Korčula (Croatian: [kɔ̂ːrtʃula] ( listen); Greek: Κόρκυρα Μέλαινα, Latin: Corcyra Nigra, Korkyra Melaina, Old-Slavic Krkar, Venetian and Italian Curzola) is an island in the Adriatic Sea, in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County of Croatia. The island has an area of 279 km² (108 sq mi); 46.8 km (29.1 mi) long and on average 7.8 km (4.8 mi) wide — and lies just off the Dalmatian coast. Its 16,182 (2001) inhabitants make it the second most populous Adriatic island after Krk. The population are mainly ethnic Croats (96.77%).

The island of Korčula belongs to the central Dalmatian archipelago, separated from the Pelješac peninsula by a narrow strait of Pelješac, between 900 and 3,000 metres (3,000 and 9,800 ft) wide (illustration, right). It is the sixth largest Adriatic island with a rather indented coast. The highest peaks are Klupca, 568 m (1,864 ft) above sea level and Kom, 510 m (1,670 ft) high. The climate is mild; an average air temperature in January is 9.8 °C and in July 26.9 °C; the average annual rainfall is 1,100 mm. The island is largely covered with Mediterranean flora including extensive pine forests.

Angela Dorothea Merkel, German: [aŋˈɡeːla doʁoˈteːa ˈmɛʁkl̩] ( listen); née Kasner (born 17 July 1954) is the Chancellor of Germany and Chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Merkel is the first female Chancellor of Germany.

A physical chemist by professional background, Merkel entered politics in the wake of the Revolutions of 1989 and briefly served as the deputy spokesperson for Lothar de Maizière's democratically elected East German government prior to the German reunification. Following reunification in 1990, she was elected to the Bundestag, where she has represented the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern since. She served as Federal Minister for Women and Youth 1991–1994 and as Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety 1994–1998 in Helmut Kohl's fourth and fifth cabinets. She was Secretary General of the CDU 1998–2000, and was elected chairperson in 2000. From 2002 to 2005, she was also chair of the CDU/CSU parliamentary coalition.

After her election as Chancellor following the 2005 federal election, she led a grand coalition consisting of her own CDU party, its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), and the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), until 2009. In the 2009 federal election, the CDU obtained the largest share of the votes, and formed a coalition government with the CSU and the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP).