Finland has given its new international gender equality prize to German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Finland is the first nation in the world to grant women full political rights in 1906.
The Finnish prize committee said in an announcement that Merkel has brought gender equality to the agenda of world leaders at summit meetings.
Finland launched the International Gender Equality Prize — worth €150,000 ($176,800) — in 2017 to mark 100 years since the country’s independence.
Merkel, Germany’s first female leader, has served as chancellor since 2005. She is widely considered to be the world’s most powerful woman.