Angela Merkel faces numerous challenges in her reelection bid this year, whether it is furies on her right riled up by the waves of migrants or a revived left energized by the new man in town, Martin Schulz.

But perhaps the biggest hurdle in her way is fatigue — not hers necessarily but voters' fatigue with her.

Few politicians, at least those who face democratic voters, survive beyond a 10-year sell-by date. Merkel came into office on November 22, 2005, won her third term eight years in and has been in office for precisely 11 years, 2 months and 23 days. For a growing chunk of Germany's adult population, "Mutti" is the only leader they know. And familiarity in politics tends not to make hearts grow fonder.

In the longevity stakes, Merkel has already outlasted titans of European politics such as Britain's Tony Blair, France's Charles de Gaulle, the Netherlands' Willem Drees and Portugal's Aníbal Cavaco Silva, all of whom stayed in power for a decade but no more.

If she fends off the Social Democrats and Schulz in September, the German chancellor will join a select group that ducked scandal, the wrath of voters and the grim reaper. At the start of her next term she'll have been in power for 11 years, 10 months and 2 days.

Here are the more notable recent(ish) members of that club who've lasted even longer than Merkel, and visually a snapshot of what all that time in power did to them. (To repeat, dictators don't count — neither do ceremonial roles or split terms.)

Léopold Senghor (Senegal)

September 6, 1960 to December 31, 1980 (20 years, 3 months, 25 days)

The founding father of an independent Senegal achieved a rare feat in African politics — he retired gracefully from the top job. A poet and a scholar when not being a politician, he was the first black African to join elite French literary institute the Académie française.

What did him in: He'd had enough. After reinstating the office of prime minister, he handed power to the holder of that post, Abdou Diouf.

What he did next: Retired to France to write (a memoir and more poetry). Died in December 2001.

Quote: “I have always taken care to put an idea or emotion behind my words. I have made it a habit to be suspicious of the mere music of words.”

Jean-Claude Juncker (Luxembourg)

January 20, 1995 to December 4, 2013 (18 years, 10 months, 14 days)

"A very adequate mayor in Luxembourg" was how Ted Malloch, the self-appointed pick to be the U.S. ambassador to the EU, described Juncker. He was a touch more important than that, ruling the roost in the Grand Duchy for the best part of two decades, and was also finance minister for most of that time.

What did him in: Scandal, but not Luxleaks. (That came later.) It was Juncker's alleged failure to properly control the intelligence service, which was said to have carried out illegal wiretaps. He always denied any wrongdoing.

What he did next: We've no idea. (Joking: he's been president of the European Commission since November 2014.)

Quote: “Common sense is distributed very unequally in Europe.”

Helmut Kohl (West Germany/Germany)

October 1, 1982 t0 October 27, 1998 (16 years, 26 days)

If Merkel wins a fourth term in the election this fall and serves it in full, she will match her former mentor's record of 16 years in office.

What did him in: Scandal — and Merkel. What would Europe look like without the Schreiber Affair, a campaign finance scandal inside the Christian Democrats? It finished off Kohl's career, brought down his likely successor Wolfgang Schäuble and opened the door for Merkel.

What he did next: Stayed in the Bundestag until the 2002 election.

Quote: "If a chancellor is trying to push something through, he must be a man of power ... In one case — the euro — I was like a dictator."

Konrad Adenauer (West Germany)

September 15, 1949 to October 16, 1963 (14 years, 1 month, 1 day)

Was chancellor when military occupation of West Germany ended in 1952 and when West Germany was recognized internationally as an independent nation in 1955. Under his leadership, West Germany joined NATO that same year and the European Economic Community in 1957.

What did him in: Scandal. In late 1962, Der Spiegel published an article claiming bribery in favor of a construction firm that built military facilities. Adenauer stayed on for another year but never fully recovered.

What he did next: Remained as chairman of the Christian Democratic Union until 1966. Died in 1967.

Quote: "We all live under the same sky, but we don't all have the same horizon."

François Mitterrand (France)

May 21, 1981 to May 17, 1995 (13 years, 11 months, 26 days)

It was Mitterrand who signed the Treaty of Maastricht in 1991 that created the European Union. His lesser-known accomplishments include appointing the country's first female prime minister (Edith Cresson), abolishing the death penalty in France and being the first French politician to win an election twice by popular vote.

What did him in: Ill health. Mitterrand had cancer and had seen his party lose heavily in parliamentary elections two years earlier. He did not stand in the 1995 presidential election.

What he did next: Died in 1996, the year after he completed his final term.

Quote: "She [Margaret Thatcher] has the eyes of Caligula but the mouth of Marilyn Monroe."

Dom Mintoff (Malta)

June 21, 1971 to December 22, 1984 (13 years, 6 months, 1 day)

Mintoff, who lived to the ripe age of 96, was responsible for the transformation of Malta from a British colony to an independent republic. This despite (or perhaps because of) beefs with the British, Libya, NATO and the Roman Catholic Church during his time in power.

What did him in: Unrest. Mintoff had threatened to retire for some time but delayed his departure for another battle, this time with the church, which he banned from charging for its private schools. When the church pleaded poverty, a compromise on funding was agreed and Mintoff took a small step back.

What he did next: Successfully contested three more elections, retiring from frontline politics in 1998 (but not before bringing down his own party's government). Died in 2012.

Quote: “French and German workers don’t have more than two meatballs. However, they have greater eagerness, willpower and a greater sense of responsibility than you have.”

Felipe González (Spain)

December 1, 1982 to May 4, 1996 (13 years, 5 months, 3 days)

Brought Spain into the European Economic Community in 1986. He also helped consolidate the country's fledgling democracy, initially as opposition leader in the first free elections after the Franco years, then as prime minister.

What did him in: Disgruntlement. González had been losing support for some time when he headed into elections in 1996, with the opposition People's Party accusing him of leading the country to financial ruin. The tactic worked and José María Aznar took over as prime minister.

What he did next: Resigned as leader of the Socialist Party in 1997 but stayed as a member of parliament until 2004.

Quote: "The loneliness of power consists in knowing that this is always the last phone that rings and that I have to decide. I cannot move the decision to a higher instance."

Franklin D. Roosevelt (US)

March 4, 1933 to April 12, 1945 (12 years, 1 month, 8 days)

FDR's 12 years in charge won't be beaten by an American president unless Donald Trump barricades himself in the Oval Office. Trump has been branded the Republicans' FDR — make of that what you will.

What did him in: Death.

What he did next: Nothing.

Quote: "This generation of Americans has a rendezvous with destiny."

Jacques Chirac (France)

May 17, 1995 to May 16, 2007 (11 years, 11 months, 29 days)

Chirac's second term in the Élysée Palace was shorter than his first after French voters backed a referendum to change the presidential term of office from seven to five years.

What did him in: Ill health. Chirac suffered a minor stroke the year he left the Élysée. But he was also unpopular, his second term having been marred by civil unrest, with riots in the suburbs of Paris and other cities over discrimination and high youth unemployment.

What he did next: Wrote his memoirs, in which he described Nicolas Sarkozy as "irritable, rash, impetuous, disloyal, ungrateful, and un-French."

Quote: "When I was elected ... I was 32, and I joined the government right away. Then I just stayed forever ... Governments changed, I stayed along with the furniture."

Margaret Thatcher (UK)

May 4, 1979 to November 28, 1990 (11 years, 6 months, 24 days)

Thatcher will have been outlasted by Merkel by some distance if the chancellor wins another term this fall, but a list without the Iron Lady feels somehow incomplete (and yes, the Netherlands' Ruud Lubbers outlasted Thatcher too). Merkel can't escape Thatcher comparisons, and you can see why; no European leader has asserted her political ideology as successfully as the chancellor.

What did her in: Her fellow Tories. The unpopular Poll Tax and disputes over Europe had eroded Thatcher's power and she faced a leadership challenge from Michael Heseltine. She called in members of her cabinet one by one to seek their support. It didn't work and she resigned.

What she did next: Took a seat in the House of Lords as Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven. Died in 2013.

Quote: "I don't mind how much my ministers talk, as long as they do what I say."