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 ::I agree that it definitely belongs at least in the main text, probably more prominently. Personally, I think that if we mention in the lead that she's the first female chancellor, it's hard to see why we shouldn't also mention that she's the first former East German one - both are historic firsts of her chancellorship and of comparable importance to women and former East Germans respectively. I agree that this isn't undue weight, either on her gender or her GDR origins.  
 ::Could I clarify what you mean in your last line, though - are you saying it's less of a historic first because it took only 15 years? If so, I think the short time span actually makes it more notable - it's especially remarkable that she was elected so soon after reunification - and I think the first election of a former East German as chancellor since reunification would have been a historical milestone regardless of when it had occurred. What do you think? aoxiang翱翔 "