Korea, being the first Asian and non-G7 country to chair the big gathering, has been making preparations for months in advance so that these VIPs could engage in intense talks on major issues, such as global imbalance and financial regulatory reform.
For those wondering what all the hype is about, The Korea Times takes a quick look at their backgrounds.
Illustrations provided by the Presidential Committee for the G20 Summit
President Herman Van Rompuy (63)European Union
▣ Took office in December 2009
▣ Van Rompuy was elected as the first full-time president of the European Council last year under the Lisbon Treaty.
Born in Brussels in 1947, he majored in philosophy and economics at the Catholic University of Leuven.
He was previously the prime minister of Belgium.
Christina Fernandez de Kirchner (57)Argentina
▣ Took office in December 2007
▣ Kirchner took over the presidency after her husband, Nestor Kirchner, becoming the world’s first couple to have been separately elected as heads of state. She is also Argentina’s first elected female president.
She is dubbed the new “Evita,” named after Eva Peron, who served as the country’s first lady between 1946 and 1952 and still remains one of the most popular females in the country’s history.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard (48)
Australia
▣ Took office in June 2010
▣ Gillard is the first female party leader and prime minister of Australia.
Born in Wales, she moved to Australia when she was four and worked as a lawyer before entering Parliament in 1998.
President Lee Myung-bak (69)Republic of Korea
▣ Took office in February 2008
▣ Lee was once dubbed a legend of office workers for his fast rise to the leading position of CEO of Hyundai Engineering and Construction.
He served as a lawmaker from 1992 and 1998 and as a mayor of Seoul from 2002 to 2006.
President Nicolas Sarkozy (55)
France
▣ Took office in May 2007
▣ Sarkozy is the first president of the country born after World War II and the first among secondgeneration immigrants (from Hungary) to become the French President.
He loves jogging and is an enthusiastic fan of rugby and football.
Sarkozy’s wife and former supermodel Carla Bruni will not be visiting Korea due to her personal schedule.
President Hu Jintao (68)China
▣ Took office in March 2003
▣ Hu started his career as an engineer at a hydroelectric power plant.
In 2004, he was also sworn in as the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces.
He is said to have a photographic memory and a keen eye for detail.
He is known to be interested in music, dance and sports.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper (51)
Canada
▣ Took office in February 2006
▣ Harper entered politics in 1993 with his election to a seat in the House of Commons.
In February, he won a case of beer from President Obama when Canada’s ice hockey team beat the U.S. team to win the gold medal in the Winter Olympics with a score of 3-2.
Harper sent a congratulatory message to the Koreans living in Canada on Chuseok Holiday last September, mentioning that the unique traditions and talents of Koreans have contributed to the multiculturalism in the country.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (65)Brazil
▣ Took office in January 2003
▣ Lula, an elementary school dropout and former metal worker, succeeded in winning the presidency on his fourth try and was reelected for another fouryear term in October 2006. His stated top priority is the eradication of starvation.
Lula will visit Korea with Dilma Rousseff of the Workers Party, who is Brazil’s new president-elect.
Chancellor Angela Merkel (56)Germany
▣ Took office in November 2005
▣ Merkel’s family moved to East Germany right after she was born in Hamburg. She is the first female chancellor of the country and the youngest in the post-war period.
She won her second term in the 2009 general election.
Merkel is an avid fan of classical music and regularly attends the Bayreuth Opera Festival. She spends her holidays skiing in the Alps.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (78)India
▣ Took office in May 2004
▣ Singh’s family was so poor that he often used the light from street lamps to study by. Despite such challenging circumstances he went on to major in economics at Cambridge University and obtain a Ph.D. from Oxford University.
He has been serving his second term since May 2009.
Singh is a vegetarian.
President Felipe Calderon (48)Mexico
▣ Took office in December 2006
▣ Under the influence of his father who founded and led the National Action Party, Calderon developed an interest in politics early on, joining the party at 18.
Since his inauguration, Calderon has declared a “war against drugs.”
As an avid football fan, he once appeared at a press interview holding a football.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan (64)Japan
▣ Took office in June 2010
▣ Kan, a former patent attorney, is known for his tenacity.
He was admitted to the University of Tokyo the second time he tried and managed to pass the patent attorney exam on his fourth try.
Kan’s favorite animal is the cat.
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi (73)
Italy
▣ Took office in May 2008
▣ Berlusconi won a third term as prime minister in 2008.
He owns Mediaset, the largest broadcasting company in the country, the football team AC Milan, a bank, a film and home video distribution business and the country’s largest publishing company.
Forbes assumed his wealth to be around $9 billion, making him the 74th wealthiest man in the world.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (61)Indonesia
▣ Took office in July 2004
▣ Yudhoyono was elected in the country’s first direct presidential election and reelected in July 2009.
Under his leadership, Indonesia recorded an economic growth of 4.5 percent last year despite the global financial crisis.
Also a writer and composer, he released his third music album in January.
President Dmitry Medvedev (45)Russia
▣ Took office in May 2008
▣ Medvedev is the youngest president in the country’s history. He worked as a legal expert from 1991 to 1996 for a committee of the Saint Petersburg Mayor’s Office, headed by Vladimir Putin.
In his youth, he was a big fan of rock bands, including Deep Purple and Black Sabbath.
Last year, Medvedev and U.S. President Obama were spotted enjoying hamburgers at a restaurant in Arlington. He later said the burgers may have not been healthy but tasted good.
King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz (86)
Saudi Arabia
▣ Rose to the throne in August 2005
▣Abdullah was proclaimed the sixth king of Saudi Arabia in 2005, following the sudden death of his half-brother, King Fahd. His personal wealth is estimated at $21 billion.
He is also Prime Minister of the Council of Ministers and Commander of the National Guard.
He drew international media attention by appointing a female vice minister and establishing the country’s first co-ed school, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, last year.
President Jacob Zuma (68)
Republic of South Africa
▣ Took office in May 2009
▣Zuma is said to have received no formal schooling and, by 15, was working odd jobs full-time to help support his family.
He joined the African National Congress at 16 and was engaged in the antiapartheid struggle for 35 years. He was imprisoned for many years.
President Lee Myung-bak called Zuma last month to thank him for South Africa’s active role as the joint chief of working groups for IMF reform and development, and for his planned participation in the G20 business summit.
President Barack Obama (49)
United States
▣ Took office in January 2009
▣ Obama is the first African American president in the country’s history. He worked as a civil rights attorney in Chicago before serving three terms in the Illinois Senate between 1997 and 2004. He was a basketball player at Punahou High School, Hawaii, and still remains an avid fan of the sport.
He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009, which was the first time in history that a state president received the peace prize within a year of presidency.
Obama’s wife and first lady Michelle, who is also a lawyer, will be absent due to her personal schedule.
Prime Minister David Cameron (44)
United Kingdom
▣ Took office in May 2010▣ Born in London in 1966, he majored in philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford University. He is the youngest man to take the office in 198 years after Robert Banks Johnson, who served in 1812.
He served as director of Corporate Affairs for Carlton Communications, a company that owns a number of TV and radio stations, including ITV from 1994 through 2001.
Cameron presents himself as an ordinary person. Photos of him buying bread at a nearby market in a Tshirt and shorts right after the election gave people the impression that he is the “boy-next-door.”
He likes to make impromptu speeches, which made the media crown him the “politician of the multimedia society.”
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (56)Turkey
▣ Took office in March 2003
▣ Erdogan is a devout Muslim and the leader of the Justice and Development Party, a pro-Islamic party that he established with his friends in August 2001. Following his victory in the general election in late 2002, he formed the country’s first independent pro-Islamic Cabinet. He was reelected in 2007.
Turkey is scheduled to host the fourth U.N. conference on the 49 least developed countries in June next year. President Lee Myung-bak reportedly called Erdogan last month to encourage him and ask for his support at the summit.
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