World Leaders:
How Attractive Are They

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France
President
Jacques Rene Chirac

Born: Nov. 29, 1932
Paris, France

Elected: 1995, 2002

• An only child. Father worked at a bank and an aircraft company.

• Degree in Political Science from the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris

• Drafted into the Army and was wounded in Algeria.

• Served as mayor of Paris for 18 years.

• Had Communist leanings in his youth.

• Attended ENA, an elite school for those aspiring to government positions

• Married with two daughters.

• Is Roman Catholic.

• Past reputation as a ladies' man

• Likes sumo wrestling

• Nickname: The Bulldozer

United Kingdom
Prime Minister
Tony Blair
(Anthony Charles Lynton Blair)

Born: May 6, 1953
Edinburgh, Scotland

Elected: 1997, 2001

• His father was a barrister and lecturer.

• Was a guitarist and singer in a college rock band called Ugly Rumours

• Studied law and was a barrister before entering Parliament.

• Married to Cherie Booth. They have three sons and a daughter.

• UK's youngest Prime Minister in 185 years.

• Landslide victories in both elections.

• Became queen because her uncle, Edward VIII, abdicated the throne to her father George VI

• Married a third cousin Philip Mountbatten in 1946 (he died in 1952). They had four children.

• Was educated at home

• Near the end of WWII, she acted as a driver for the Auxiliary Territorial Service to help the war effort

• Conservative in dress, religion, family matters, and moral standards.  Disapproves of abdication and divorce.

• Typically reserved in public

• Enjoys horse racing, photography, and Corgi dogs

United States
President
George Walker Bush

Born: July 6, 1946
New Haven, CT

Elected: 2000

• Son of former President George Bush

•  Degree in History from Yale. MBA from Harvard.

• Served as governor of Texas from 1995-2000 Narrowly won presidential election with 271 electoral votes vs. Al Gore's 266 in Florida.

• Is leading a war against terrorism. Sent troops to Afghanistan and Iraq. Ousted Saddam Hussein.

• Married Laura Welch in 1977. They have two daughters. Is a born-again Christian

• 5 foot 11 inches tall

• Is on his fourth marriage. His current wife is 19 years his junior.  She is a journalist.

• Left wing, politically

• Likes dark suits and cigars.

• One of five children of a single mother (father killed in combat in 1944). She cleaned houses to support the family.

• Raised in Italy; came to Spain in 1947.

• Married Princess Sophia of Greece in 1968. They have two daughters and a son.

• The prior ruler was the dictator Franco, and Spain had no king.  The last king had been Alfonso, Juan Carlos' grandfather.

• His father was known as Don Juan.

• Stopped a military coup in 1981. Juan Carlos has advocated political parties and democracy.

• Son of Kim Il Sung, who held the same government position 1948-1994. The beginning of a Communist dynasty, perhaps.

• The official story states that Kim Jong Il was born in a sacred forest under double rainbows

• Began his career in the Korean Workers' Party. Worked in the Propaganda and Agitation Department.

• Credible rumors of a debauched youth. He likes blonde women, has 10,000 bottles of wine in his cellar, collects Mazda RX-7 sports cars, hosts all-night drinking parties with strippers as entertainment.

• There was much national propaganda to celebrate his 42nd birthday.

• Kidnapped a South Korean actress in 1978 as an effort to improve North Korean films.

• May have an IQ of 150

• Is 5 foot 2 inches.  Wears four-inch lifts in his shoes.

• Is afraid of flying

• Wife: Kim Yong Suk. They have a daughter.

• Has children with other women.

• Nickname: Dear Leader

• An only child.  His father was a factory foreman.  The family lived in a communal apartment.

• Was Leningrad's judo champion in 1974.

• Studied civil law at the prestigious Leningrad State University

• Served as a KGB agent. Beginning in 1985, he lived undercover in East Germany, possibly spying on members of NATO.

• Continued his career in the Kremlin.

• Popular for his firm stance against Chechan rebels

• Does not drink alcohol

• Wife: Lyudmilla. He keeps his family life private. Has two daughters.

• From a wealthy merchant family of seven children.

• Pretends to have been born in Jerusalem on August 4.

• Degree in civil engineering from Cairo University.

• Served in the Egyptian army.

• Became leader of the PLO in 1969. Turned to diplomacy and appearances before the UN, and away from terrorist activity against Israel.

• Corecipient (w/ Israeli PM) of 1994 Nobel Peace Prize.

• Wife: Suha (married in 1980s). One daughter.

• His father owned a gas station and workshop.  He died when John was a teenager.  Mrs. Howard raised the three boys.

• Studied law at Sydney University

• Married Janette Parker in 1971.  They have three children.

• A conservative Liberal.

• Became Treasurer at age 38.

• Usually a serious fellow

• His father served in the House of Commons for 33 years.  His father is French-Canadian and his mother is Scottish-Canadian.

• Degrees in Philosophy and History from the University of Toronto. Attended law school.

• Married Sheila Ann Cowan in 1965. They have three sons.

• Owned Canada Steamship Lines (now owned by his sons).

• Liberal Party

• India's first non-Hindu prime minister.  He is a Sikh

• Educated at Cambridge and Oxford.  A whiz at economics.

• Is married and has three daughters.

• Sonia Gandhi was expected to become Prime Minister, but she declined and instead nominated Dr. Singh.

• Born to a working class Muslim family

• Degree in aeronautical engineering

• Worked at Indian Space Research Organization. Helped develop India's first home-produced satellite launch vehicle

• A director at the Defense Research and Development Organization.  Built guided missiles.

• Became a science advisor to the government

• Nickname: Missile Man

• Is a vegetarian

• Is celibate

• Doesn't drink alcohol.

• Interested in using bio-implants to increase intelligence.

• Wants India to be a superpower by 2020

• Degree in Western Philosophy. Studied Islamic sciences for seven years.

• Headed up Islamic center in Hamburg, Germany until Iranian revolution

• Charismatic.  Won his elections with approximately seventy percent of the vote. Popular with women and young voters.

• Minister of Culture and Islamic guidance from 1982-1992, but resigned due to criticism he was too lenient in allowing potentially subversive films and books

• Married Zohreh Sadeghi. They have two daughters and a son.

• Supreme Leader of Iran

• Imprisoned for anti-shah sentiments in the 1960s

• A passionate orator for the Islamic Republican Party while working with former Ayatollah Khomeinei

• Was seriously injured in 1981 when a bomb hidden in a tape recorder exploded at a press conference. Called a "living martyr"

• Was President of Iran from 1981-1989

• Is worth $10 billion; owns a media empire

• No one knows where he got the 250 million euros to start his company.

• Founded the moderate/slightly right-wing Forza Italia party

• Was PM in 1994 and 1995, but resigned over questions relating to past business practices (tax fraud, bribery)

• There have been many lawsuits against him, but he hasn't been convicted

• Believes in "freedom, the individual, family, enterprise, Italian tradition, Christian tradition and love for weaker people"

• A controversial figure.  While serving as President of the EU, made the comment to a German member, "Mr. Schulz, I know there is a producer in Italy who is making a film on the Nazi concentration camps. I will suggest you for the role of kapo. You'd be perfect."

• Created a law that immunized EU government members from prosecution while in office

• Spends time grooming himself

• His father owned a shop in Shanghai

• Joined the Communist Party while a university student.

• Was a hydraulics engineer. Studied at prestigious Qinghau University

• Has a photographic memory

• Rose to the top of the Communist Youth League

• Assigned to Tibet as Central Committee member to suppress dissention there

• Wants to improve the poorer regions of China, has spent time in those areas

• Ended costly superficial elements of government, such as welcome-back celebrations for returning officials

• Married to Liu Yongjing

• Left-wing

• Born in a poor area of Brazil.

• Little education. Worked entry-level jobs.

• While working in an auto parts factory, he lost a finger in a work accident

• Held union posts. Organized strikes.

• Won election partly because of negative voter reaction to right-wing government.

• Officially added Lula (nickname) to his name.

• Father was a member of South African Communist Party.

• Degree in Economics from the University of Sussex

• Joined African National Congress at age 14; eventually succeeded Nelson Mandela as its president

• Is pushing the idea of an African Renaissance

• Member of the Christian People's Party

• As prime minister in 1998, took a sick leave for depression, a reaction to overwork

• Studied Theology and was a Lutheran pastor

• A member of Parliament since 1973

• Was a professor of Economics

• Studied in Poland, New York, Chicago, and London

• Worked for the World Bank and held government finance positions

• Member of Christian Democratic People's Party

• Studied economics and social sciences, and received a doctorate

• Was a visiting professor to Swiss universities

• Became department Dean at the University of Fribourg (where he'd studied)

• Married with three sons

• Was in charge of revising the Swiss constitution in 1996

• Youngest child of a nomadic peasant family

• Expelled from prep school for his political activity

• Good grades at University of Libya

• Entered military academy in 1963. His group of friends hoped to overthrow the pro-West monarchy

• Had a prominent role in the 1969 bloodless revolution in Tripoli while the king was away

• System of Islamic socialism

• Proponent of joining all Arab nations into one

• Supporter of PLO. Involved in terrorist activity

• Is lately developing better relations with the West

• Enjoys soccer and chess.  Bought a share of an Italian soccer team for $21 million.

• Is acting Prime Minster for Medgyessy, who resigned in 2004

• Member of Hungarian Socialist Party

• Studied education and economics

• Was a member of the Young Communists

• As an entrepreneur, became the 50th richest man in Hungary

• Was a govt. Minister for youth, sports, and children

• Married to Klara Dobrev. They have four children.

• Married Princess Sirikit Kitiyakara in 1950. They have one son and three daughters.

• His kingship is ceremonial

• Has resolved political disputes, including a military coup in 1992.

• The world's longest-serving head of state

• Educated in Switzerland. Studied law and political science

• His older brother died mysteriously, possibly murdered

• Married Sirikit Kitiyakara a few days before his coronation. They have four children.

• Honorary title: The Great

• Joined the royal police department in 1973

• Received a doctorate in criminal justice in the United States-1978

• Head of the Shin Corporation, which owns Thailand's largest mobile phone company. He is the richest man in Thailand

• Fought corruption, promised to clean up government; however, has hired many family members to prominent positions

• Was almost convicted in 2001 for hiding financial assets