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This is a list of the heads of state and heads of government of the Group of Seven nations at each G6, G7, G8 summit since the organisation's inception in 1975. The Group consists of the 6-7-8 largest industrialized democracies, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan,the United Kingdom and the United States. The European Union is also a member since 1977, represented by the President of the European Commission and the President of the European Council, which before 2009 was the leader of the state holding the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union, also sometimes coinciding with a G7/8 nation, and is since 2009 a permanent position. The G7 holds an annual summit, which each nation's head of government attends. Each year the heads of government take turns assuming the presidency, whose job it is to set the agenda for and host the annual summit. The leader who has been in office the longest of the seven leaders is considered the Senior G7 leader; currently Justin Trudeau since December 2021.
While the current G7 consists of seven nations, it didn't always. The group was formed as the Group of Six, G6, including all of today's members minus Canada. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, Canada joined in the second year of the group's existence, 1976, forming the Group of Seven, G7. Russia joined the Group of Eight, G8, in 1997, under the leadership of President Boris Yeltsin. Russia was suspended in March 2014 after the Russian annexation of Crimea, the group being thereafter again referred to as the Group of Seven. [1]
The following is a chronology of senior G7 leaders from the founding of the G6 (a precursor organization to the G8) to the present. [e]
Entered office as Head of State or Government | Began time as senior G8 leader | Ended time as senior G8 leader | Term Length | Leader | Office |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
16 October 1964 [f] | 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 [g] | 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 [h] | 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 [i] | 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 [j] | 7 May 2012 | 24 March 2014 | 1 year, 321 days | Vladimir Putin | President of Russia |
22 November 2005 | 24 March 2014 | 8 December 2021 | 7 years, 259 days | Angela Merkel | Chancellor of Germany |
4 November 2015 | 8 December 2021 | Incumbent | 2 years, 340 days | Justin Trudeau | Prime Minister of Canada |
Leader | Office | In Office Since | Term Length |
---|---|---|---|
Justin Trudeau | Prime Minister of Canada | 4 November 2015 | 9 years, 8 days |
Emmanuel Macron | President of France | 14 May 2017 | 7 years, 182 days |
Joe Biden | President of the United States | 20 January 2021 | 3 years, 297 days |
Olaf Scholz | Chancellor of Germany | 8 December 2021 | 2 years, 340 days |
Giorgia Meloni | Prime Minister of Italy | 22 October 2022 | 2 years, 21 days |
Keir Starmer | Prime Minister of the United Kingdom | 5 July 2024 | 130 days |
Shigeru Ishiba | Prime Minister of Japan | 1 October 2024 | 42 days |
The Group of Eight (G8) was an intergovernmental political forum from 1997–2014. It had formed from incorporating Russia into the G7, and returned to its previous name after Russia was expelled in 2014.
The Group of Seven (G7) is an intergovernmental political and economic forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States; additionally, the European Union (EU) is a "non-enumerated member". It is organized around shared values of pluralism, liberal democracy, and representative government. G7 members are major IMF advanced economies.
The 29th G8 summit was held in Évian-les-Bains, France, on 1–3 June 2003. As is usual for G8 summits, there were a range of protests.
The 9th G7 Summit was held at Williamsburg, Virginia, United States between May 28 and 30, 1983. The venue for the summit meetings was Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia.
The 28th G8 Summit was held in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, on June 26–27, 2002.
The 2nd G7 Summit, also called Rambouillet II, was held at Dorado, Puerto Rico, between June 27 and 28, 1976. The venue for the summit meetings was the Dorado Beach Hotel, now Dorado Beach Resort, which is near San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The 3rd G7 Summit was held in London, United Kingdom between 7–8 May 1977. The venue for the summit meetings was the British Prime Minister's official residence at No. 10 Downing Street in London.
The 4th G7 Summit was held at Bonn, West Germany between 16 and 17 July 1978. The venue for the summit meeting was at the former official residence of the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bonn, the Palais Schaumburg.
The 6th G7 Summit was held at Venice, Italy between 22 and 23 June 1980. The venue for the summit meetings was the island of San Giorgio Maggiore in the Venetian lagoon.
The 7th G7 Summit was called the Ottawa Summit, and was held in Montebello, Quebec, Canada and nearby Ottawa between July 20 and 21, 1981. The venue for the summit meetings was the Château Montebello.
The 13th G7 Summit was held in Venice, Italy between 8 and 10 June 1987. The venue for the summit meetings was the island of San Giorgio Maggiore in the Venetian lagoon.
The 10th G7 Summit was held in London, England, United Kingdom from 7 to 9 June 1984. The venue for the summit meetings was Lancaster House in London.
The 8th G7 Summit was held in Versailles, France from 4 to 6 June 1982. The venue for the summit meetings was at the Palace of Versailles.
The 18th G7 Summit was held in Munich, Germany between 6 and 8 July 1992. The venue for the summit meetings was at the Residenz palace in central Munich.
The 19th G7 Summit was held in Tokyo, Japan, on July 7–9, 1993. The venue for the summit meetings was the State Guesthouse in Tokyo, Japan.
The 20th G7 Summit was held in Naples, Italy, on 8–10 July 1994. The venue for the summit meetings was the former Royal Palace in Naples.
The 37th G8 summit was held on 26–27 May 2011 in Deauville, France.
The 40th G7 summit was held 4–5 June 2014 in Brussels, Belgium. It was originally scheduled to be held as the "40th G8 summit" and be hosted by Russia in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. However, Russia was excluded from the grouping due to its annexation of Crimea and the remaining members chose to hold the summit instead in Brussels.
The 43rd G7 summit was held on 26–27 May 2017 in Taormina (ME), Sicily, Italy. In March 2014, the G7 declared that a meaningful discussion was currently not possible with Russia in the context of the G8. Since then, meetings have continued within the G7 process.
The 44th G7 summit was held on 8–9 June 2018, in La Malbaie in the Charlevoix region of Quebec, Canada. This was the sixth time since 1981 that Canada has hosted the meetings.