Commonwealth Heads of Government 2009
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Profiles of Commonwealth Heads of Government Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting Port of Spain TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 27-29 November 2009 CHOGM 2009 TRINIDAD & T OBAGO Profiles of Commonwealth Heads of Government CONTENTS Antigua and Barbuda /The Hon Winston Baldwin Spencer 4 Australia /The Hon Kevin Michael Rudd 5 The Bahamas /The Rt Hon Hubert Alexander Ingraham 6 Bangladesh /The Hon Sheikh Hasina 7 Barbados /The Hon David John Howard Thompson 8 Belize /The Hon Dean Barrow 9 Botswana /HE Mr Seretse Khama Ian Khama 10 Brunei Darussalam /HM Paduka Seri Baginda Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah 11 Cameroon /HE Mr Paul Biya 12 Canada /The Rt Hon Stephen Harper 13 Cyprus /HE Mr Demetris Christofias 14 Dominica /The Hon Roosevelt Skerrit 15 The Gambia /HE Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya A J J Jammeh 16 Ghana /HE Professor John Evans Atta Mills 17 Grenada /The Hon Tillman Thomas 18 Guyana /HE Mr Bharrat Jagdeo 19 India /The Hon Dr Manmohan Singh 20 Jamaica /The Hon Orette Bruce Golding 21 Kenya /HE Mr Mwai Kibaki 22 Kiribati /HE Mr Anote Tong 23 Lesotho /The Rt Hon Bethuel Pakalitha Mosisili 24 Malawi /HE Dr Bingu wa Mutharika 25 Malaysia /The Hon Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak 26 Maldives /HE Mr Mohamed Nasheed 27 Malta /The Hon Dr Lawrence Gonzi 28 Mauritius /The Hon Dr Navinchandra Ramgoolam 29 Mozambique /HE Mr Armando Emilio Guebuza 30 Namibia /HE Mr Hifikepunye Pohamba 31 New Zealand /The Hon John Key 32 Nigeria /HE Mr Umaru Musa Yar’Adua 33 Pakistan /The Hon Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani 34 Papua New Guinea /The Rt Hon Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare 35 St Kitts and Nevis /The Hon Dr Denzil Llewellyn Douglas 36 St Lucia /The Hon Stephenson King 37 St Vincent and the Grenadines /The Hon Dr Ralph Everard Gonsalves 38 Samoa /The Hon Tuilaepa Lupesoliai Sa’ilele Malielegaoi 39 Seychelles /HE Mr James Alix Michel 40 Sierra Leone /HE Mr Ernest Bai Koroma 41 Singapore /The Hon Lee Hsien Loong 42 Solomon Islands /The Hon Dr David Derek Sikua 43 South Africa /HE Mr Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma 44 Sri Lanka /HE Mr Mahinda Rajapaksa 45 Swaziland /The Hon Dr Barnabas Sibusiso Dlamini 46 Tonga /The Hon Dr Feleti Vaka’uta Sevele 47 Trinidad and Tobago /The Hon Patrick Augustus Mervyn Manning 48 Tuvalu /The Hon Apisai Ielemia 49 Uganda /HE Mr Yoweri Kaguta Museveni 50 United Kingdom /The Rt Hon Gordon Brown 51 United Republic of Tanzania /HE Mr Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete 52 Vanuatu /The Hon Edward Nipake Natapei 53 Zambia /HE Mr Rupiah Bwezani banda 54 Note: Fiji Islands was fully suspended from membership of the Commonwealth on 1 September 2009 pending restoration of a democratically elected government. Nauru is a member in arrears and does not attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. ANTIGUA and BARBUDA The Hon Winston Baldwin Spencer PRIME MINISTER COMMONWEALTH The Hon Winston Baldwin Spencer, Leader of the United Progressive MEMBERSHIP: Party, was re-elected to a second term in office as Prime Minister of 1981 Antigua and Barbuda following victory at the 12 March 2009 general INDEPENDENCE election. Mr Spencer began his first term in office in March 2004. He is DAY: concurrently Minister of Labour. Before becoming prime minister, 1 November 1981 Mr Spencer served in the House of Representatives for more than CAPITAL: 15 years as Leader of the Opposition. St John’s Mr Spencer was Chairperson of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) LAND AREA: from 2008 to 2009. He has also served as Chair of the Organisation of 440 sq km Eastern Caribbean States and also sat as Co-Chairperson of the Summit POPULATION: Meeting between the European Union, Latin America and the 90,000 Caribbean in Mexico in 2004. He chaired one of four Round Tables of Heads of State and Government at the World Summit 2005, at the GDP GROWTH: 2.5% p.a. United Nations General Assembly. Mr Spencer, Chair of the Group of 77 developing countries at the UN in GNI PER CAPITA: US$13,620 September 2008, was honoured with the 2008 Millennium Development Goals Achievement Award for his commitment and CURRENCY: contributions to promoting and strengthening partnerships between Eastern Caribbean dollar the United Nations and the private sector in achieving global anti- poverty goals. ECONOMY: Manufacturing and Mr Spencer began his political career in 1989 when he was elected to toursim parliament as a United National Democratic Party representative of St John’s Rural West constituency. STATUS: Constitutional Mr Spencer has a diploma in social leadership from the Coady monarchy under HM Queen Elizabeth II International Institute, Canada; in labour and economic studies from Ruskin College, Oxford University; and in labour and industrial relations from Oslo University, Norway. CHOGM 2009 Mr Spencer was born on 8 October 1948. Trinidad & Tobago 4 Website: www.ab.gov.ag AUSTRALIA The Hon Kevin Michael Rudd PRIME MINISTER The Hon Kevin Michael Rudd was sworn into office as Prime Minister of COMMONWEALTH Australia on 3 December 2007 following his victory at the general MEMBERSHIP: 1931 election held on 24 November. NATIONAL DAY: Mr Rudd has been the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) since 26 January December 2006. He first joined the ALP at the age of 15 in 1972. Mr Rudd was appointed to Labor’s Shadow Cabinet in 2001 and was CAPITAL: Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs until 2005. Mr Rudd has been a Canberra Member of Parliament representing Griffith since 1998, when he first LAND AREA: served as Chair of the Parliamentary Labor Party’s Committee on 7.7 million sq km National Security and Trade. POPULATION: Before entering politics, Mr Rudd was a consultant with KPMG Australia 22 million from 1996 to 1998. He had previously served as Director-General of the GDP GROWTH: Cabinet Office of the Queensland State Government from 1992 to 1995. 3.7% p.a. Prior to that, Mr Rudd was Chief of Staff in the Office of the Queensland GNI PER CAPITA: Premier Wayne Goss from 1989 to 1992. Earlier on in 1988, Mr Rudd US$40,350 also held the post of Chief of Staff in Mr Goss’s office when he was then the Queensland State Opposition Leader. CURRENCY: Australian dollar Mr Rudd attained the post of Assistant Secretary in the Policy Planning Bureau of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) in 1988 ECONOMY: Agriculture, mining, after rising through the ranks since embarking on a diplomatic career livestock farming and in 1981 where he went on to serve in the Australian Embassies in tourism Stockholm, Sweden, and Beijing, China. STATUS: Mr Rudd has a BA (Hons, 1st class) in Asian Studies from the Australian Constitutional National University, Canberra, majoring in Chinese language and monarchy under HM Queen Elizabeth II history. He has written extensively on Chinese politics and foreign policy, as well as on Australia-Asia relations and globalisation. He speaks fluent Mandarin. CHOGM Mr Rudd was born on 21 September 1957 in Nambour, Queensland. 2009 Trinidad & Tobago Website: www.pm.gov.au 5 THE BAHAMAS The Rt Hon Hubert Alexander Ingraham PRIME MINISTER COMMONWEALTH The Rt Hon Hubert Alexander Ingraham was sworn in as the fourth MEMBERSHIP: Prime Minister of The Bahamas on 4 May 2007 following the victory of 1973 the Free National Movement (FNM) Party at the 2 May general election. INDEPENDENCE Mr Ingraham is concurrently the Minister of Finance. DAY: 10 July 1973 He previously served as prime minister from August 1992 to 2002. Mr CAPITAL: Ingraham joined the FNM in 1990 which was then the Opposition Party. Nassau He was elected as party leader in May that year and appointed Leader of the Opposition. LAND AREA: 13,880 sq km In 1987, Mr Ingraham was an independent Member of Parliament. Before that, he was Chairperson of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) POPULATION: 340,000 from 1976 to 1986 after entering politics in 1975 and being elected to the National General Council of the PLP that year. GDP GROWTH: 1% p.a. Mr Ingraham served as Minister for Housing and National Insurance from 1982 to 1984. He was first elected to the House of Assembly in GNI PER CAPITA: US$16,000 1977 under the PLP ticket for his home constituency of Cooper’s Town, North Abaco. CURRENCY: Bahamian dollar Mr Ingraham was called to the Bahamas Bar in December 1972 and became the senior partner in the firm of Christie, Ingraham & Co. ECONOMY: Fisheries, Mr Ingraham was born on 4 August 1947 in Pine Ridge, Grand Bahama. pharmaceuticals, refined petroleum and tourism STATUS: Constitutional monarchy under HM Queen Elizabeth II CHOGM 2009 Trinidad & Tobago 6 Website: www.bahamas.gov.bs BANGLADESH The Hon Sheikh Hasina PRIME MINISTER The Hon Sheikh Hasina was returned to power for a second time as COMMONWEALTH Prime Minister of Bangladesh when her Awami League party which led MEMBERSHIP: 1972 an alliance of political parties won a landslide victory in the Parliamentary Election on 29 December 2008. INDEPENDENCE DAY: She took office on 6 January 2009. Her first term as prime minister was 26 March 1971 from June 1996 to 2001 after the Awami League won the 1996 Parliamentary Election. CAPITAL: Dhaka Sheikh Hasina served as Leader of the Opposition from 1986 to June LAND AREA: 1996, and again in 2001 when her ruling party lost the election. 144,000 sq km Sheikh Hasina has been President of the Awami League since 1981 POPULATION: when she was elected as the party’s leader while living in exile in New 160 million Delhi, India. Sheikh Hasina is the daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founder of independent Bangladesh.