List of G7 leaders
List of Senior G7 Leaders
Table:
Entered office as
Head of State
or Government
Began time as
senior G8 leader
Ended time as
senior G8 leader
Term
Length
Person
Office

16 October 1964[3]
15 November 1975
5 April 1976
142 days
Harold Wilson
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

16 May 1974
5 April 1976
27 June 1976
83 days
Helmut Schmidt
Chancellor of West Germany

20 April 1968
27 June 1976[4]
4 June 1979
2 years, 342 days
Pierre Trudeau
Prime Minister of Canada

16 May 1974
4 June 1979
3 March 1980
273 days
Helmut Schmidt
Chancellor of West Germany

20 April 1968[5]
3 March 1980
30 June 1984
4 years, 119 days
Pierre Trudeau
Prime Minister of Canada

4 May 1979
30 June 1984
28 November 1990
6 years, 151 days
Margaret Thatcher
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

10 May 1981
28 November 1990
17 May 1995
4 years, 170 days
François Mitterrand
President of France

1 October 1982
17 May 1995
27 October 1998
3 years, 163 days
Helmut Kohl
Chancellor of Germany

10 July 1991
27 October 1998
31 December 1999
1 year, 65 days
Boris Yeltsin
President of Russia

20 January 1993
31 December 1999
20 January 2001
1 year, 20 days
Bill Clinton
President of the United States

4 November 1993
20 January 2001
12 December 2003
2 years, 326 days
Jean Chrétien
Prime Minister of Canada

17 May 1995
12 December 2003
16 May 2007
3 years, 155 days
Jacques Chirac
President of France

2 May 1997
16 May 2007
27 June 2007
42 days
Tony Blair
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

7 May 2000
27 June 2007
7 May 2008
315 days
Vladimir Putin
President of Russia

20 January 2001
7 May 2008
20 January 2009
258 days
George W. Bush
President of the United States

10 May 1994[6]
20 January 2009
16 November 2011
2 years, 300 days
Silvio Berlusconi
Prime Minister of Italy

22 November 2005
16 November 2011
7 May 2012
173 days
Angela Merkel
Chancellor of Germany

7 May 2000[7]
7 May 2012
24 March 2014
1 year, 321 days
Vladimir Putin
President of Russia

22 November 2005
24 March 2014
Incumbent
10 years, 168 days
Angela Merkel
Chancellor of Germany

From the following table along with the passages listed at the end.

State the answer to the question: Out of all leaders born before 1930 , which one ruled for the longest period ? Respond with the correct answer (omit explanations) in JSON format as {"answer": "YOUR ANSWER"}. Use only the information given.

James Harold Wilson , Baron Wilson of Rievaulx , KG , OBE , PC , FRS , FSS ( 11 March 1916 - 24 May 1995 ) , was a British Labour politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1964 to 1970 and 1974 to 1976 . Entering Parliament in 1945 , Wilson was appointed a parliamentary secretary in the Attlee ministry and rose quickly through the ministerial ranks ; he became Secretary for Overseas Trade in 1947 and was elevated to Cabinet shortly thereafter as President of the Board of Trade . In opposition to the next Conservative government , he served as Shadow Chancellor ( 1955-1961 ) and Shadow Foreign Secretary ( 1961-1963 ) . After Labour Party leader Hugh Gaitskell died suddenly in 1963 , Wilson won the subsequent leadership election . After narrowly winning the 1964 general election , Wilson saw an increased majority in a snap election in 1966 . Wilson 's first period as Prime Minister coincided with a period of low unemployment and relative economic prosperity , though hindered by significant problems with Britain 's external balance of payments . In 1969 he sent British troops to Northern Ireland . After losing the 1970 election to Edward Heath , he spent four years as Leader of the Opposition before the February 1974 election resulted in a hung parliament . After Heath 's talks with the Liberals broke down , Wilson returned to power as leader of a minority government until another general election in October , resulting in a narrow Labour victory . A period of economic crisis had begun to hit most Western countries , and in 1976 Wilson suddenly announced his resignation as Prime Minister . Wilson 's approach to socialism was moderate compared with others in his party at the time , emphasising programmes aimed at increasing opportunity in society through relatively indirect means rather than the more direct socialist goal of promoting wider public ownership of industry and workers ' control of production . He took little action to pursue the Labour Party constitution 's stated dedication to public ownership as a stepping stone towards this goal , though he did not formally disavow it .
The prime minister of the United Kingdom ( informally abbreviated to PM ) , until 1801 known as the prime minister of Great Britain , is the head of government of the United Kingdom . The prime minister directs both the executive and the legislature , and together with their Cabinet is accountable to the monarch , to Parliament , to their party , and ultimately to the electorate , for the government 's policies and actions . The office of Prime Minister is not established by any statute or constitutional document but exists only by long-established convention , whereby the reigning monarch appoints as prime minister the person most likely to command the confidence of the House of Commons ; this individual is typically the leader of the political party or coalition of parties that holds the largest number of seats in that chamber . The position of Prime Minister was not created ; it evolved slowly and organically over three hundred years due to numerous Acts of Parliament , political developments , and accidents of history . The office is therefore best understood from a historical perspective . The origins of the position are found in constitutional changes that occurred during the Revolutionary Settlement ( 1688-1720 ) and the resulting shift of political power from the Sovereign to Parliament . Although the sovereign was not stripped of the ancient prerogative powers and legally remained the head of government , politically it gradually became necessary for him or her to govern through a prime minister who could command a majority in Parliament . By the 1830s , the Westminster system of government ( or cabinet government ) had emerged ; the prime minister had become primus inter pares or the first among equals in the Cabinet and the head of government in the United Kingdom . The political position of Prime Minister was enhanced by the development of modern political parties , the introduction of mass communication and photography . By the start of the 20th century the modern premiership had emerged ; the office had become the pre-eminent position in the constitutional hierarchy vis-à-vis the Sovereign , Parliament and Cabinet . Prior to 1902 , the prime minister sometimes came from the House of Lords , provided that his government could form a majority in the Commons . However as the power of the aristocracy waned during the 19th century the convention developed that the prime minister should always sit as a Member of Parliament ( MP ) in the lower house , making them answerable only to the Commons in Parliament .
Helmut Heinrich Waldemar Schmidt ( German pronunciation : [ ˈhɛlmuːt ˈha͡ɪnʁɪç ˈvaldəmaːɐ ˈʃmɪt ] ; 23 December 1918 - 10 November 2015 ) was a German politician and member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany ( SPD ) , who served as Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany ( West Germany ) from 1974 to 1982 . Before becoming Chancellor , he had served as Minister of Defence ( 1969-1972 ) and as Minister of Finance ( 1972-1974 ) . In the latter role he gained credit for his financial policies . He had also served briefly as Minister of Economics and as acting Foreign Minister . As Chancellor , he focused on international affairs , seeking political unification of Europe in partnership with the United States and issuing proposals that led to the NATO Double-Track Decision in 1979 to deploy US Pershing II missiles to Europe . He was an energetic diplomat who sought European co-operation and international economic co-ordination and was the leading force in creating the European Monetary System in 1978 . He was re-elected chancellor in 1976 and 1980 , but his coalition fell apart in 1982 with the switch by his coalition allies , the Free Democratic Party . He retired from Parliament in 1986 , after clashing with the SPD 's left wing , who opposed him on defence and economic issues . In 1986 he was a leading proponent of European monetary union and a European Central Bank .
The title Chancellor has designated different offices in the history of Germany . It is currently used for the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany ( German : Bundeskanzler ( in ) der Bundesrepublik Deutschland ) , the head of government of Germany . The term , dating from the Early Middle Ages , is derived from the Latin term cancellarius . The modern office of chancellor evolved from the position created for Otto von Bismarck in the North German Confederation in 1867 ; this federal state evolved into a German nation-state with the 1871 Unification of Germany . The role of the chancellor has varied greatly throughout Germany 's modern history . Since the founding of the Federal Republic , the chancellor has been the country 's effective leader , although in formal protocol , the Bundespräsident and Bundestagspräsident are ranked higher . In German politics , the chancellor is the equivalent of a prime minister in many other countries . The chancellor is elected by the Bundestag . The current , official title in German is Bundeskanzler ( in ) , which means Federal Chancellor , and is sometimes shortened to Kanzler ( in ) . The 8th and current chancellor of the Federal Republic is Angela Merkel , who was elected in 2005 and re-elected in 2009 , 2013 and 2017 , serving her fourth term in office . She is the first woman to be elected chancellor . Merkel is also the first chancellor elected since the fall of the Berlin Wall to have been raised in the former East Germany ( GDR ) .
Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau PC CC CH QC FRSC ( /ˈtruːdoʊ , truːˈdoʊ/ TROO-doh , troo-DOH , French : [ pjɛʁ tʁydo ] ; October 18 , 1919 - September 28 , 2000 ) , mostly referred to as simply Pierre Trudeau , or by the initials PET , was a Canadian politician who was the 15th prime minister of Canada and leader of the Liberal Party , between 1968 and 1984 , with a brief period as Leader of the Opposition , from 1979 to 1980 . His tenure of 15 years and 164 days makes him Canada 's third longest-serving Prime Minister , behind William Lyon Mackenzie King and John A. Macdonald . Trudeau rose to prominence as a lawyer , intellectual , and activist in Quebec politics . He joined the Liberal Party of Canada and was elected to the Canadian Parliament in 1965 , quickly being appointed as Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson 's Parliamentary Secretary . In 1967 , he was appointed Minister of Justice . Trudeau 's outgoing personality caused a media sensation , inspiring Trudeaumania , and helped him to win the leadership of the Liberal Party in 1968 , when he was appointed Prime Minister of Canada . From the late 1960s until the early 1980s , Trudeau 's personality dominated the political scene to an extent never before seen in Canadian political life . After his appointment as Prime Minister , he won the 1968 , 1972 and 1974 elections , before narrowly losing in 1979 . He won a fourth election victory shortly afterwards , in 1980 , and eventually retired from politics shortly before the 1984 election . Despite his personal motto , Reason before passion , his personality and political career aroused polarizing reactions throughout Canada during his time in office . Admirers praised what they consider to be the force of Trudeau 's intellect and his political acumen , maintaining national unity over the Quebec sovereignty movement , suppressing a Quebec terrorist crisis , fostering a pan-Canadian identity , and in achieving sweeping institutional reform , including the implementation of official bilingualism , patriation of the Constitution , and the establishment of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms . Critics accused him of arrogance , of economic mismanagement , and of unduly centralizing Canadian decision-making to the detriment of the culture of Quebec and the economy of the Prairies .
The prime minister of Canada ( French : premier ministre du Canada ) is the primary Minister of the Crown , chair of the Cabinet , and Canada 's head of government . The current , and 23rd , prime minister of Canada is the Liberal Party 's Justin Trudeau , following the 2019 Canadian federal election . Canadian prime ministers are styled as The Right Honourable ( French : Le Très Honorable ) , a privilege maintained for life . The prime minister of Canada is in charge of the Prime Minister 's Office . The prime minister also chooses the ministers who make up the Cabinet . The two groups , with the authority of the Parliament of Canada , manage the Government of Canada and the Canadian Armed Forces . The Cabinet and the prime minister also appoint members of the Senate of Canada , the judges of the Supreme Court of Canada and other federal courts , and the leaders and boards , as required under law , of various Crown Corporations , and selects the governor general of Canada . Under the Canadian constitution , all of the power to exercise these activities is actually vested in the monarch of Canada , but in practice the monarch ( who is the head of state ) or her representative , the governor general of Canada , approves them routinely , and their role is largely ceremonial , and their powers are only exercised under the advice of the prime minister . Not outlined in any constitutional document , the office exists only as per long-established convention ( originating in Canada 's former colonial power , the United Kingdom ) that stipulates the monarch 's representative , the governor general , must select as prime minister the person most likely to command the confidence of the elected House of Commons ; this individual is typically the leader of the political party that holds the largest number of seats in that chamber . [ note 1 ]
Margaret Hilda Thatcher , Baroness Thatcher , LG , OM , DStJ , PC , FRS , HonFRSC ( née Roberts ; 13 October 1925 - 8 April 2013 ) also known as the Iron Lady , was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990 . She was the longest-serving British prime minister of the 20th century and the first woman to hold that office . A Soviet journalist dubbed her The Iron Lady , a nickname that became associated with her uncompromising politics and leadership style . As Prime Minister , she implemented policies known as Thatcherism . Thatcher studied chemistry at Somerville College , Oxford , and worked briefly as a research chemist , before becoming a barrister . She was elected Member of Parliament for Finchley in 1959 . Edward Heath appointed her Secretary of State for Education and Science in his 1970-74 government . In 1975 , she defeated Heath in the Conservative Party leadership election to become Leader of the Opposition , the first woman to lead a major political party in the United Kingdom . On becoming Prime Minister after winning the 1979 general election , she introduced a series of economic policies intended to reverse high unemployment and Britain 's struggles in the wake of the Winter of Discontent and an ongoing recession . [ nb 1 ] Her political philosophy and economic policies emphasised deregulation ( particularly of the financial sector ) , flexible labour markets , the privatisation of state-owned companies , and reducing the power and influence of trade unions . Her popularity in her first years in office waned amid recession and rising unemployment , until victory in the 1982 Falklands War and the recovering economy brought a resurgence of support , resulting in her landslide re-election in 1983 . She survived an assassination attempt by the Provisional IRA in the 1984 Brighton hotel bombing and achieved a political victory against the National Union of Mineworkers in the 1984-85 miners ' strike .
François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand [ a ] ( 26 October 1916 - 8 January 1996 ) was a French statesman who served as President of France from 1981 to 1995 , the longest time in office in the history of France . As First Secretary of the Socialist Party , he was the first left-wing politician to assume the presidency under the Fifth Republic . Reflecting family influences , Mitterrand started political life on the Catholic nationalist right . He served under the Vichy Regime during its earlier years . Subsequently he joined the Resistance , moved to the left , and held ministerial office several times under the Fourth Republic . He opposed de Gaulle 's establishment of the Fifth Republic . Although at times a politically isolated figure , Mitterrand outmanoeuvered rivals to become the left 's standard bearer at every presidential election from 1965-88 ; with the exception of 1969 . Mitterrand was elected President at the 1981 presidential election . He was re-elected in 1988 and remained in office until 1995 . Mitterrand invited the Communist Party into his first government , which was a controversial decision at the time . In the event , the Communists were boxed in as junior partners and , rather than taking advantage , saw their support erode . They left the cabinet in 1984 .
The President of France , officially the President of the French Republic ( French : président de la République française , French pronunciation : ​ [ pʁezidɑ̃ də la ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛːz ] ) , is the executive head of state of France in the French Fifth Republic . In French terms , the presidency is the supreme magistracy of the country . The powers , functions and duties of prior presidential offices , as well as their relation with the prime minister and Government of France , have over time differed with the various constitutional documents since the French Second Republic . The president of the French Republic is also the ex officio co-prince of Andorra , grand master of the Legion of Honour and of the National Order of Merit . The officeholder is also honorary proto-canon of the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome ( although some have rejected the title in the past ) . The current president of the French Republic is Emmanuel Macron , who succeeded François Hollande on 14 May 2017 .
Helmut Josef Michael Kohl ( German : [ ˈhɛlmuːt ˈkoːl ] ; 3 April 1930 - 16 June 2017 ) was a German politician and statesman who served as Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 ( of West Germany 1982-1990 and of the reunited Germany 1990-1998 ) and as the chairman of the Christian Democratic Union ( CDU ) from 1973 to 1998 . From 1969 to 1976 , Kohl was minister president of the state Rhineland-Palatinate . Kohl chaired the Group of Seven in 1985 and 1992 . In 1998 he became honorary chairman of the CDU , resigning from the position in 2000 . Born in 1930 in Ludwigshafen to a Roman Catholic family , Kohl joined the Christian Democratic Union in 1946 at the age of 16 . He earned a PhD in history at Heidelberg University in 1958 and worked as a business executive before becoming a full-time politician . He was elected as the youngest member of the Parliament of Rhineland-Palatinate in 1959 and became Minister-President of his home state in 1969 . Viewed during the 1960s and the early 1970s as a progressive within the CDU , he was elected national chairman of the party in 1973 . In the 1976 federal election his party performed well , but the social-liberal government of social democrat Helmut Schmidt was able to remain in power , as well as in 1980 , when Kohl 's rival from the Bavarian sister party CSU , Franz Josef Strauß , candidated . After Schmidt had lost the support of the liberal FDP in 1982 , Kohl was elected Chancellor through a switch of the FDP , forming a Christian-liberal government . After he had become party leader , Kohl was increasingly seen as a more conservative figure . As Chancellor Kohl was strongly committed to European integration and French-German cooperation in particular ; he was also a steadfast ally of the United States and supported Reagan 's more aggressive policies in order to weaken the Soviet Union .
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( Russian : Бори́с Никола́евич Е́льцин , IPA : [ bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈlaɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn ] ( listen ) ; 1 February 1931 - 23 April 2007 ) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the first president of Russia from 1991 to 1999 . A member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1961 to 1990 , he later stood as a political independent , during which time he was ideologically aligned with liberalism and Russian nationalism . Born in Butka , Sverdlovsk Oblast to a peasant family , Yeltsin grew up in Kazan . After studying at the Ural State Technical University , he worked in construction . Joining the Communist Party , which governed the Soviet Union as a one-party state according to Marxist-Leninist doctrine , he rose through its ranks and in 1976 became First Secretary of the party 's Sverdlovsk Oblast committee . Initially a supporter of the perestroika reforms of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev , Yeltsin later criticised them as being too moderate , calling for a transition to a multi-party representative democracy . In 1987 he was the first person to resign from the party 's governing Politburo , establishing his popularity as an anti-establishment figure . In 1990 , he was elected chair of the Russian Supreme Soviet and in 1991 was elected president of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic ( RSFSR ) . Allying with various non-Russian nationalist leaders , he was instrumental in the formal dissolution of the Soviet Union in December that year , at which the RSFSR became the Russian Federation , an independent state . Yeltsin remained in office as president and was reelected in the 1996 election , although critics claimed pervasive electoral corruption . Yeltsin transformed Russia 's state socialist economy into a capitalist market economy by implementing economic shock therapy , market exchange rate of the ruble , nationwide privatization , and lifting of price controls . Economic collapse and inflation ensued .
The president of Russia , officially the president of the Russian Federation ( Russian : Президе́нт Росси́йской Федера́ции , tr . Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii ) , is the head of state and de jure head of government of the Russian Federation , as well as the commander-in-chief of the Russian Armed Forces . He holds the highest office in Russia . In 1991 , the office was briefly known as the president of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic ( Russian : Президе́нт Росси́йской Сове́тской Федерати́вной Социалисти́ческой Респу́блики ) until 25 December 1991 . According to the 1978 Russian Constitution , the president of Russia was head of the executive branch and headed the Council of Ministers of Russia . According to the current 1993 Constitution of Russia , the president of Russia is not a part of the Government of Russia , which exercises executive power . In all cases where the president of the Russian Federation is unable to fulfill his duties , they shall be temporarily delegated to the prime minister of Russia , who becomes acting president of Russia . The chairman of the Federation Council is the third important position after the president and the prime minister . In the case of incapacity of both the president and prime minister , the chairman of the upper house of parliament becomes acting head of state . The power includes execution of federal law , alongside the responsibility of appointing federal ministers , diplomatic , regulatory and judicial officers , and concluding treaties with foreign powers with the advice and consent of the State Duma and the Federation Council . The president is further empowered to grant federal pardons and reprieves , and to convene and adjourn the Federal Assembly under extraordinary circumstances . The president also directs the foreign and domestic policy of the Russian Federation .
William Jefferson Clinton ( born William Jefferson Blythe III ; August 19 , 1946 ) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 . Prior to his presidency , he served as governor of Arkansas ( 1979-1981 and 1983-1992 ) and as attorney general of Arkansas ( 1977-1979 ) . A member of the Democratic Party , Clinton was known as a New Democrat , and many of his policies reflected a centrist Third Way political philosophy . He is the husband of former secretary of state and former U.S. senator Hillary Clinton . In 1998 , Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives , becoming the second U.S. president to get impeached following Andrew Johnson . The impeachment was based on accusations that Clinton committed perjury and obstruction of justice for the purpose of concealing his affair with Monica Lewinsky , a 22-year-old White House intern . He was acquitted by the Senate and completed his term in office . Clinton was born and raised in Arkansas and attended Georgetown University , University College , Oxford , and Yale Law School . He met Hillary Rodham at Yale and married her in 1975 . After graduating from law school , Clinton returned to Arkansas and won election as the attorney general of Arkansas , serving from 1977 to 1979 . He later served as governor of Arkansas . As governor , he overhauled the state 's education system and served as chairman of the National Governors Association .
The president of the United States ( POTUS ) [ B ] is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America . The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces . In contemporary times , the president is looked upon as one of the world 's most powerful political figures as the leader of the only remaining global superpower . The role includes responsibility for the world 's most expensive military , which has the second largest nuclear arsenal . The president also leads the nation with the largest economy by nominal GDP . The president possesses significant domestic and international hard and soft power . Article II of the Constitution establishes the executive branch of the federal government . It vests the executive power of the United States in the president . The power includes the execution and enforcement of federal law , alongside the responsibility of appointing federal executive , diplomatic , regulatory and judicial officers , and concluding treaties with foreign powers with the advice and consent of the Senate . The president is further empowered to grant federal pardons and reprieves , and to convene and adjourn either or both houses of Congress under extraordinary circumstances . The president directs the foreign and domestic policies of the United States , and takes an active role in promoting his policy priorities to members of Congress . In addition , as part of the system of checks and balances , Article I , Section 7 of the Constitution gives the president the power to sign or veto federal legislation .
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien PC OM CC QC ( French pronunciation : ​ [ ʒã kʁe.tsjẽ ] ; born January 11 , 1934 ) is a Canadian politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from November 4 , 1993 , to December 12 , 2003 . Born and raised in Shawinigan , Quebec , Chrétien is a law graduate from Université Laval . He was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in 1963 . He served in various cabinet posts under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau , most prominently as Minister of Justice , Minister of Finance , and Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development . He also served as Deputy Prime Minister in John Turner 's short-lived government . He became leader of the Liberal Party of Canada in 1990 , and led the party to a majority government in the 1993 federal election . He was reelected with further majorities in 1997 and 2000 . Chrétien was strongly opposed to the Quebec sovereignty movement and supported official bilingualism and multiculturalism . He won a narrow victory as leader of the federalist camp in the 1995 Quebec referendum , and then pioneered the Clarity Act to avoid ambiguity in future referendum questions . He also advanced the Youth Criminal Justice Act in Parliament . Although his popularity and that of the Liberal Party were seemingly unchallenged for three consecutive federal elections , he became subject to various political controversies in the later years of his prime-ministership . He was accused of inappropriate behaviour in the Sponsorship scandal , although he has consistently denied any wrongdoing .
Jacques René Chirac ( UK : /ˈʃɪəræk/ SHEER-ak , US : /ʃɪəˈrɑːk/ ( listen ) sheer-AHK , French : [ ʒak ʁəne ʃiʁak ] ( listen ) ; 29 November 1932 - 26 September 2019 ) was a French politician who served as President of France and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra from 1995 to 2007 . Chirac was previously the Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , as well as the Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995 . After completing his degree at Sciences Po , a term at Harvard University , and the École nationale d'administration , Chirac began his career as a high-level civil servant , entering politics shortly thereafter . Chirac occupied various senior positions , including Minister of Agriculture and Minister of the Interior . Chirac 's internal policies initially included lower tax rates , the removal of price controls , strong punishment for crime and terrorism , and business privatisation . After pursuing these policies in his second term as Prime Minister , he changed his views . He argued for more socially responsible economic policies and was elected President in the 1995 presidential election with 52.6% of the vote in the second round , beating Socialist Lionel Jospin , after campaigning on a platform of healing the social rift ( fracture sociale ) . Then , Chirac 's economic policies , based on dirigisme , allowing for state-directed investment , stood in opposition to the laissez-faire policies of the United Kingdom under the ministries of Margaret Thatcher and John Major , which Chirac described as Anglo-Saxon ultraliberalism . He was also known for his stand against the American-led assault on Iraq , his recognition of the collaborationist French Government 's role in deporting Jews , and his reduction of the presidential term from 7 years to 5 through a referendum in 2000 . At the 2002 French presidential election , he won 82.2% of the vote in the second round against the far-right candidate , Jean-Marie Le Pen . During his second term , however , he had a very low approval rating and was considered one of the least popular presidents in modern French political history . In 2011 , the Paris court declared Chirac guilty of diverting public funds and abusing public confidence , giving him a two-year suspended prison sentence .
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair ( born 6 May 1953 ) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007 . After his resignation , he was appointed Special Envoy of the Quartet on the Middle East , an office which he held until 2015 . He currently runs the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change . Born in Edinburgh , Blair 's father was a barrister and academic . After attending the private Fettes College , he studied law at St John 's College , Oxford and became a barrister . He became involved in Labour politics and was elected Member of Parliament for Sedgefield in 1983 . He supported moving the party to the centre of British politics in an attempt to help it win power ( it had been out of government since 1979 ) . He was appointed to the party 's frontbench in 1988 and became Shadow Home Secretary in 1992 . He became Leader of the Opposition on his election as Labour Party leader in 1994 , following the sudden death of his predecessor , John Smith . Under Blair , the party used the phrase New Labour to distance itself from previous Labour politics and the traditional idea of socialism . He declared support for the Third Way - politics that recognised individuals as socially interdependent , advocating social justice , cohesion , the equal worth of each citizen , and equal opportunity . Despite opposition from Labour 's hard left , he removed the party 's formal commitment to the nationalisation of the economy , weakened trade union influence in the party , and committed to the free market and the European Union .
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin ( /ˈpuːtɪn/ ; Russian : Владимир Владимирович Путин , romanized : Vladimir Vladimirovič Putin , Russian pronunciation : [ vɫɐˈdʲimʲɪr vɫɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvʲɪtɕ ˈputʲɪn ] ; born 7 October 1952 ) is a Russian politician who has served as the president of Russia since 2012 , previously holding the position from 2000 until 2008 . [ a ] He was also the Prime Minister of Russia from 1999 to 2000 and again from 2008 to 2012 . Putin was born in Leningrad and studied law at Leningrad State University , graduating in 1975 . Putin worked as a KGB foreign intelligence officer for 16 years , rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel , before resigning in 1991 to begin a political career in Saint Petersburg . He later moved to Moscow in 1996 to join the administration of President Boris Yeltsin , serving first as Director of the Federal Security Service ( FSB ) , the KGB 's successor agency , before being appointed as prime minister in August 1999 . After the resignation of Yeltsin , Putin was elected to succeed him . During his first tenure as president , the Russian economy grew for eight straight years , with GDP measured by purchasing power increasing by 72% . The growth was a result of the 2000s commodities boom , recovery from the post-Communist depression and financial crises , and prudent economic and fiscal policies . After serving as prime minister under Dmitry Medvedev , Putin announced he would seek a third term as president , and won the March 2012 election with 64% of the vote . Falling oil prices coupled with international sanctions imposed at the beginning of 2014 after Russia 's annexation of Crimea and military intervention in Eastern Ukraine led to GDP shrinking by 3.7% in 2015 , though the Russian economy rebounded in 2016 with 0.3% GDP growth and the recession officially ended . Putin gained 76% of the March 2018 election and was re-elected for a six-year term that will end in 2024 . Under Putin 's leadership , Russia has experienced democratic backsliding .
George Walker Bush ( born July 6 , 1946 ) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 . A member of the Republican Party , he had previously served as the 46th governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000 . Bush is frequently referred to as George W. Bush , Bush Junior , or Bush 43 to distinguish him from his father , George H. W. Bush , who served as the 41st president of the United States from 1989 to 1993 . Bush is the eldest son of Barbara and George H. W. Bush , and the second son to become the American president after his father , the first being John Quincy Adams . After graduating from Yale University in 1968 and Harvard Business School in 1975 , he worked in the oil industry . Bush married Laura Welch in 1977 and unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. House of Representatives shortly thereafter . He later co-owned the Texas Rangers baseball team before defeating Ann Richards in the 1994 Texas gubernatorial election . Bush was elected president of the United States in 2000 when he defeated Democratic incumbent Vice President Al Gore after a narrow and contested win that involved a Supreme Court decision to stop a recount in Florida . He became the fourth person to be elected president while receiving fewer popular votes than his opponent . In response to the September 11 terrorist attacks , Bush launched a War on Terror that began with the war in Afghanistan in 2001 and later expanded to the Iraq War in 2003 . Signature legislation passed during his presidency included broad tax cuts , the Patriot Act , the No Child Left Behind Act , the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act , the Medicare Modernization Act , and funding for the AIDS relief program known as PEPFAR . In the 2004 presidential race , Bush defeated Democratic Senator John Kerry in a close election .
Silvio Berlusconi ( /ˌbɛərlʊˈskoʊni/ BAIR-luu-SKOH-nee , Italian : [ ˈsilvjo berluˈskoːni ] ( listen ) ; born 29 September 1936 ) is an Italian media tycoon and politician who has served as Prime Minister of Italy in four governments . He serves as a Member of the European Parliament ( MEP ) since July 2019 . Berlusconi is the controlling shareholder of Mediaset and owned the Italian football club A.C. Milan from 1986 to 2017 . He is nicknamed Il Cavaliere ( The Knight ) for his Order of Merit for Labour , although he voluntarily resigned from this order in March 2014 . In 2018 , Forbes magazine ranked him as the 190th richest man in the world with a net worth of US $ 8.0 billion . In 2009 , Forbes ranked him 12th in the List of The World 's Most Powerful People due to his domination of Italian politics , throughout more than twenty years at the head of the centre-right coalition . Berlusconi was Prime Minister for nine years in total , making him the longest serving post-war Prime Minister of Italy , and the third longest-serving since Italian unification , after Benito Mussolini and Giovanni Giolitti . He was the leader of the centre-right party Forza Italia from 1994 to 2009 , and its successor party The People of Freedom from 2009 to 2013 . Since November 2013 , he has led a revived Forza Italia . Berlusconi was the senior G8 leader from 2009 until 2011 and he currently holds the record for hosting G8 Summits ( having hosted three Summits in Italy ) . After serving nearly 19 years as member of the Chamber of Deputies , Italy 's lower house , after the 2013 general election he became a member of the Senate . On 1 August 2013 , he was convicted of tax-fraud by the court of final instance , Court of Cassation , confirming his four-year prison sentence ( of which three years are automatically pardoned ) along with a public office ban for two years .
The President of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic ( Italian : Presidente del Consiglio dei ministri della Repubblica Italiana ) , commonly referred to in Italy as Presidente del Consiglio , or informally as Premier and known in English as the Prime Minister of Italy , is the head of government of the Italian Republic . The office of Prime Minister is established by Articles 92 through to 96 of the Constitution of Italy . The Prime Minister is appointed by the President of the Republic after each general election and must have the confidence of the Italian Parliament to stay in office . Prior to the establishment of the Italian Republic , the position was called President of the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom of Italy ( Presidente del Consiglio dei ministri del Regno d'Italia ) . From 1925 to 1943 during the Fascist regime , the position was transformed into the dictatorial position of Head of the Government , Prime Minister Secretary of State ( Capo del Governo , primo ministro segretario di Stato ) held by Benito Mussolini , Duce of Fascism , who officially governed on the behalf of the King of Italy . King Victor Emmanuel III removed Mussolini from office in 1943 and the position was restored with Marshal Pietro Badoglio becoming Prime Minister in 1943 . Alcide De Gasperi became the first Prime Minister of the Italian Republic in 1946 . The Prime Minister is the President of the Council of Ministers which holds executive power and the position is similar to those in most other parliamentary systems . The formal Italian order of precedence lists the office as being ceremonially the fourth most important Italian state office .
Angela Dorothea Merkel ( /ˈmɜːrkəl , ˈmɛərkəl/ , German : [ aŋˈɡeːla doʁoˈteːa ˈmɛʁkl̩ ] ; [ a ] née Kasner ; born 17 July 1954 ) is a German politician serving as the chancellor of Germany since 2005 . She served as the leader of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union ( CDU ) from 2000 to 2018 . Merkel has been widely described as the de facto leader of the European Union , the most powerful woman in the world , and by some commentators as the leader of the free world . Merkel was born in Hamburg in then-West Germany and moved to East Germany as an infant when her father , a Lutheran clergyman , received a pastorate in Perleberg . She obtained a doctorate in quantum chemistry in 1986 and worked as a research scientist until 1989 . Merkel entered politics in the wake of the Revolutions of 1989 , and briefly served as a deputy spokesperson for the first democratically elected East German Government headed by Lothar de Maizière in 1990 . Following German reunification in 1990 , Merkel was elected to the Bundestag for the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern , and has been reelected ever since . As the protégée of Chancellor Helmut Kohl , Merkel was appointed as the Federal Minister for Women and Youth in Kohl 's government in 1991 , and became the Federal Minister for the Environment , Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety in 1994 . After her party lost the federal election in 1998 , Merkel was elected Secretary-General of the CDU before becoming the party 's first female leader two years later in the aftermath of a donations scandal that toppled Wolfgang Schäuble . Following the 2005 federal election , Merkel was appointed Germany 's first female chancellor at the head of a grand coalition consisting of the CDU , its Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union ( CSU ) and the Social Democratic Party of Germany ( SPD ) . In the 2009 federal election the CDU obtained the largest share of the vote , and Merkel was able to form a coalition government with the Free Democratic Party ( FDP ) . At the 2013 federal election , Merkel 's CDU won a landslide victory with 41.5% of the vote and formed a second grand coalition with the SPD , after the FDP lost all of its representation in the Bundestag .