Germany's Angela Merkel bows out after 16 years; Olaf Scholz set to become chancellor - USA TODAY

BERLIN — Angela Merkel was assured of a place in the history books as soon as she became Germany's first female chancellor on Nov.

Over the next 16 years, she was credited with raising Germany's profile and influence, working to hold a fractious European Union together, managing a string of crises and being a role model for women.

"When she first came onto the scene in 2005, a lot of people underestimated her, but she grew in stature along with Germany's role in the world," David-Wilp added.

Others in Europe and beyond "want more of an active Germany to play a role in the world — that may not have been the case before she was in office, necessarily.".

Merkel was a compromise machine," Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel said recently.

Merkel always sought to keep the EU as tightly-knit as possible but strongly defended Germany's interests, clashing with Greece during the debt crisis and disagreeing with Hungary, Poland and others over their refusal — unlike Germany — to host migrants arriving in Europe.

Merkel said she was bowing out of the EU "in a situation that definitely gives me cause for concern as well.".

Unlike her seven predecessors in postwar Germany, she is leaving office at a time of her choosing.

The Russian president once brought his Labrador to a 2007 meeting with Merkel, who later said she had a "certain concern" about dogs after having once been bitten by one

Named "The World's Most Powerful Woman" by Forbes magazine for the past 10 years in a row, Merkel steps down with a legacy of breaking through the glass ceiling of male dominance in politics — although she also has faced criticism for not pushing harder for more gender equality

Obama said that "so many people, girls and boys, men and women, have had a role model who they could look up to through challenging times."