Monday, March 12, 2012


G8

The Group of Eight (G8) is a forum for the governments of eight of the world's largest economies. The forum originated with a 1975 summit hosted by France that brought together representatives of six governments: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, thus leading to the name Group of Six or G6. The summit became known as the Group of Seven or G7 the following year with the addition of Canada. In 1997, Russia was added to group which then became known as the G8.[1] The European Union is represented within the G8 but cannot host or chair summits.[2]
"G8" can refer to the member states in aggregate or to the annual summit meeting of the G8 heads of government. The former term, G6, is now frequently applied to the six most populous countries within the European Union. G8 ministers also meet throughout the year, such as the G7/8 finance ministers (who meet four times a year), G8 foreign ministers, or G8 environment ministers.
Collectively, the G8 nations comprise 53.0% of global nominal GDP and 42.5% of global GDP (PPP). Each calendar year, the responsibility of hosting the G8 rotates through the member states in the following order: France, United States, United Kingdom, Russia, Germany, Japan, Italy, and Canada. The holder of the presidency sets the agenda, hosts the summit for that year, and determines which ministerial meetings will take place. Lately, both France and the United Kingdom have expressed a desire to expand the group to include five developing countries, referred to as the Outreach Five (O5) or the Plus Five: Brazil, People's Republic of China, India, Mexico, and South Africa. These countries have participated as guests in previous meetings, which are sometimes called G8+5.
With the G-20 major economies growing in stature since the 2008 Washington summit, world leaders from the group announced at their Pittsburgh summit on September 25, 2009, that the group will replace the G8 as the main economic council of wealthy nations.

 
Group of Eight
Canada
Prime Minister Stephen Harper
France
President Nicolas Sarkozy
Germany
Chancellor Angela Merkel
Italy
Prime Minister Mario Monti
Japan
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda
Russia
President Dmitry Medvedev
United Kingdom
Prime Minister David Cameron
United States of America
President Barack Obama
President of the G8 for 2012
Also represented
European Union
Council President Herman Van Rompuy
Commission President José Manuel Barroso

Annual summit

The annual G8 leaders summit is attended by the heads of government[16] The member country holding the G8 presidency is responsible for organizing and hosting the year's summit.
The serial annual summits can be parsed chronologically in arguably distinct ways, including as the sequence of host countries for the summits has recurred over time, series, etc.[17]

DateHost countryHost leaderLocation heldWebsiteNotes
1stNovember 15–17, 1975 FranceValéry Giscard d'EstaingRambouillet(Castle of Rambouillet)G6 Summit
2ndJune 27–28, 1976 United StatesGerald R. FordDoradoPuerto Rico[18]Also called "Rambouillet II;" Canada joins the group, forming the G7[18]
3rdMay 7–8, 1977 United KingdomJames CallaghanLondonPresident of the European Commission is invited to join the annual G-7 summits
4thJuly 16–17, 1978 West GermanyHelmut SchmidtBonnNorth Rhine-Westphalia
5thJune 28–29, 1979 JapanMasayoshi ŌhiraTokyo
6thJune 22–23, 1980 ItalyFrancesco CossigaVenice
7thJuly 20–21, 1981 CanadaPierre E. TrudeauMontebello,Quebec
8thJune 4–6, 1982 FranceFrançois MitterrandVersailles
9thMay 28–30, 1983 United StatesRonald ReaganWilliamsburg,Virginia
10thJune 7–9, 1984 United KingdomMargaret ThatcherLondon
11thMay 2–4, 1985 West GermanyHelmut KohlBonnNorth Rhine-Westphalia
12thMay 4–6, 1986 JapanYasuhiro NakasoneTokyo
13thJune 8–10, 1987 ItalyAmintore FanfaniVenice
14thJune 19–21, 1988 CanadaBrian MulroneyToronto
15thJuly 14–16, 1989 FranceFrançois MitterrandParis
16thJuly 9–11, 1990 United StatesGeorge H. W. BushHoustonTexas
17thJuly 15–17, 1991 United KingdomJohn MajorLondon
18thJuly 6–8, 1992 GermanyHelmut KohlMunich,Bavaria
19thJuly 7–9, 1993 JapanKiichi MiyazawaTokyo
20thJuly 8–10, 1994 ItalySilvio BerlusconiNaples
21stJune 15–17, 1995 CanadaJean ChrétienHalifaxNova Scotia[19]
22ndJune 27–29, 1996 FranceJacques ChiracLyonInternational organizations' debut to G8 Summits periodically. The invited ones here were: United NationsWorld BankInternational Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization.[20]
23rdJune 20–22, 1997 United StatesBill ClintonDenver,Colorado[21]Russia joins the group, forming G8
24thMay 15–17, 1998 United KingdomTony BlairBirmingham, England[22]
25thJune 18–20, 1999 GermanyGerhard SchröderCologneNorth Rhine-Westphalia[23]First Summit of the G-20 major economies at Berlin
26thJuly 21–23, 2000 JapanYoshiro MoriNagoOkinawa[24]Formation of the G8+5 starts, when South Africa was invited. Since then, it has been invited to the Summit annually without interruption. Also, with permission from a G8 leader, other nations were invited to the Summit on a periodical basis for the first time.NigeriaAlgeria and Senegal accepted their invitations here. The World Health Organization was also invited for the first time, too.[20]
27thJuly 20–22, 2001 ItalySilvio BerlusconiGenoa[25]Leaders from BangladeshMali and El Salvador accepted their invitations here.[20] Demonstrator Carlo Giuliani is shot and killed by police during a violent demonstration. One of the largest and most violent anti-globalization movement protests occurred for the 27th G8 summit.[26] Following those events and the September 11 attacks two months later in 2001, the G8 have met at more remote locations.
28thJune 26–27, 2002 CanadaJean ChrétienKananaskis,Alberta[27]Russia gains permission to officially host a G8 Summit.
29thJune 2–3, 2003 FranceJacques ChiracÉvian-les-Bains[2]The G8+5 was unofficially made, when ChinaIndiaBrazil, and Mexico were invited to this Summit for the first time. South Africahas joined the G8 Summit since 2000. Other first-time nations that were invited by the French president included: EgyptMorocco,Saudi ArabiaMalaysia and Switzerland.[20]
30thJune 8–10, 2004 United StatesGeorge W. BushSea Island, Georgia[28]A record number of leaders from 12 different nations accepted their invitations here. Amongst a couple of veteran nations, the others were: GhanaAfghanistanBahrainIraqJordanTurkeyYemen and Uganda.[20] Also, the state funeral of former president Ronald Reagan took place in Washington during the summit.
31stJuly 6–8, 2005 United KingdomTony BlairGleneagles,Scotland[29]The G8+5 was officially formed. On the second day of the meeting, suicide bombers killed 52 people on the London Underground and a bus. Nations that were invited for the first time were Ethiopia and Tanzania. The African Union and the International Energy Agency made their debut here.[20] During the 31st G8 summit in United Kingdom, 225,000 people took to the streets of Edinburgh as part of the Make Poverty History campaign calling for Trade Justice, Debt Relief and Better Aid. Numerous other demonstrations also took place challenging the legitimacy of the G8.[30]
32ndJuly 15–17, 2006 RussiaVladimir PutinStrelnaSt. Petersburg[3]First G8 Summit on Russian soil. Also, the International Atomic Energy Agency and UNESCO made their debut here.[20]
33rdJune 6–8, 2007 GermanyAngela MerkelHeiligendamm,Mecklenburg-Vorpommern[4]Seven different international organizations accepted their invitations to this Summit. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the Commonwealth of Independent States made their debut here.[20]
34thJuly 7–9, 2008 JapanYasuo FukudaToyako (Lake Toya),Hokkaido[31]Nations that accepted their G8 Summit invitations for the first time are: AustraliaIndonesia and South Korea.[20]
35thJuly 8–10, 2009 ItalySilvio BerlusconiL'Aquila,Abruzzo[5]This G8 Summit was originally planned to be in La Maddalena (Sardinia), but was moved to L'Aquila as a way of showing Prime Minister Berlusconi's desire to help the region in and around L'Aquila after the earthquake that hit the area on the April 6th, 2009. Nations that accepted their invitations for the first time were: AngolaDenmarkNetherlands and Spain.[32] A record of TEN (10) international organizations were represented in this G8 Summit. For the first time, the Food and Agriculture Organization, theInternational Fund for Agricultural Development, the World Food Programme, and the International Labour Organization accepted their invitations.[33]
36thJune 25–26, 2010[34] CanadaStephen HarperHuntsville, Ontario[35][36]MalawiColombiaHaiti, and Jamaica accepted their invitations for the first time.[37]
37thMay 26–27, 2011 FranceNicolas SarkozyDeauville,[38][39]Basse-Normandie[40]GuineaNigerCôte d'Ivoire and Tunisia accepted their invitations for the first time. Also, the League of Arab States made its debut to the meeting.[41]
38thMay 18–19, 2012 United StatesBarack ObamaCamp David[42]The summit was originally planned for Chicago, along with the NATO summit, but it was announced officially on March 5, 2012, that the G8 summit will be held at the more private location of Camp David and at one day earlier than previously scheduled.[43]
39th2013 United KingdomDavid CameronTBDBritain hopes to refocus the event, possibly by discussing a single issue such as the Middle East and inviting key players, such asTurkey or IsraelDavid Cameron is critical of the value and cost of the G8 if there is too much focus on communiqués as opposed to building trust between world leaders. He has been looking at the idea of attaching the G8 summit to another event such as the UN general assembly.[44]
40th2014 RussiaVladimir PutinMoscow[45]

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