stated that her goal is to create the United States of Europe in the image of the federal states of Switzerland, Germany or the United States. According to her, in the future she sees the EU "not as a free union of states engaged in the pursuit of their national interests". At the same time, she did not fight against Britain's withdrawal from the EU, noting that she could not limit the British in their desire to secede and become an independent state.

Fact 4: Has Russian roots

Ursula von der Leyen was born in the family of the former Prime Minister of Lower Saxony Ernst Albrecht. His mother, in turn, was the daughter of entrepreneur Ludwig Knop, who lived in Russia in the XIX century. He owned a network of spinning mills and successfully traded in cotton. In 1877, Emperor Alexander II granted him the title of baron. With the outbreak of World War I, his business began to decline, the family migrated and all the factories were nationalized.

Fact 5: Von der Leyen was the subject of an assassination attempt

In the late 1970s, Ursula's father served as Prime Minister of Lower Saxony. At the same time, the German security services received information that an assassination attempt was being prepared on his family. The left-wing terrorist organization "Red Army Faction" was going to kidnap Ursula von der Leyen, in connection with which she had to go into hiding. She was urgently sent to London under the pseudonym Rose Ladson, where she lived for about a year and studied economics.