
By Erik Kirschbaum BERLIN | Wed May 16, 2012 2:16am EDT BERLIN (Reuters) - Political spouses sometimes provide a spot of glamour. Then there is Joachim Sauer, a professor of theoretical chemistry. Sauer is the husband of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, arguably the world's most powerful woman. He never speaks to the media and only rarely appears in public with his wife. He skipped her inauguration in 2005, drawing media wrath for watching the event on TV at his Berlin university. A German newspaper once said he was as "invisible as a molecule." His surname means "angry" or "sour."He has made headlines for his frugality, too. In April, he flew alone on a budget airline to Italy, where he and Merkel were to holiday, instead ...
Continue reading →