Our Best Profiles of 2025 |
The year’s best stories
2025 was a year of big shifts, at times driven by singular personalities. U.S. President Donald Trump comes to mind, of course. But so do the officials who surround him—and the world leaders who are adjusting to a shifting global order in his wake.
In Germany, a longtime senior political figure became chancellor and sought to make the country more of a force on the world stage. In Hungary and Venezuela, opposition leaders gained steam that could bring major change in 2026. And in Iran, a filmmaker won global acclaim for a movie made in secret, which captures the evolution of a society that leaves little room for freedom.
2025 was a year of big shifts, at times driven by singular personalities. U.S. President Donald Trump comes to mind, of course. But so do the officials who surround him—and the world leaders who are adjusting to a shifting global order in his wake.
In Germany, a longtime senior political figure became chancellor and sought to make the country more of a force on the world stage. In Hungary and Venezuela, opposition leaders gained steam that could bring major change in 2026. And in Iran, a filmmaker won global acclaim for a movie made in secret, which captures the evolution of a society that leaves little room for freedom.
Below are five of Foreign Policy’s most illuminating profiles of the year.
By Alexander Clarkson, Feb. 20
Germany’s election in February paved the way for Friedrich Merz, a senior figure in the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), to become chancellor after years in the political wilderness. Merz has since claimed a leading role on the world stage, projecting a more assertive Germany.
Merz drew outrage soon after the election for saying that he would go “all in” and vote with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in........