G20 2010 Toronto Program

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
Amado Boudou, finance minister
Hector Timerman, sherpa

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner became president of Argentina in December 2007 after winning the general election in October. She replaced her husband, Néstor Kirchner, who had been president since May 2003. She is Argentina’s second female president, but the first to be elected. Prior to her current position, she was a senator for the provinces of Buenos Aires and Santa Cruz. She was first elected to the Senate in 1995, and in 1997 to the Chamber of Deputies. In 2001 she won a seat in the Senate again. Born on 19 February 1954 in La Plata, Buenos Aires, Kirchner studied law at the National University of La Plata. She and her husband have two children. This will be Kirchner’s fourth G20 summit.

Australia

Kevin Rudd became prime minister of Australia in December 2007, replacing John Howard who had held the position since 1996. Before entering politics, Rudd worked for the Department of Foreign Affairs, where he held posts in Stockholm, Sweden and China. He also spent time as a political staffer and held positions that included chief of staff for the premier of Queensland and director general of the office of the Queensland cabinet. Since his first election in 1998, Rudd has served in various positions including shadow minister of foreign affairs and leader of the opposition. He was born in Nambour, Queensland, on 21 September 1957. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Asian studies at Australian National University in 1981, where he focused on Chinese language and history. He and his wife, Thérèse Rein, have three children. This will be the fourth G20 summit that Rudd has attended.

Brazil

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva first assumed the office of the president in January 2003, after being elected in October 2002. He was re-elected in October 2006, extending his term until January 2011. Lula first ran for office in 1982 in the state of São Paulo and was elected to congress in 1986. Instead of running for re-election in 1990, he became more involved in the Workers’ Party, where he continued to run for the office of president. Lula was born in Caetés, Pernambuco, on 27 October 1945. He received no formal education and began working in a copper pressing factory at the age of 14. He became heavily involved in the unions at a young age. He is married to Marisa Letícia and has five children. This will be the fourth summit that Lula has attended.

Canada

Stephen Harper, prime minister
Jim Flaherty, finance minister
Leonard J. Edwards

Stephen Harper was elected prime minister of Canada with a minority government in January 2006, replacing Paul Martin. Harper ran for re-election in October 2008 and returned to the House of Commons with a stronger minority. Before running for politics he served as a policy adviser for the Reform Party. Harper was first elected as a member of parliament in 1993. He served as leader of the opposition for several years before becoming prime minister. Harper was born in Toronto, Ontario, on 30 April 1959. He studied at the University of Toronto and the University of Calgary, earning his master’s degree in economics in 1991. He and his wife, Laureen Harper, have two children. This will be the fifth G8 summit that Harper has attended and his first as host. It will be his fourth G20 summit and his first as host.

China

Hu Jintao has been president of the People’s Republic of China since March 2003. He replaced Jiang Zemin, who had held the position since 1989. Hu also serves as general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and chair of the Central Military Commission. An engineer, he joined the CPC in April 1964 and began working with the party in 1968. In 1992, he was elected to the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and was re-elected in 1997. He became vice-president of China in March 1998 and vice-chair of the Central Military Commission in 1999. Born in Jiangyan, Jiangsu, on 21 December 1942, he received his engineering degree from Tsinghua University in 1965. He and Lui Yongqing have two children. This will be the fourth G20 summit that Hu has attended.

France

Nicolas Sarkozy, president,
Christine Lagarde, finance minister
Xavier Musca, sherpa

Nicolas Sarkozy became president of France in May 2007, taking over from Jacques Chirac, who had held the position since 1995. Sarkozy worked as a lawyer while he pursued politics. From 1983 to 2002, he was mayor of Neuilly-sur-Seine. He has been president of the Union pour un Mouvement Populaire since 2004. During his time in parliament he has held a number of cabinet portfolios including minister of state of the economy, finance and industry, minister of the budget and minister of the interior. Sarkozy was born in Paris on 28 January 1955 and received his law degree from the Université de Paris in 1978. He is married to Carla Bruni and has three children from two previous marriages. This will be the fourth G8 and G20 summit that Sarkozy has attended.

Germany

Angela Merkel, chancellor
Wolfgang Shäuble, finance minister
Jens Weidmann, sherpa

Angela Merkel became chancellor of Germany in November 2005, replacing Gerhard Schröder, who had been in power since 1998. Before entering politics she worked as a researcher and physicist. She was first elected to the Bundestag in 1990 and has held the cabinet portfolios for women and youth, environment, nature conservation and nuclear safety. She was born in Hamburg on 17 July 1956 and received her doctorate in physics from the University of Leipzig in 1978. She is married to Joachim Sauer and has no children. This will be Merkel’s fifth G8 summit and fourth G20 summit.

India

Manmohan Singh, prime minister
Finance minister: Pranab Mukherjee, finance minister
Montek Ahluwalia, sherpa

Manmohan Singh became prime minister of India in May 2004, replacing Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who held the position from 1998 to 2004 and also for a short period in 1996. Singh was re-elected in May 2009. Previously he worked as an economist, including for the International Monetary Fund. He was governor of the Reserve Bank of India from 1982 to 1985. Singh was first elected to the upper house in 1995 and re-elected in 2001 and 2007. He has held cabinet positions including finance and external affairs. Singh also served as minister of finance from November 2008 to January 2009. He was born in Gah, Punjab (now known as Chakwal district, Pakistan), on 26 September 1932. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Punjab University in 1952 and 1954. He also received an additional undergraduate degree from Cambridge University in 1957 and a doctorate from Oxford University in 1962. He and his wife, Gursharan Kaur, have three children. This will be Singh’s fourth G20 summit.

Indonesia

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, president
Sri Mulyani Indrawati, finance minister
Mahendra Siregar, sherpa

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono assumed the presidency in October 2004, replacing the incumbent Megawato Sukarnoputri. He was re-elected for a second term in July 2009. Before entering politics, he served as a lecturer and a military general. His first experience in politics came when he was appointed minister of mines and energy in 1999. Yudhoyono later served as coordinating minister for politics and security. He was born on 9 September 1949 in Pacitan, East Java. He received his doctorate in agricultural economics from the Bogor Institute of Agriculture in 2004. He and his wife, Kristiani Herawati, have two children. This will be Yudhoyono’s fourth G20 summit.

Italy

Silvio Berlusconi, prime minister
Giulio Tremonti, finance minister
Bruno Archi, sherpa

Silvio Berlusconi became prime minister of Italy for the third time after winning the April 2008 election. Before entering politics, he started his career as a building contractor. In 1980, he established Canale 5, the first private national television network in Italy. He also became a leading Italian publisher with Mondadori. In 1994 he resigned from Gruppo Fininvest in order to establish the political movement Forza Italia. In the same year, he became president of the Council of Ministers. In June 2001 Berlusconi became prime minister again, an office he held until 2006. Born in Milan on 29 September 1936, he received his law degree from the University of Milan. He is married to Veronica Lario and has five children. This will be the ninth G8 summit and fourth G20 summit that Berlusconi has attended.

Japan

Naoto Kan became prime minister of Japan on 8 June 2010, replacing Yukio Hatoyama, who held the position since September 2009. Kan was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1980 and elected president of the Democratic Party of Japan in 2006. He served as minister of health and welfare, minister of state for science and technology and, most recently, deputy prime minister and minister of finance. Kan was born in Ube City, Yamaguichi Prefecture on 10 October 1946. He graduated from the Tokyo Institute of Technology in 1970 and opened a patent office in 1974. Kan is married and has two children. This will be the first G8 and G20 summit that he has attended.

Korea

Lee Myung-bak, president
Yoon Jeung-hyun, finance minister
Rhee Changyong, sherpa

Lee Myung-bak became president of Korea on 25 February 2008, replacing Roh Moo-hyun, who had occupied the position since 2003. Lee joined the Hyundai Construction Company in 1965 and eventually became chief executive officer of the Hyundai Group before being elected to the Korean National Assembly in 1992. In 2002 he was elected mayor of Seoul, a position he held until 2006. He was born in Kirano, Osaka, Japan, on 19 December 1941. He received a degree in business administration from Korea University in 1965. Lee and his wife, Kim Yun-ok, have four children. This will be his fourth G20 summit.

Mexico

Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, president
Ernesto J. Cordero, minister
Lourdes Aranda, sherpa

Felipe Calderón became president of Mexico in December 2006, replacing Vicente Fox, who had held the position since 2000. Calderón was president of the youth movement of the National Action Party and later served as a local representative in the legislative assembly in the federal chamber of deputies. In 1995 he ran for governor of Michaocán. He served as secretary of energy from 2003 to 2004. Born in Morelia, Michoacán, on 18 August 1962, Calderón received his bachelor’s degree in law from Escuela Libre de Derecho in Mexico City. He later received a master’s degree in economics from the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México, as well as a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University. He and his wife, Margarita Zavala, have three children. This will be Calderón’s fourth G20 summit.

Russia

Dmitry Medvedev, president
Alexei Leonidovich Kudrin, finance minsiter
Arkady Dvorkovich, sherpa

Dmitry Medvedev became president of Russia on 7 May 2008, after winning the presidential election in March and replacing Vladimir Putin, whose term in office had expired. Before entering politics, Medvedev worked as a legal expert and lawyer. He served as deputy prime minister from 2005 to 2008. He was born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) on 14 September 1965 and earned a degree in law in 1987 and a doctorate in private law in 1990 from Leningrad State University. He is married to Svetlana Medvedeva and they have one child. This will be the third G8 summit and fourth G20 summit that Medvedev has attended.

Saudi Arabia

Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, king
Ibrahim Abulaziz Al-Assaf, finance minister
Hamad Al Bazai, sherpa

King Abdullah bin Adbul Aziz Al Saud has been in power since August 2005. He replaced Fahd bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, who had reigned since June 1982. As crown prince since 1987, after Fahd was debilitated by a stroke, Abdullah became de facto regent and thus ruler since 1 January 1996. He was formally enthroned on 3 August 2005. He is also prime minister of Saudi Arabia and commander of the National Guard. Abdullah is chair of the supreme economic council, president of the High Council for Petroleum and Minerals, president of the King Abdulaziz Centre for National Dialogue, chair of the Council of Civil Service and head of the Military Service Council. He was born 1 August 1924 in Riyadh and has several wives and children. This will be the fourth G20 summit the king has attended.

South Africa

Jacob ZUma, president
Pravin Jamnadas Gordhan, finance minister
Mandisi Mpahlwa, sherpa

Jacob Zuma became president of South Africa on 9 May 2009, succeeding Petrus Kgalema Motlanthe, who had held the position since September 2008. Zuma joined the African National Congress (ANC) in 1958 and joined the ANC’s National Executive in 1977. In 1994, he was elected National Chair of the ANC and chair of the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal. He was re-elected to the latter position in 1996 and selected as the deputy president in December 1997. Zuma was executive deputy president of South Africa from 1999 until 2005. He was elected ANC president at the end of 2007. Born on 12 April 1949 in Inkandla, KwaZulu-Natal Province, he has received numerous honorary degrees. He has three wives and several children. This will be Zuma’s second G20 summit.

Turkey

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, prime minister
Mehmet Simsek, finance minister
Hakk? Akil, sherpa

Recep Tayyip Erdogan became prime minister of Turkey in March 2003, replacing Abdullah Gül, in office since 2002. Previously, Erdogan was mayor of Istabul from 1994 to 1998. He was born on 26 February 1954 in Rize, Turkey, and studied management at Marmar University’s faculty of economics and administrative sciences. He and Emine Erdogan have two children. This will be the fourth G20 summit Erdogan has attended.

United Kingdom

David Cameron became prime minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland with a hung (coalition) government in May 2010, after striking a deal with Nick Clegg, head of the Liberal Democratic Party. He was first elected to parliament in 2001 as representative for Witney. Cameron previously worked for the Conservative Research Department and was a political strategist and adviser to the Conservative Party. He has served as party leader since December 2005. Born in London, England, on 9 October 1966, Cameron received a bachelor’s degree in philosophy, politics and economics at the University of Oxford. He is married to Samantha Sheffield. They have two children and are expecting a third. This will be Cameron’s first G8 and G20 summit.

United States of America

Barack Obama, president
Timothy Geithner, finance minister
Michael Froman, sherpa

Barack Obama became president of the United States in January 2009, replacing George W. Bush, who had held the presidency since 2002. In 2005 Obama was elected to the Senate, having previously worked as a community organiser, a civil rights lawyer and a state legislator for Illinois. He was born on 4 August 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii, to a Kenyan father and American mother. He received his bachelor’s degree from Columbia University in 1983 and a law degree from Harvard University in 1991. Obama and Michelle Obama have two children. This will be the second G8 and third G20 summit that Obama has attended.

European Union

Herman Van Rompuy, president, European Council
José Manuel Barroso, president, European Commission
Franciskus van Daele, sherpa

Herman Van Rompuy was elected by the members of the European Council as the first permanent president of the European Council in 2009. A Belgian politician of the Christian Democratic and Flemish party, he served as prime minister of Belgium from 2008 to 2009, and previously as minister of the budget and president of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives, as well as a senator. Born on 31 October 1947 in Etterbeek, Belgium, he and his wife, Geertrui Windels, have four children. This will be the first G8 and G20 summits Van Rompuy has attended.

José Manuel Barroso became president of the European Commission in November 2004. Previously, he was prime minister of Portugal from 2002 to 2004. Before entering politics Barroso was an academic. He studied law at the University of Lisbon, holds a master’s degree in economics and social sciences from the University of Geneva and received his doctorate from Georgetown University in 1998. He is married to Maria Margarida Pinto Ribeiro de Sousa Uva and has three children. This is Barroso’s sixth G8 and fourth G20 summit.

Outreach Participants

Countries

Ethiopia

Meles Zenawi Asres is the current prime minister. He is also the chair of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). Since 1985, he has been chairman of the Tigrayan Peoples’ Liberation Front (TPLF), and is currently head of the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). He was born May 8, 1955, in Adwa, Tigray in Northern Ethiopia. He acquired an MBA from the Open University of the United Kingdom in 1995 and a master’s in economics from the Erasmus University in the Netherlands in 2004. Meles is married to Azeb Mesfin, the current chair of the Social Affairs Standing Committee of Parliament, and is the father of three children. This is the third G20 summit that NEPAD and Ethiopia has been invited to.

Malawi

Bingu wa Mutharika first became president on May 24, 2004, after winning a disputed presidential election. He won a second term in May 2009. Mutharika is also currently the minister of agriculture and food security and minister of education. On January 31, 2010, Mutharika replaced Libyan dictator Muammar al-Gaddafi as leader of the African Union. After serving in the Malawi civil service and in the government of Zambia, Mutharika worked at the United Nations, where he eventually became the Director for Trade and Development Finance for Africa. In 1991 he was appointed Secretary-General of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). Born February 24, 1934, in Thyolo, Malawi, Mutharika was educated at the University of Delhi, India, where he gained a master’s degree in economics. He later obtained a PhD in development economics from Pacific Western University. In 2010, he engaged former Malawi tourism minister Callista Chimombo. He has four children from a previous marriage. This is the first G20 summit that the African Union and Malawi has been invited to.

The Netherlands

Jan Pieter Balkenende has been prime minister since July 22, 2002. Before entering into politics, he served as a legal affairs policy officer at the Netherlands Universities Council and as a professor at the Free University. Balkenende was a member of Amstelveen municipal council from 1982 to 1998. He was born May 8, 1956, in the village of Biezelinge in the Netherlands. He studied at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, where he successfully received a master’s in history in 1986, an LL.M. in Dutch Law in 1982 and a PhD in Law in 1992. He is married to Bianca Hoogendijk and has one daughter. This is the fourth G20 summit that the Netherlands has been invited to.

Spain

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has been prime minister since April 17, 2004. Before entering into politics Zapatero worked as a teaching assistant. He was first elected as a member of the congress of deputies for Leon in 1986. He served as leader of the opposition from 2000 to 2004. Born on August 4, 1960, in Valladolid, Spain, he studied law at the University of León. He is married to Sonsoles Espinosa and has two children. This is the fourth G20 summit that Spain has been invited to.

Vietnam

Nguyan Tan Dung became prime minister on June 27, 2006, having been nominated by his predecessor, Phan Van Khai, who retired from office. Dung is also the 2010 chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Dung previously served as first deputy prime minister of Vietnam. He was also the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam between 1998 and 1999. He was admitted to the Communist Party of Vietnam on June 10, 1967. He is the first senior Vietnamese communist leader who was born after the August Revolution in 1945. This is the third G20 summit that ASEAN has been invited to and the first for Vietnam.

International Organizations

Financial Stability Board

Mario Draghi was elected chair in April 2006. He is an Italian economist and banker who has been the governor of the Banca d'Italia since January 16, 2006. He is a member of the governing and general councils of the European Central Bank and a member of the board of directors of the Bank of International Settlement. Born in Rome on September 3, 1947, Draghi graduated from La Sapienza University of Rome and earned a doctorate in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was also an executive director of the World Bank from 1984 to 1990.

International Labour Organization

Juan Somavia was elected the ninth director-general of the ILO on March 23, 1998. His five-year term began on March 4, 1999. Somavia was re-elected in 2003 and 2008. An attorney by profession, Somavia has had a long and distinguished career in civil and international affairs. Born on April 21, 1941, he finished Law at the Catholic University of Chile. After graduating, he continued higher studies in economic development at the School of Law and Economics at the University of Paris. Somavia is married to Adriana Santa Cruz and they have two children.

International Monetary Fund

Dominique Strauss-Kahn assumed office as the tenth managing director on September 28, 2007. An economist, lawyer, and politician, Strauss-Khan prior to taking up his position at the IMF was member of the French National Assembly and Professor of Economics at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris. He served as finance and economy minister and sought the nomination in the primaries to the Socialist presidential candidacy for the 2007 election, but was defeated. Born on April 25, 1949 in Paris, he studied political science at Sciences Po Paris and obtained a degree in public law as well as a doctorate. He is married to Anne Sinclair and they have four children.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

Angel Gurría was appointed in June 2006. Prior to joining OECD, Gurria served as Mexico’s minister of foreign affairs and minister of finance and public credit. Under his leadership, the OECD has expanded its membership to include Chile, Estonia, Israel, and Slovenia and opened accession talks with Russia. It has also strengthened links with other major emerging economies including Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and South Africa, with a view to possible membership. Gurría was born on May 8, 1950 in Tampico, Mexico. He holds a bachelor in Economics from UNAM (Mexico), and a masters in Economics from Leeds University. He is married to Dr. Lulu Quintana and they have three children.

United Nations

Ban Ki-moon, of the Republic of Korea, became the eighth UN Secretary-General on January 1, 2007 succeeding Kofi Annan. At the time of his election, he served as the minister of foreign affairs and trade in Korea and was a diplomat to the UN. His involvement with the ministry included postings in New Delhi, Washington DC, and Vienna. Born on June 13, 1944 in Eumseong County, at the end of the Japanese rule of Korea, Ban received his bachelors of International Relations from Seoul National University and a masters of Public Administration from the J.F.K. School of Government at Harvard University. He is married to Yoo Soon-taek and has three children.

World Bank

Robert Zoellick became the eleventh president of the World Bank Group on July 1, 2007. Prior to joining the World Bank, Zoellick served as chair of Goldman Sachs board of international advisors. He was also the deputy secretary of the U.S. State Department and the Department's chief pperating officer and policy alternate for the secretary of state. From 2001 to January 2005, Zoellick served in the U.S. cabinet as the thirteenth U.S. trade representative. Born on July 25, 1953 in Naperville, Illinois, U.S., he graduated from Swarthmore College, earned a J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School and a masters in public policy from the Kennedy School of Government. He is married to Sherry Zoellick.

World Trade Organization

Pascal Lamy was appointed in September 2005 for a four-year term as the fifth Director-General of the WTO. In April 2009, he was reappointed for a second four-year term. He served as the commissioner for trade at the European Commission, was the CEO of the bank Credit Lyonnais and was the chief of staff for the president of the European Commission, Jacques Delors, and his representative as sherpa in the G7. He is an honorary president of Paris-based think-tank Notre Europe. Lamy was born on April 8, 1947 in Levallois-Perret, a suburb of Paris, France. He holds degrees from the Paris-based Ecole des Hautes Études Commerciales, from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques and from the Ecole Nationale d’Administration. He is married to Geneviève Luchaire and has three children.

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