G8/G20 SUMMITS
The G20 leaders
Who's coming to Canada's summits?
Last Updated: Friday, June 4, 2010 | 3:32 PM ET
CBC News
Mouse over each country for GDP, inflation and unemployment statistics for each of the G20 countries. This map is shaded according to GDP, with lighter colours reflecting lower GDP numbers.
The G20 leaders heading to Toronto in June (with some stopping first in Huntsville, Ont., for the G8 summit) are a varied lot. Some are heads of state; others are heads of government. Some lead democracies, others aren't elected at all. Some have a great deal of summit experience; others are rookies.
G8 and G20 summits also attract many more leaders than the numbers would suggest. For instance, Canada has exercised its right as host to extend summit invitations to the leaders of a number of countries that are not formal members of either the G8 or the G20. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has formally asked Ethiopia, Malawi, the Netherlands, Spain and Vietnam to attend the G20 summit.
The European Union gets to send two leaders — the president of the European Commission as well as the leader of the country holding the rotating presidency of the European Council.
A number of international bodies also get to send their leaders. The G20 summit will play host to the heads of the United Nations, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization, the International Labour Organization, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the Financial Stability Forum.
Throw in entourages of senior ministers, officials, and aides from each member delegation and summit attendance numbers grow dramatically. And we're not even counting the thousands of journalists, security folks and protesters who will be a constant presence.
Still, it will be a handful of world leaders who'll snag the spotlight.
Here's a brief look at who they are:
Canada (host)
(Nathan Denette/Canadian Press) G8 member: Yes
G20 member: Yes
Leader: Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada
In office since: Feb. 6, 2006
# of G8 summits attended: 4
# of G20 summits attended: 3
Age: 51, married, 2 children
Noteworthy: First Canadian prime minister since Lester Pearson not to have a law degree; like many G20 leaders, he's got an economics background
Argentina
(Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Associated Press) G8 member: No
G20 member: Yes
Leader: Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, President of Argentina
In office since: Dec. 10, 2007
# of G8 summits attended: 0
# of G20 summits attended: 3
Age: 56, married, 2 children
Noteworthy: Argentina's first elected female president
Australia
(Heribert Proepper/Associated Press) G8 member: No
G20 member: Yes
Leader: Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister of Australia
In office since: Dec. 3, 2007
# of G8 summits attended: 2
# of G20 summits attended: 3
Age: 52, married, 3 children
Noteworthy: Has bachelor's degree in Asian studies; refused to swear allegiance to the Queen when sworn in as PM
Brazil
(Eraldo Peres/Associated Press) G8 member: No
G20 member: Yes
Leader: Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil
In office since: Jan. 1, 2003
# of G8 summits attended: 6
# of G20 summits attended: 3
Age: 64, married, 5 children
Noteworthy: Received no formal education; began working in copper factory at age 14
China
(Frederic J. Brown/Associated Press) G8 member: No
G20 member: Yes
Leader: Hu Jintao, President of the People's Republic of China
In office since: March 15, 2003
# of G8 summits attended: 6
# of G20 summits attended: 3
Age: 67, married, two children
Noteworthy: Has an engineering degree from Tsinghua University
France
(Bob Edme/Associated Press) G8 member: Yes
G20 member: Yes
Leader: Nicolas Sarkozy, President of France
In office since: May 16, 2007
# of G8 summits attended: 3
# of G20 summits attended: 3
Age: 55, married, three children
Noteworthy: Was mayor of Neuilly-sur-Seine, one of the wealthiest suburbs of Paris, for 19 years beginning in 1983
Germany
(Osama Faisal/Associated Press) G8 member: Yes
G20 member: Yes
Leader: Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany
In office since: Nov. 22, 2005
# of G8 summits attended: 4
# of G20 summits attended: 3
Age: 53, married, no children
Noteworthy: Germany's first female chancellor; received a doctorate in physics in 1978
India
(Gurinder Osan/Associated Press) G8 member: No
G20 member: Yes
Leader: Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India
In office since: May 22, 2004
#of G8 summits attended: 5
# of G20 summits attended: 3
Age: 77, married, three children
Noteworthy: An economist by training, Singh launched sweeping economic reforms when he was finance minister in 1991
Indonesia
(Achmad Ibrahim/Associated Press) G8 member: No
G20 member: Yes
Leader: Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, President of Indonesia
In office since: Oct. 20, 2004
# of G8 summits attended: 2
# of G20 summits attended: 3
Age: 60, married, 2 children
Noteworthy: Has a doctorate in agricultural economics.
Italy
(Riccardo De Luca/Associated Press) G8 member: Yes
G20 member: Yes
Leader: Sylvio Berlusconi, Prime Minister of Italy
In office since: May 8, 2008 (also served as PM 1994-95 and 2001-06)
# of G8 summits attended: 12
# of G20 summits attended: 3
Age: 73, married, 5 children
Noteworthy: Controversial entrepreneur Berlusconi is a self-made billionaire; no leader has more summit experience
(Shizuo Kambayashi/Associated Press) Japan
G8 member:Yes
G20 member: Yes
Leader: Naoto Kan, Prime Minister (elect) of Japan
Chosen: June 4, 2010
Age:63, married, 2 children
Noteworthy: Was finance minister before becoming PM; was awarded a patent on a mahjong calculator he invented in the 1970s
Korea
(Kim Jae-hwan/Associated Press) G8 member: No
G20 member: Yes
Leader: Lee Myung-bak, President of Korea
In office since: Feb. 25, 2008
# of G8 summits attended: 2
# of G20 summits attended: 3
Age: 68, married, 4 children
Noteworthy: Was CEO of Hyundai Group before entering politics
Mexico
(Pawel Dwulit/Canadian Press) G8 member: No
G20 member: Yes
Leader: Felipe Calderon Hinojosa, President of Mexico
In office since: Dec. 1, 2006
# of G8 summits attended: 3
# of G20 summits attended: 3
Age: 47, married, 3 children
Noteworthy: Won 2006 election by just 0.56% of the popular vote
Russia
(Misha Japaridze/Associated Press) G8 member: Yes
G20 member: Yes
Leader: Dmitry Medvedev, President of Russia
In office since: May 7, 2008
# of G8 summits attended: 2
# of G20 summits attended: 3
Age: 44, married, 1 child
Noteworthy: Was former president Vladimir Putin's chief of staff; appointed Putin as prime minister
Saudi Arabia
(Gustavo Ferrari/Associated Press) G8 member: No
G20 member: Yes
Leader: King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, Head of state and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia
In office since: Aug. 3, 2005
# of G8 summits attended: 0
# of G20 summits attended: 3
Age: 85, several wives and children
Noteworthy: The head of the House of Saud is worth an estimated $17 billion US, according to Forbes magazine
South Africa
(Bob Edme/Associated Press) G8 member: No
G20 member: Yes
Leader: Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa
In office since: May 9, 2009
# of G8 summits attended: 1
# of G20 summits attended: 1
Age: 68, three wives, several children
Noteworthy: Served 10 years on Robben Island alongside Nelson Mandela for conspiring to overthrow the apartheid government
Turkey
(Burhan Ozbilici/Associated Press) G8 member: No
G20 member: Yes
Leader: Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister of Turkey
In office since: March 14, 2003
# of G8 summits attended: 1
# of G20 summits attended: 1
Age: 56, married, 2 children
Noteworthy: Was mayor of Istanbul from 1994-98; once served 4 months in jail for reading an Islamist poem
United Kingdom
(Sang Tan/Associated Press) G8 member: Yes
G20 member: Yes
Leader: David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
In office since: May 11, 2010
# of G8 summits attended: 0
# of G20 summits attended: 0
Age: 43, married, 2 children
Noteworthy: Is the leader of Britain's first coalition government in 65 years; youngest of G20 leaders
United States
(Haraz N. Ghanbari/Associated Press) G8 member: Yes
G20 member: Yes
Leader: Barack Obama, President of the United States
In office since: Jan. 20, 2009
# of G8 summits attended: 1
# of G20 summits attended: 2
Age: 48, married, 2 children
Noteworthy: Is the only G20 leader to have won a Nobel Prize
European Union
(Mindaugas Kulbis/Associated Press) G8 member: No (but attends and has privileges of membership)
G20 member: Yes
Leader: Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission
In office since: Nov. 23, 2004
# of G8 summits attended: 5
# of G20 summits attended: 3
Age: 53, married, 3 children
Noteworthy: Was Prime Minister of Portugal from 2002-04
European Union
(Paul White/Associated Press) G8 member: No (but attends and has privileges of membership)
G20 member: Yes
Leader: Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, President of the European Council
In office since: Jan. 1, 2010
Age: 49, married, 2 children
Noteworthy: Zapatero, the Prime Minister of Spain, is attending because Spain holds the current presidency of the European Council
Sources: G8/G20 Research Group at the University of Toronto, CBC, The Associated Press and Forbes.
