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In Depth

G8

Leaders in 2006

Last Updated July 13, 2006

CBC News

The Group of Eight member nations are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

France, the U.S. and Russia are represented at G8 summits by their heads of state, while Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and the U.K. are represented by their heads of government.

Despite calls for Russia's removal from the G8, Russia's Vladimir Putin currently holds the group's presidency; the 2006 summit, to be held July 15 to 17 in the Palace of Congresses in St. Petersburg, marks the first time Russia has been entrusted with the event.

G8 has working meetings throughout the year all of which are hosted by the country that holds the presidency for that year. This year the working meetings started on Feb. 6 and continue until Nov. 29. All these meetings including the major 3-day summit of the G8 leaders are being held in Russia. High-ranking ministers or secretaries of state from the member nations and from other invited "guest" nations that have an interest in the topic of discussion attend the working meetings. The heads of state or heads of government of the G8 nations only attend the summit.

Leaders meeting at the 2006 G8 summit
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper (CP) Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper (CP)
Stephen Harper
Prime Minister of Canada
In office since: Jan. 2006
Date of birth: April 30, 1959
Place of birth: Toronto
Family status: Married / one son and one daughter
French President Jacques Chirac (AP) French President Jacques Chirac (AP)
Jacques Chirac
President of the French Republic
In office since: 1995
Date of birth: Nov. 29, 1932
Place of birth: Paris
Family status: Married / two daughters
German Chancellor Angela Merkel (AP) German Chancellor Angela Merkel (AP)
Angela Merkel
Federal Chancellor of Germany
In office since: Nov. 22, 2005
Date of birth: July 17, 1954
Place of birth: Hamburg
Family status: Married
Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi (AP) Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi (AP)
Romano Prodi
Prime Minister of Italy
In office since: May 17, 2006
Date of birth: Aug. 9, 1939
Place of birth: Reggio Emilia, Italy
Family status: Married / two sons
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi (AP) Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi (AP)
Junichiro Koizumi
Prime Minister of Japan
In office since: 2003
Date of birth: Jan. 8, 1942
Place of birth: Kanagawa Prefecture
Family status: Divorced / two sons
Russian President Vladimir Putin (AP) Russian President Vladimir Putin (AP)
Vladimir Putin
President of the Russian Federation
In office since: March 26, 2000
Date of birth: Oct. 7, 1952
Place of birth: Leningrad
Family status: Married / two daughters
U.S. President George Bush (AP) U.S. President George Bush (AP)
George Bush
President of the United States of America
In office since: November 2000
Date of birth: July 6, 1946
Place of birth: New Haven, Conn.
Family status: Married / two daughters
British Prime Minister Tony Blair (AP) British Prime Minister Tony Blair (AP)
Tony Blair
Prime Minister of Great Britain
In office since: 1997
Date of birth: May 6, 1953
Place of birth: Edinburgh, Scotland
Family status: Married / three sons and a daughter
E.U. Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso (AP) E.U. Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso (AP)
Jose Manuel Barroso
Chairman of the European Commission
In office since: 2004
Date of birth: March 23, 1956
Place of birth: Lisbon, Portugal
Family status: Married / three children
Finnish Prime Minister and EU President until Dec. 2006, Matti Vanhanen (AP Photo) Finnish Prime Minister and EU President until Dec. 2006, Matti Vanhanen (AP Photo)

The European Union participates in summits and has two representatives, the president of the European Commission, currently Jose Manuel Barroso, and the leader of the country that holds the EU presidency. Finland currently holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union and that means Finland's Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen is the EU's second representative.

Some of the issues tabled for discussion at 2006 summit are:

  • Global energy security
  • Renewable energy sources
  • Protection of the environment
  • Bridging the gap between "energy-sufficient and energy-lacking countries"
  • Creation of a global system to monitor infectious diseases
  • Exchange of research material about dangerous viruses
  • Fighting HIV/AIDS, TB, malaria and eradicating poliomyelitis
  • Countering avian influenza and preparing for an influenza pandemic
  • National education systems
  • Finding tools for "encouraging the international business community to increase
    • investment" into education and professional training
  • Counter terrorism
  • The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction
  • Iran's nuclear program
  • The North Korean missile crisis and the Korean peninsula
  • Settlement of regional conflicts
  • Development of the global economy
  • Finance and trade

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External Links

Official G8 website
G-8 information centre
from the University of Toronto

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