Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors
Member countries in the G-20   Members of the European Union not individually represented
Abbreviation	G-20 or G20
Formation	1999 2008 (Heads of State Summits)
Purpose/focus	Bring together systemically important industrialized and developing economies to discuss key issues in the global economy.[1]
Membership	20  Argentina  Australia  Brazil  Canada  China  European Union  France  Germany  India  Indonesia  Italy  Japan  Mexico  Russia  Saudi Arabia  South Africa  South Korea  Turkey  United Kingdom  United States
Current chair	Mexico (2012)[2]
Staff	None[3]
Website	www.g20.org

The Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (also known as the G-20, G20, and Group of Twenty) is a group of finance ministers and central bank governors from 20 major economies: 19 countries plus the European Union, which is represented by the President of the European Council and by the European Central Bank.^[3] Their heads of government or heads of state have also periodically conferred at summits since their initial meeting in 2008. Collectively, the G-20 economies account for more than 80 percent of the gross world product (GWP),^[4] 80 percent of world trade (including EU intra-trade), and two-thirds of the world population.^[3] They furthermore account for 84.1 percent and 82.2 percent of the world's economic growth by nominal GDP and GDP (PPP) respectively from the years 2010 to 2016, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The G-20 was proposed by former Canadian Finance Minister Paul Martin^[5] (later, Prime Minister) for cooperation and consultation on matters pertaining to the international financial system. It studies, reviews, and promotes discussion (among key industrial and emerging market countries) of policy issues pertaining to the promotion of international financial stability, and seeks to address issues that go beyond the responsibilities of any one organization. With the G-20 growing in stature since the 2008 Washington summit, its leaders announced on September 25, 2009, that the group will replace the G8 as the main economic council of wealthy nations.^[6]

The heads of the G-20 nations met semi-annually at G-20 summits between 2008 and 2011. Following the most recent summit, which was held in Cannes in November 2011, all future G-20 summits are to be held annually.^[3]

History[link]

A group photo of the participants of the 2008 G-20 Washington summit.

2009 G-20 London summit group photo.

2009 G-20 Pittsburgh summit group photo.

2010 G-20 Toronto summit group photo.

2010 G-20 Seoul summit group photo.

2011 G-20 Cannes summit group photo.

The G-20, which superseded the G33 (which had itself superseded the G22), was foreshadowed at the Cologne Summit of the G7 in June 1999, but was only formally established at the G7 Finance Ministers' meeting on 26 September 1999. The inaugural meeting took place on 15–16 December 1999 in Berlin. In 2008, Spain and the Netherlands were included, by French invitation, in the G-20 Leaders Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy.

The theme of the 2006 G-20 meeting was “Building and Sustaining Prosperity”. The issues discussed included domestic reforms to achieve “sustained growth”, global energy and resource commodity markets, ‘reform’ of the World Bank and IMF, and the impact of demographic changes due to an aging population. Trevor A. Manuel, MP, Minister of Finance, South Africa, was the chairperson of the G-20 when South Africa hosted the Secretariat in 2007. Guido Mantega, Minister of Finance, Brazil, was the chairperson of the G-20 in 2008; Brazil proposed dialogue on competition in financial markets, clean energy and economic development and fiscal elements of growth and development. In a statement following a meeting of G7 finance ministers on 11 October 2008, US President George W. Bush stated that the next meeting of the G-20 would be important in finding solutions to the (then called) economic crisis of 2008. An initiative by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown led to a special meeting of the G-20, a G-20 Leaders Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy, on 15 November 2008.^[7]

Despite lacking any formal ability to enforce rules, the G-20's prominent membership gives it a strong input on global policy. However, there remain disputes over the legitimacy of the G-20,^[8] and criticisms of its organisation and the efficacy of its declarations..^[9]

Summits[link]

The G-20 Summit was created as a response both to the financial crisis of 2007–2010 and to a growing recognition that key emerging countries were not adequately included in the core of global economic discussion and governance. The G-20 Summits of heads of state or government were held in addition to the G-20 Meetings of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors who continued to meet to prepare the leaders' summit and implement their decisions. After the debut summit in Washington, D.C. during 2008, G-20 leaders met twice a year in London and Pittsburgh in 2009, Toronto and Seoul in 2010.^[10][11]

Since 2011, when France chaired and hosted the G-20, the summits have been held only once a year.^[12] Mexico will chair and host the leaders' summit in 2012.^[13]

	Date	Host country	Host city	Website
1st[14]	November 2008	United States	Washington, D.C.
2nd[14]	April 2009	United Kingdom	London	[3]
3rd[14]	September 2009	United States	Pittsburgh	[4]
4th[15]	June 2010	Canada	Toronto	[5]
5th[16]	November 2010	South Korea	Seoul	[6]
6th[17]	November 2011[18]	France	Cannes	[7]
7th[13]	June 2012[19]	Mexico	Los Cabos	[8]
8th[20]	2013	Russia	Saint Petersburg
9th[20]	2014	Australia	TBA
10th[20]	2015	Turkey	TBA

G-20 leaders' chair rotation[link]

To decide which nation gets to chair the G-20 leaders' meeting for a given year, all 19 nations are assigned to one of five different groupings. Each group holds a maximum of four nations. This system has been in place since 2010, when South Korea, which is in Group 5, held the G-20 chair. France, the host of the 2011 G-20 summit, is in Group 4, and Mexico, the host of the 2012 summit, is in Group 3. In 2013, Russia, which is in Group 2, will host the G-20 leaders' summit. The table below lists the nations' groupings:^[21]

Organization[link]

The G-20 operates without a permanent secretariat or staff. The chair rotates annually among the members and is selected from a different regional grouping of countries. The chair is part of a revolving three-member management group of past, present and future chairs referred to as the Troika. The incumbent chair establishes a temporary secretariat for the duration of its term, which coordinates the group's work and organizes its meetings. The role of the Troika is to ensure continuity in the G-20's work and management across host years. The current chair of the G-20 is Mexico; the chair was handed over from France after the November 2011 G-20 Summit.

Proposed permanent secretariat[link]

In 2010, President of France Nicolas Sarkozy proposed the establishment of a permanent G-20 secretariat, similar to the United Nations Security Council. Seoul and Paris were suggested as possible locations for its headquarters.^[22] China and Brazil supported the establishment of a secretariat, while Japan and Italy expressed opposition to the proposal.^[22] South Korea proposed a "cyber secretariat" as an alternative.^[22]

Role of Asian countries[link]

A 2011 report released by the Asian Development Bank predicted that large Asian economies such as China and India would play a more important role in global economic governance in the future. The report stated that the rise of emerging market economies heralded a new world order, in which the G-20 would become the global economic steering committee.^[23]

The report furthermore noted that Asian countries had led the global recovery following the late-2000s recession. It predicted that the region would have a greater presence on the global stage, shaping the G-20 agenda for balanced and sustainable growth through strengthening intraregional trade and stimulating domestic demand.^[23]

List of members[link]

As of 2012, there are 20 members of the G-20. These include, at the leaders summits, the leaders of 19 countries and of the European Union, and, at the ministerial-level meetings, the finance ministers and central bank governors of 19 countries and of the European Union. In addition, the Netherlands have taken part in the first four G-20 heads of state meetings, while Spain has participated in every meeting so far, despite neither country being formally recognized members.^[3][24] The table below lists the member entities and their leaders, finance ministers and central bank governors, as well as listing relevant statistics such as population and GDP figures. Total GDP figures are given in millions of US dollars.

Region	Member	Official title	Current leader	Official title	Current finance minister	Central bank governor	Total international trade mil. USD (2011)	GDP (nominal) mil. USD (2011)[25]	GDP (PPP) mil. USD (2011)	GDP per capita (nominal) USD (2011)[26]	GDP per capita (PPP) USD (2011)	HDI (2011)	Population
Africa	South Africa	President	Jacob Zuma	Minister of Finance	Pravin Gordhan	Gill Marcus	187,070	408,074	555,340	8,066	10,977	0.619	49,320,500
N.America	Canada	Prime Minister	Stephen Harper	Minister of Finance	Jim Flaherty	Mark Carney	910,200	1,736,869	1,391,114	50,436	40,457	0.908	34,088,000
N.America	Mexico	President	Felipe Calderón	Secretary of Finance	José Antonio Meade Kuribeña	Agustín Carstens	678,200	1,154,784	1,659,016	10,153	15,121	0.770	112,211,789
N.America	United States	President	Barack Obama	Secretary of the Treasury	Timothy Geithner	Ben Bernanke	3,825,000	15,094,025	15,094,025	48,386	48,386	0.910	309,173,000
S.America	Argentina	President	Cristina Fernández de Kirchner	Minister of Economy	Hernán Lorenzino	Mercedes Marcó del Pont	155,440	447,644	710,690	10,945	17,376	0.797	40,117,096
S.America	Brazil	President	Dilma Rousseff	Minister of Finance	Guido Mantega	Alexandre Tombini	470,400	2,492,908	2,309,138	12,789	11,845	0.718	193,088,765
East Asia	China	President	Hu Jintao	Minister of Finance	Xie Xuren	Zhou Xiaochuan	3,561,000	7,298,147	11,316,224	5,414	8,394	0.687	1,339,724,852
East Asia	Japan	Prime Minister	Yoshihiko Noda	Minister of Finance	Jun Azumi	Masaaki Shirakawa	1,595,500	5,869,471	4,395,600	45,920	34,362	0.901	127,390,000
East Asia	South Korea	President	Lee Myung-bak	Minister of Strategy and Finance	Park Jae-wan	Kim Choong-soo	1,084,000	1,116,247	1,556,102	22,778	31,753	0.897	48,875,000
S.Asia	India	Prime Minister	Manmohan Singh	Minister of Finance	Pranab Mukherjee	Duvvuri Subbarao	749,200	1,676,143	4,469,763	1,389	3,703	0.547	1,210,193,422
SE.Asia	Indonesia	President	Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono	Minister of Finance	Agus Martowardojo	Darmin Nasution	381,000	845,680	1,122,638	3,509	4,668	0.617	237,556,363
W.Asia	Saudi Arabia	King	Abdullah	Minister of Finance	Ibrahim Abdulaziz Al-Assaf	Muhammed Al-Jasser	457,200	577,595	677,663	20,504	24,056	0.770	27,123,977
Eurasia	Russia	President	Vladimir Putin	Minister of Finance	Anton Siluanov	Sergey Mikhaylovich Ignatyev	808,700	1,850,401	2,376,470	12,993	16,687	0.755	141,927,297
Eurasia	Turkey	Prime Minister	Recep Tayyip Erdoğan	Minister of Finance	Mehmet Şimşek	Erdem Başçı	345,200	778,089	1,114,629	10,522	15,321	0.699	72,561,312
Europe	European Union	European Council President[27] Commission President[27]	Herman Van Rompuy José Manuel Durão Barroso	Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs	Olli Rehn	Mario Draghi	3,791,000 Extra-EU27 (2010)	17,557,691	15,788,000	35,742	31,548	0.853	501,259,840
Europe	France	President	François Hollande	Minister of the Economy, Industry and Employment	Pierre Moscovici	Christian Noyer	1,263,000	2,776,324	2,216,769	44,008	35,048	0.884	65,447,374
Europe	Germany	Chancellor	Angela Merkel	Minister of Finance	Wolfgang Schäuble	Jens Weidmann	2,882,000	3,577,031	3,089,471	43,742	37,935	0.905	81,757,600
Europe	Italy	President of the Council of Ministers	Mario Monti	Minister of Economy and Finance	Mario Monti	Ignazio Visco	1,050,100	2,198,730	1,828,601	36,267	30,165	0.874	60,325,805
Europe	United Kingdom	Prime Minister	David Cameron	Chancellor of the Exchequer	George Osborne	Sir Mervyn King	1,150,300	2,417,570	2,253,585	38,592	35,974	0.863	62,041,708
Oceania	Australia	Prime Minister	Julia Gillard	Treasurer	Wayne Swan	Glenn Stevens	502,300	1,488,221	918,978	65,477	40,836	0.929	22,328,632

In addition to these 20 members, the following forums and institutions, as represented by their respective chief executive officers, participate in meetings of the G-20:^[3]

• the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund
• the Chairman of the International Monetary Fund
• the President of the World Bank
• the International Monetary and Financial Committee
• the Chairman of the Development Committee

Membership does not reflect exactly the 19 largest national economies of the world in any given year. The organization states:^[1]

All 19 member nations are among the top 29 economies as measured in GDP at nominal prices in a list published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for 2011.^[28] Not represented by membership in the G-20 are Switzerland (19), Norway (24), Iran (25), and Taiwan (26), even though they rank higher than some members. Spain (12), the Netherlands (17), Sweden (21), Poland (22), Belgium (23), and Austria (28) are included only as part of the EU, and not independently. When the countries' GDP is measured at purchasing power parity (PPP) rates,^[29] all 19 members are among the top 25 in the world in April 2012, according to the IMF. Iran (17), Taiwan (19) and Thailand (24) are not G-20 members, while Spain (13), Poland (20) and the Netherlands (22) are only included in the EU slot. However, in a list of average GDP, calculated for the years since the group's creation (1999–2008) at both nominal and PPP rates, only Spain, the Netherlands, Taiwan, and Poland appear above any G-20 member in both lists simultaneously. Spain, being the 12th largest economy in the world and 5th in the European Union in terms of nominal GDP, is a 'permanent guest' of the organization, although the Spanish government's policy is to not request official membership.^[30][31] As such, a Spanish delegation has been invited to, and has attended, every G-20 heads of state summit since the G-20's inception.

Invitees[link]

Typically, several countries that are not permanent members of the G-20 are extended invitations to participate in the summits. The invitees are chosen by the host country. For the 2010 summits, for example, both Canada and South Korea invited Ethiopia (chair of NEPAD), Malawi (chair of the African Union), Vietnam (chair of ASEAN), and Spain. Canada also invited the Netherlands (the world's 16th-largest economy), while South Korea invited Singapore. Both Canada and South Korea invited seven international organizations: the United Nations, the International Labour Organization, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the World Trade Organization, and the Financial Stability Board.^[32][33]

Criticisms[link]

Exclusivity of membership[link]

Although the G-20 has stated that the group's "economic weight and broad membership gives it a high degree of legitimacy and influence over the management of the global economy and financial system,"^[34] its legitimacy has been challenged. With respect to the membership issue, U.S. President Barack Obama has noted the difficulty of pleasing everyone: "everybody wants the smallest possible group that includes them. So, if they're the 21st largest nation in the world, they want the G-21, and think it's highly unfair if they have been cut out."^[35]

Norwegian perspective[link]

In an interview with Der Spiegel,^[36] Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre called the G-20 "one of the greatest setbacks since World War II." Although Norway is the seventh-largest contributor to international development programs in the United Nations,^[37] it is not a member of the EU, and thus is not represented in the G-20 even indirectly.^[36] Norway, like the other 170 nations not among the G-20, has little or no voice within the group. Støre characterized the G-20 as a "self-appointed group", arguing that it undermines the legitimacy of organizations set up in the aftermath of World War II, such as the IMF, World Bank and United Nations:

Global Governance Group (3G) response[link]

According to Singapore's representative to the United Nations, UN members who are not G-20 members have responded to the G-20's exclusivity by either reacting with indifference, refusing to acknowledge the G-20's legitimacy, or accepting the G-20's status while hoping to "engage the G-20 as the latter continues to evolve so that our interests are taken on board."^[38] Out of this latter group Singapore has taken a leading role in organizing an informal "Global Governance Group" of 28 non-G-20 countries, with the idea being that by working collectively they might channel their views into the G-20 process more effectively.^[39][40] Singapore's chairing of the Global Governance Group was cited as a rationale for inviting Singapore to the November 2010 G-20 Summit in South Korea.^[41]

[edit] Foreign Policy critique

The American magazine Foreign Policy has published articles condemning the G-20, in terms of its principal function as an alternative to the so-called exclusive G8. It furthermore questions the actions of some of the G-20 members, and advances the notion that some nations should not have membership in the first place. For example, it has suggested that Argentina should be formally replaced with Spain, because Spain's economy is larger.^[42]

With the effects of the Great Recession still ongoing, the magazine has criticized the G-20's efforts to implement reforms of the world's financial institutions, branding such efforts as failed.^[43]

Wider concerns[link]

The G-20's transparency and accountability have been questioned by critics, who call attention to the absence of a formal charter and the fact that the most important G-20 meetings are closed-door.^[44] The economist Frances Stewart proposed an Economic Security Council within the United Nations as an alternative to the G-20. In such a council, members would be elected by the General Assembly based on their importance in the world economy, and the contribution they are willing to provide to world economic development.^[45]

The cost and extent of summit-related security is often a contentious issue in the hosting country, and G-20 summits have attracted protesters from a variety of backgrounds, including information activists, nationalists, and opponents of Fractional Reserve Banking and crony capitalism. In 2010, the Toronto G-20 summit sparked mass protests and rioting, leading to the largest mass arrest in Canadian history.^[46]

See also[link]

• List of G-20 summits
• BRICS
• Great power
• MIKT
• Regional power

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Haas, P.M. (1992). "Introduction. Epistemic communities and international policy coordination," International Organization 46,1:1–35.
• Hajnal, Peter I. (1999). The G8 system and the G20 : Evolution, Role and Documentation. Aldershot, Hampshire: Ashgate Publishing. 13-ISBN 978-0-7546-4550-4/10-ISBN 0-7546-4550-9; OCLC 277231920
• Reinalda, Bob and Bertjan Verbeek. (1998). Autonomous Policy Making by International Organizations. London: Routledge. 10-ISBN 0-415-16486-9/13-ISBN 978-0-415-16486-3; 13-ISBN 978-0-203-45085-7;10-ISBN 0-203-45085-X; OCLC 39013643
• Augusto Lopez-Claros, Augusto, Richard Samans and Marc Uzan. (2007). The international monetary system and the IMF, and the G-20 : a great transformation in the making? Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. 10-ISBN 0-230-52495-8/13-ISBN 978-0-230-52495-8; OCLC 255621756

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: G20

• Official G-20 website (English version), also available in Spanish
• 2010 Seoul G20
• G-20 Information Centre from the University of Toronto
• A Guide To Committees, Groups, And Clubs from the International Monetary Fund
• G20 Special Report guardian.co.uk
• IPS News – G20 Special Report
• The G20's role in the post-crisis world by FRIDE
• The Group of Twenty—A History, 2007
• Economics for Everyone: G20- Gearing for Growth

Nicolas Sarkozy
President of France
In office 16 May 2007 – 15 May 2012
Prime Minister	François Fillon
Preceded by	Jacques Chirac
Succeeded by	François Hollande
Co-Prince of Andorra
In office 16 May 2007 – 15 May 2012 Served with Joan Enric Vives Sicília
Prime Minister	Albert Pintat Jaume Bartumeu Pere López Agràs (Acting) Antoni Martí
Representative	Philippe Massoni Emmanuelle Mignon Christian Frémont
Preceded by	Jacques Chirac
Succeeded by	François Hollande
Minister of the Interior
In office 2 June 2005 – 26 March 2007
Prime Minister	Dominique de Villepin
Preceded by	Dominique de Villepin
Succeeded by	François Baroin
In office 7 May 2002 – 30 March 2004
Prime Minister	Jean-Pierre Raffarin
Preceded by	Daniel Vaillant
Succeeded by	Dominique de Villepin
President of the Union for a Popular Movement
In office 28 November 2004 – 14 May 2007
Vice President	Jean-Claude Gaudin
Preceded by	Jean-Claude Gaudin (Acting)
Succeeded by	Jean-Claude Gaudin (Acting)
President of the General Council of Hauts-de-Seine
In office 1 April 2004 – 14 May 2007
Preceded by	Charles Pasqua
Succeeded by	Patrick Devedjian
Minister of Finance
In office 31 March 2004 – 29 November 2004
Prime Minister	Jean-Pierre Raffarin
Preceded by	Francis Mer
Succeeded by	Hervé Gaymard
Minister of the Budget
In office 30 March 1993 – 11 May 1995
Prime Minister	Édouard Balladur
Preceded by	Michel Charasse
Succeeded by	François d'Aubert
Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Seine
In office 14 April 1983 – 7 May 2002
Preceded by	Achille Peretti
Succeeded by	Louis-Charles Bary
Personal details
Born	(1955-01-28) 28 January 1955 (age 57) Paris, France
Political party	Rally for the Republic (Before 2002) Union for a Popular Movement (2002–present)
Spouse(s)	Marie-Dominique Culioli (1982–1996) Cécilia Ciganer-Albéniz (1996–2007) Carla Bruni (2008–present)
Children	Pierre (by Culioli) Jean (by Culioli) Louis (by Ciganer-Albéniz) Giulia (by Bruni)
Alma mater	Paris West University Nanterre La Défense Institute of Political Studies, Paris
Signature
Website	Official website

Nicolas Sarkozy (pronounced [ni.kɔ.la saʁ.kɔ.zi] ( listen), born Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa; 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as the 23rd President of the French Republic from 16 May 2007 until 15 May 2012.

Before his presidency, he was leader of the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP). Under Jacques Chirac's presidency he served as Minister of the Interior in Jean-Pierre Raffarin's (UMP) first two governments (from May 2002 to March 2004), then was appointed Minister of Finances in Raffarin's last government (March 2004 to May 2005) and again Minister of the Interior in Dominique de Villepin's government (2005–2007).

Sarkozy was also president of the General council of the Hauts-de-Seine department from 2004 to 2007 and mayor of Neuilly-sur-Seine, one of the wealthiest communes of France from 1983 to 2002. He was Minister of the Budget in the government of Édouard Balladur (RPR, predecessor of the UMP) during François Mitterrand's last term.

In foreign affairs, he promised a strengthening of the entente cordiale with the United Kingdom^[1] and closer cooperation with the United States.^[2] During his term, he faced the late-2000s financial crisis (followed by the recession and the debt crisis caused by it) and the Arab Spring (especially in Tunisia, Libya, and Syria). He also married Italian-French singer-songwriter Carla Bruni on 2 February 2008 at the Élysée Palace in Paris.

On 6 May 2012, Sarkozy was defeated in the 2012 election by Socialist François Hollande by a margin of 3.2 percent, or 1,139,983 votes.^[3] After leaving the office, Sarkozy retired from political life.^[4] As a former president, Sarkozy is entitled to de jure membership in the Constitutional Council.

Personal life[link]

Family background[link]

Sarkozy is the son of Pál István Ernő Sárközy de Nagy-Bócsa^[5] (Hungarian: nagybócsai Sárközy Pál [nɒɟ͡ʝboːt͡ʃɒi ʃaːrkøzi paːl] ( listen); in some sources Nagy-Bócsay Sárközy Pál István Ernő),^[6] a Hungarian aristocrat, and Andrée Jeanne "Dadu" Mallah (b. Paris, 12 October 1925), whose Greek Jewish father converted to Catholicism to marry her French Catholic mother.^[7][8] They were married in the Saint-François-de-Sales church, 17th arrondissement of Paris, on 8 February 1950 and divorced in 1959.^[9]

Early life[link]

During Sarkozy's childhood, his father founded his own advertising agency and became wealthy. The family lived in a mansion owned by Sarkozy's maternal grandfather, Benedict Mallah, in the 17th Arrondissement of Paris. The family later moved to Neuilly-sur-Seine, one of the wealthiest communes of the Île-de-France région immediately west of the 17th Arrondissement just outside of Paris. According to Sarkozy, his staunchly Gaullist grandfather was more of an influence on him than his father, whom he rarely saw. Sarkozy was, accordingly, raised Catholic.^[7]

Sarkozy said that being abandoned by his father shaped much of who he is today. He also has said that, in his early years, he felt inferior in relation to his wealthier and taller classmates.^[10] "What made me who I am now is the sum of all the humiliations suffered during childhood", he said later.^[10]

Education[link]

Sarkozy was enrolled in the Lycée Chaptal, a well regarded public middle and high school in Paris's 8th arrondissement, where he failed his sixième. His family then sent him to the Cours Saint-Louis de Monceau, a private Catholic school in the 17th arrondissement, where he was reportedly a mediocre student,^[11] but where he nonetheless obtained his baccalauréat in 1973. He enrolled at the Université Paris X Nanterre, where he graduated with an MA in Private law, and later with a DEA degree in Business law. Paris X Nanterre had been the starting place for the May '68 student movement and was still a stronghold of leftist students. Described as a quiet student, Sarkozy soon joined the right-wing student organization, in which he was very active. He completed his military service as a part time Air Force cleaner.^[12] After graduating, he entered the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris, better known as Sciences Po, (1979–1981) but failed to graduate^[13] due to an insufficient command of the English language.^[14] After passing the bar, he became a lawyer specializing in business and family law,^[14] and was one of Silvio Berlusconi's top French advocates.^[15][16][17]

Marriages[link]

Marie-Dominique Culioli[link]

Sarkozy married his first wife, Marie-Dominique Culioli, on 23 September 1982; her father was a pharmacist from Vico (a village north of Ajaccio, Corsica), her uncle was Achille Peretti, the mayor of Neuilly-sur-Seine from 1947-1983 and Sarkozy's political mentor. They had two sons, Pierre (born in 1985), now a hip-hop producer,^[18] and Jean (born in 1986) now a local politician in the city of Neuilly-sur-Seine where Sarkozy started his own political career. Sarkozy's best man was the prominent right-wing politician Charles Pasqua, later to become a political opponent.^[19] Sarkozy divorced Culioli in 1996, after they had been separated for several years.

Cécilia Ciganer-Albéniz[link]

As mayor of Neuilly-sur-Seine, Sarkozy met former fashion model and public relations executive Cécilia Ciganer-Albéniz (great-granddaughter of composer Isaac Albéniz and daughter of a Moldovan father), when he officiated at her wedding^[20] to television host Jacques Martin. In 1988, she left her husband for Sarkozy, and divorced Martin one year later. Sarkozy married her in October 1996, with witnesses Martin Bouygues and Bernard Arnault.^[21] They have one son, Louis, born 23 April 1997.

Between 2002 and 2005, the couple often appeared together on public occasions, with Cécilia Sarkozy acting as the chief aide for her husband.^[22] On 25 May 2005, however, the Swiss newspaper Le Matin revealed that she had left Sarkozy for French-Moroccan national Richard Attias, head of Publicis in New York.^[23] There were other accusations of a private nature in Le Matin, which led to Sarkozy suing the paper.^[24] In the meantime, he was said to have had an affair with a journalist of Le Figaro, Anne Fulda.^[25]

Sarkozy and Cécilia ultimately divorced on 15 October 2007, soon after his election as President.^[26]

Carla Bruni[link]

President Barack Obama is greeted by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni at the G8 Summit dinner in Deauville, France, 26 May 2011.

Less than a month after separating from Cécilia, Sarkozy met Italian-born singer Carla Bruni at a dinner party, and soon entered a relationship with her.^[27] They married on 2 February 2008 at the Élysée Palace in Paris.^[28]

The couple has a daughter, Giulia, born on 19 October 2011.^[29] It is the first time a French president has had a child while in office.^[30]

Personal wealth[link]

Sarkozy declared to the Constitutional Council a net worth of €2 million, most of the assets being in the form of life insurance policies.^[31] As the French President, one of his first actions was to give himself a pay raise: his yearly salary went from €101,000 to €240,000 (to match his European/French peers).^[32] He is also entitled to a mayoral pension as a former mayor of Neuilly-sur-Seine.

Member of National Assembly[link]

Sarkozy is recognised by both the right and left's French parties as a skilled politician and striking orator.^[33] His supporters within France emphasize his charisma, political innovation and willingness to "make a dramatic break" amid mounting disaffection against "politics as usual". Overall, he is considered more pro-United States and pro-Israeli than most French politicians.

Since November 2004, Sarkozy has been president of the Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (UMP), France's major right-wing political party, and he was Minister of the Interior in the government of Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, with the honorific title of Minister of State, making him effectively the number three official in the French State after President Jacques Chirac and Villepin. His ministerial responsibilities included law enforcement and working to co-ordinate relationships between the national and local governments, as well as Minister of Worship (in this role he created the CFCM, French Council of Muslim Faith). Previously, he was a deputy to the French National Assembly. He was forced to resign this position in order to accept his ministerial appointment. He previously also held several ministerial posts, including Finance Minister.

In government[link]

Sarkozy's political career began when he was 23, when he became a city councillor in Neuilly-sur-Seine. A member of the Neo-Gaullist party RPR, he went on to be elected mayor of that town, after the death of the incumbent mayor Achille Peretti. Sarkozy had been close to Peretti, as his mother was Peretti's secretary. The senior RPR politician at the time, Charles Pasqua, wanted to become mayor, and asked Sarkozy to organize his campaign. Instead Sarkozy profited from Pasqua's short illness to propel himself into the office of mayor.^[34] He was the youngest mayor of any town in France with a population of over 50,000. He served from 1983 to 2002. In 1988, he became a deputy in the National Assembly.

In 1993, Sarkozy was in the national news for personally negotiating with the "Human Bomb", a man who had taken small children hostage in a kindergarten in Neuilly.^[35] The "Human Bomb" was killed after two days of talks by policemen of the RAID, who entered the school stealthily while the attacker was resting.

At the same time, from 1993 to 1995, he was Minister for the Budget and spokesman for the executive in the cabinet of Prime Minister Édouard Balladur. Throughout most of his early career, Sarkozy had been seen as a protégé of Jacques Chirac. During his tenure, he increased France's public debt more than any other French Budget Minister, by the equivalent of €200 billion (USD260 billion) (FY 1994–1996). The first two budgets he submitted to the parliament (budgets for FY1994 and FY1995) assumed a yearly budget deficit equivalent to six percent of GDP.^[36] According to the Maastricht Treaty, the French yearly budget deficit may not exceed three percent of France's GDP.

In 1995, he spurned Chirac and backed Édouard Balladur for President of France. After Chirac won the election, Sarkozy lost his position as Minister for the Budget, and found himself outside the circles of power.

However, he returned after the right-wing defeat at the 1997 parliamentary election, as the number two candidate of the RPR. When the party leader Philippe Séguin resigned, in 1999, he took the leadership of the Neo-Gaullist party. But it obtained its worst result at the 1999 European Parliament election, winning 12.7% of the votes, less than the dissident Rally for France of Charles Pasqua. Sarkozy lost the RPR leadership.

Nicolas Sarkozy speaking at the congress of his party, 28 November 2004

In 2002, however, after his re-election as President of the French Republic (see French presidential election, 2002), Chirac appointed Sarkozy as French Minister of the Interior in the cabinet of Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, despite Sarkozy's support of Edouard Balladur for French President in 1995.^[37] Following Chirac's 14 July keynote speech on road safety, Sarkozy as interior minister pushed through new legislation leading to the mass purchase of speed cameras and a campaign to increase the awareness of dangers on the roads.

In the cabinet reshuffle of 30 April 2004, Sarkozy became Finance Minister. Tensions continued to build between Sarkozy and Chirac and within the UMP party, as Sarkozy's intentions of becoming head of the party after the resignation of Alain Juppé became clear.

In party elections of 10 November 2004, Sarkozy became leader of the UMP with 85% of the vote. In accordance with an agreement with Chirac, he resigned as Finance Minister. Sarkozy's ascent was marked by the division of UMP between sarkozystes, such as Sarkozy's "first lieutenant", Brice Hortefeux, and Chirac loyalists, such as Jean-Louis Debré.

Sarkozy was made Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour) by President Chirac in February 2005. He was re-elected on 13 March 2005 to the National Assembly (as required by the constitution,^[38] he had to resign as a deputy when he became minister in 2002).

On 31 May 2005 the main French news radio station France Info reported a rumour that Sarkozy was to be reappointed Minister of the Interior in the government of Dominique de Villepin without resigning from the UMP leadership. This was confirmed on 2 June 2005, when the members of the government were officially announced.

First term as Minister of the Interior[link]

Towards the end of his first term as Minister of the Interior, in 2004, Sarkozy was the most divisive conservative politician in France, according to polls conducted at the beginning of 2004.

Sarkozy has sought to ease the sometimes tense relationships between the general French population and the Muslim community. Unlike the Catholic Church in France with their official leaders or Protestants with their umbrella organisations, the French Muslim community had a lack of structure with no group that could legitimately deal with the French government on their behalf. Sarkozy supported the foundation in May 2003 of the private non-profit Conseil français du culte musulman ("French Council of the Muslim Faith"), an organisation meant to be representative of French Muslims.^[39] In addition, Sarkozy has suggested amending the 1905 law on the separation of Church and State, mostly in order to be able to finance mosques and other Muslim institutions with public funds^[40] so that they are less reliant on money from outside of France. It was not followed by any concrete measure.

Minister of Finance[link]

During his short appointment as Minister of Finance, Sarkozy was responsible for introducing a number of policies. The degree to which this reflected libéralisme (a hands-off approach to running the economy) or more traditional French state dirigisme (intervention) is controversial. He resigned the day following his election as president of the UMP.

• In September 2004, Sarkozy oversaw the reduction of the government ownership stake in France Télécom from 50.4 percent to 41 percent.^[41]
• Sarkozy backed a partial nationalisation of the large engineering company Alstom decided by his predecessor when the company was exposed to bankruptcy in 2003.^[42]
• In June 2004, Sarkozy reached an agreement with the major retail chains in France to concertedly lower prices on household goods by an average of two percent; the success of this measure is disputed, with studies suggesting that the decrease was close to one percent in September.^[43]
• Taxes: Sarkozy avoided taking a position on the ISF (solidarity tax on wealth). This is considered an ideological symbol by many on the left and right. Some in the business world and on the liberal right, such as Alain Madelin, wanted it abolished. For Sarkozy, that would have risked being categorised by the left as a gift to the richest classes of society at a time of economic difficulties.^[44]

Villepin government[link]