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Ursula von der Leyen: Close Cooperation
The first woman to preside over Germany’s Ministry of Defence, Ursula von der Leyen was appointed by Chancellor Angela Merkel to re-establish order at the demoralised department. Mrs Von der Leyen is one of the longest-serving members of the German
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Jean-Claude Juncker: Gives as Good as He Gets
He is the man eurosceptics, and quite a few others, love to hate – the embodiment of all that is wrong with the European Union and the face of the “faceless bureaucrats” who rule from Brussels. Jean-Claude Juncker (62), a
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María Dolores de Cospedal: Seeking More Bang
Almost nobody saw her coming. In barely ten years, María Dolores de Cospedal went from a political nobody to become Spain’s minister of Defence – the second woman to claim that job – and partake in the secretive Bilderberg Conference,
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Serena Williams: Writing Her Own Script for Success
She is the only woman to rank amongst the world’s highest paid athletes, claiming a spot nearly dead centre on the annual list compiled by Fortune Magazine. In 2016, Serena Williams cashed in almost $27m in prize money and endorsement
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Ank Bijleveld: The Relentless Pursuit of Synergies
Upon re-entering national politics after an absence of seven years, newly-appointed Dutch Minister of Defence Anke Bijleveld was promptly dubbed “the little general”. Standing just 1m57 tall in a cabinet of physical, if not necessarily political, giants, Anke Bijleveld immediately
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Marise Payne, Australia: Survivalist
Australia is determined to boost its punch with an outlay of A$200bn ($152bn/€128bn) on new military hardware. The recently unveiled ten-year spending programme is to give teeth to the defence white paper released in 2016 which maps threats to the
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Florence Parly: Sales Push
French ministers of Defence are expected to not just administer the country’s armed forces, but help sell military hardware as well. A political outsider, Florence Parly was recruited into the cabinet by President Emanuel Macron and Prime Minister Édouard Philippe
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Peter Sloterdijk: Shaping a Multipolar National Debate
A prolific writer, publishing some sixty books over a career spanning four decades, German philosopher Peter Sloterdijk recently celebrated his seventieth birthday. Europe’s leading intellectuals and academics flocked to Mr Sloterdijk’s native Karlsruhe to pay tribute. Chancellor Angela Merkel chipped
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Waldemar Januszczak: Art for the Millions
The BBC needs a David Attenborough of the arts and Waldemar Januszczak (63) may answer the call. Arguably Britain’s best loved art critic, Mr Januszczak managed to illuminate the Dark Ages without causing viewers to zap elsewhere – a considerable
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Tim Cook: Taking Care of Business
He wants to be remembered as a good and decent man. Not that he’s going anywhere, anytime soon: Apple CEO Tim Cook (56) is determined to take proper care of the legacy left by the company’s visionary founder Steve Jobs
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