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Chancellor Merkel: Saviour of Europe?
Angela Merkel entered politics in 1989 with fall of the Berlin Wall. When she narrowly defeated Gerhard Shroder in the 2005 election, she became the first former citizen of the GDR to lead reunited Germany and the first woman to
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Dilma Rousseff: Big Shoes Too
Dilma Rousseff became the first female president of Brazil in October 2010. As successor to the popular and charismatic Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, she had big shoes to fill. It can now be safely said that although their styles
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The Queen of Jordan: More Than an Ornament
Born in 1970 in Kuwait to Palestinian parents, Rania, wife of King Abdullah II has been his Queen since 1999. Her concerns at home include environmental matters, health, education, youth and human rights. She looks to ‘Righting the wrongs of
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PM Shinawatra: Power through the Democratic Process
PM Yingluck Shinawatra easily survived a vote of no confidence in the Thai House of Representatives on November 28th this year. Polls also show her as having the confidence of the electorate as she ponders her first eighteen months in
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Dr Mahathir Bin Mohamad says: “Face up to the New Economic Reality”
Dr Mohamad, an active man despite his 86 years, tends to lecture Europe on money matters. As a national developer of proven ability and great success we are inclined to at least listen. Our Hero from Malaysia has certainly done
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Ellen Johnson Sirleaf: A Role Model in Africa
CFI.co strongly supports this sentiment from the Nobel committee in their announcement that Sirleaf would share the Peace Prize for 2011 in recognition of her non-violent struggle for women’s safety and full participation in peace-building. We consider her an exemplary
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Gro Harlem Brudtland: Doctor, Politician and Our Hero
Born in 1939 to an Oslo family in which politics and medicine were part and parcel of daily life, Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, has been Director General of the World Health Organisation for the past fourteen years. Prime minister of
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Michelle Bachelet and the Right of a Woman to Decide
When Chile’s government was ousted by Augusto Pinochet in 1973, Michelle Bachelet’s father (a supporter of the deposed Salvador Allende) was arrested, tortured in prison and died in custody at the age of 51. Security forces later arrested Bachelet herself,
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Our Hero Ariyaratne: Truly Empowering People
Dr. A.T. (Ari) Ariyaratne founded the Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement in Sri Lanka in the 1960s and still serves as its President. It is the world’s largest spiritually-based people’s development movement and is at work in 15.000 villages throughout Sri Lanka.
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Vitali Klitschko: Punching Above His Weight
One of the greatest heavyweight boxing champions of all time, Klitschko retained his WBC title in September this year. Known as Dr. Ironfist, he is the son of a Soviet general, speaks four languages, is passionate about chess and earned
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