sign in sign up
<<
Home , Chancellor of Germany, President of Germany, Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister of Japan

Stephen Harper

Stephen Harper – Prime Minister of Canada

Born in April 1959 in Toronto, Ontario. The 22 nd Canadian Prime Minister, he has been serving in that role since 2006 and is a member of the Conservative Party. Married to Laureen, they have two children – Benjamin and Rachel. He is an Evangelical Christian. Harper supports cutting government spending and taxes. As Prime Minister, he has cut the goods and services tax and approved a budget that would cut funding to several government programs. He has shown support for the military and a bigger Canadian military presence in the northern part of Canada. His background is in Economics.

Stephen Harper

Francois Hollande

Francois Hollande – President of France

Born in August 1954 in Rouen in France. He became President on 15 May 2012 and is a member of the Socialist Party. His current partner is Valerie Trierweiler and he has four children – Thomas, Clemence, Julien and Flora. Hollande was raised as a Roman Catholic but is now agnostic.

His work has been wide-ranging and includes merging of income taxes and has sought to reduce electricity generated nuclear power in favour of renewable energy. He authorised an operation to curtail the activities of Islamic extremists in the north of Mali. A lawyer by profession he personally supports same sex marriage and adoption.

Francois Hollande President of

Angela Merkel – of Germany

Born in July 1954 in Hamburg . She was elected Chancellor for Germany in November 2005 – the first ever woman Chancellor and is Chair of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU), the Conservative Party. Merkel is married to her second husband and is stepmother to his two sons Daniel and Adrian. Andrea Merkel is a Lutheran. Since becoming Chancellor she has led coalition governments, and has played a central role in the negotiations of the and Declaration. Her involvement with the financial crisis within the EU has earned her the reputation as the ‘decider’. Her background prior to office was in Physical Chemistry.

Angela Merkel

Mario Monti President of

Mario Monti –

Born in March 1943 in Varese in Italy. He was appointed as Prime Minister of Italy in November 2011. He is married to Elsa and has two children - Federica and Giovanni, the family are practising Roman Catholics.

Appointed to administer the Italian debt crisis, he selected a government made of entirely unelected professionals, put in place a range of tax increases, state spending cuts and economic reforms. He resigned as Prime Minister in December 2012 but remains in a caretaker role. No party gained a majority in the 2013 election and coalition negotiations are underway. Monti’s background is as an Economist.

Mario Monti Shinzo Abe Prime Minister of

Shinzo Abe –

Born in September 1954 in Nagato in Japan. He was appointed Prime Minister in December 2012 previously serving from 2006 – 2007 when he had to step down due to ill health. Abe is leader of the Liberal and is married to Aike, they have no children. His is a Buddhist and Shintoist background and his wife’s background is Roman Catholic.

Abe’s policies are fiscal policies and seek to encourage private investment, the rebuilding of Japan’s nuclear reactors and strengthening relations with the . His first budget saw an increase in defence spending and manpower and a cut in foreign aid.

Shinzo Abe

Vladimir Putin – President of Russia

Born in October 1952 in Leningrad (now St Petersburg). He has served in high office since 1999 as both President and Prime Minister and has been the current President of Russia since May 2012. Married to Lyudmila Putina they have two daughters - Mariya and Yekaterina. Putin holds a level of Russian Orthodox faith.

Under his leadership as President and Prime Minister, Russia sustained high economic growth, increasing the nominal GDP six-fold by macroeconomics, fiscal reforms, increasing capital inflows and also by a five-fold increase in the price of oil and gas which constitute the majority of Russia’s exports. Prior to serving in office Putin served 16 years in the KGB where he rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

Vladimir Putin David Cameron Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

David Cameron - Prime Minister of the UK

Born in October 1966 in London. Leader of the Conservative Party, he was elected as Prime Minister in May 2010 and since then leads a with the Liberal Democrats. Married to Samantha, they have had four children - Nancy, Arthur, Florence and Ivan who died age six. He describes his faith as ‘fairly classic Church of England’ and says his politics are not faith-driven.

Cameron is an outspoken supporter of Israel, voted against gay adoption but is support of legalising same sex marriage. His policies seek to cut taxes and boost the economy. He favours globalization and and is also interested in and education. He has a background in media.

David Cameron Barak Obama President of the United States of America

Barak Obama – President of USA

Born in August 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii. He is the 44 th President of the United States and has been in office since 2009. He is the first African American to hold the office and is a member if the Democratic Party. Married to Michelle, they have two children - Sasha and Malia. A Christian, he is a member of the United Church of Christ.

Since gaining office he became the first U.S. president to publicly support the rights of same sex couples to marry. He has engaged extensively in Foreign Policy concerning issues with military dimensions. His background is in as a civil rights attorney and teaching constitutional law.

Barak Obama Jose Barroso President of the European Commission

Jose Barroso – President of the EU Commission

Born in March 1956 in Lisbon, Portugal. He is the current President of the European Commission and a Portuguese politician. Elected in 2004, he is currently serving his second term as President of the EU Commission. He has served as Prime Minister of Portugal from 2002 to 2004. Married to Maria, they have three children - Luis, Guilherme and Francisco.

During his so far he has been involved with the Treaty of Lisbon, the Bolkestein Directive, Lisbon Strategy, EU climate change package and strategies to combat the continent’s economic crisis amongst many other issues.

Jose Barroso Herman Van Rompuy President of the

Herman Van Rompuy – President of the EU Council

Born in October 1947 in Etterbeek, Brussels. He was elected in November 2009 as the first full- time President of the European Council and is now in his second term before this he served as Prime Minister of Belgium from 2008 -2009. Married to Geertrui, they have four children - Peter, Laura, Elke, and Thomas.

His role involves chairing a body comprising 27 heads of state or government and seeking to find consensus among them. He coordinates the European position at G8 and Summits.

Herman Van Rompuy of Republic of Ireland

Enda Kenny – Taoiseach of Republic of Ireland

Born in April 1951 in Castlebar, Ireland. Enda Kenny has been leader of the Fine Gael Party since 2002, has served as Minister for Tourism and Trade and has been Taoiseach since March 2011 leading a coalition government with the Labour Party. Married to Fionnuala, they have one daughter and two sons; Aoibhinn (Ay-veen), Ferdia and Naoise (Nee-sha).

As Ireland holds the Presidency of the EU from January to June 2013 Enda Kenny will be attending the G8. In this 7th time of serving in the Irish Presidency the Taoiseach has said that it will be one of a recovery country driving a recovery agenda for Europe, through stability, encouraging and generating growth and jobs. He has a background in Teaching.

Enda Kenny