German Chancellor Angela Merkel fractured her Pelvis on Monday in a cross-country skiing accident.br br The 59-year old was forced to call off some of her official appointments and foreign visits, her spokesman said.br br (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN STEFFEN SEIBERT, SAYING:br br "The Chancellor contracted severe bruising and a so called partial fracture in her left back pelvic ring while cross-skiing over her Christmas holidays. This makes it necessary for her to lie down a lot or use a walking device respectively for the next three weeks."br br But Merkel WILL lead her first cabinet meeting of 2014 on Wednesday.br br She began her third term last month after sealing a "grand coalition" of conservatives and centre-left Social Democrats.br br The news of her accident comes a week after Germany was shocked by the far more serious skiing accident of former Formula One champion Michael Schumacher.