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 and formerly Russia . 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]
List of Senior G7 Leaders
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
Began time as
Ended time as
Term
Leader
Office
16 October 1964[ f]
15 November 1975
5 April 1976
Harold Wilson Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
16 May 1974
5 April 1976
27 June 1976
Helmut Schmidt Chancellor of West Germany
20 April 1968
27 June 1976[ g]
4 June 1979
Pierre Trudeau Prime Minister of Canada
16 May 1974
4 June 1979
3 March 1980
Helmut Schmidt Chancellor of West Germany
20 April 1968[ h]
3 March 1980
30 June 1984
Pierre Trudeau Prime Minister of Canada
4 May 1979
30 June 1984
28 November 1990
Margaret Thatcher Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
10 May 1981
28 November 1990
17 May 1995
François Mitterrand President of France
1 October 1982
17 May 1995
27 October 1998
Helmut Kohl Chancellor of Germany
10 July 1991
27 October 1998
31 December 1999
Boris Yeltsin President of Russia
20 January 1993
31 December 1999
20 January 2001
Bill Clinton President of the United States
4 November 1993
20 January 2001
12 December 2003
Jean Chrétien Prime Minister of Canada
17 May 1995
12 December 2003
16 May 2007
Jacques Chirac President of France
2 May 1997
16 May 2007
27 June 2007
Tony Blair Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
7 May 2000
27 June 2007
7 May 2008
Vladimir Putin President of Russia
20 January 2001
7 May 2008
20 January 2009
George W. Bush President of the United States
10 May 1994[ i]
20 January 2009
16 November 2011
Silvio Berlusconi Prime Minister of Italy
22 November 2005
16 November 2011
7 May 2012
Angela Merkel Chancellor of Germany
7 May 2000[ j]
7 May 2012
24 March 2014
Vladimir Putin President of Russia
22 November 2005
24 March 2014
8 December 2021
Angela Merkel Chancellor of Germany
4 November 2015
8 December 2021
Incumbent Justin Trudeau Prime Minister of Canada
List of seniority of current G7 leaders
G7 tenure
Notes
^ Okita was actually Foreign Minister at the time, filling in for Prime Minister Ōhira, who died 10 days before the conference began.[citation needed
^ Vice-President of the European Commission [citation needed ^ Acting Commission President following the March 1999 resignation of the Santer Commission [citation needed
^ Due to the global coronavirus pandemic , the 2020 summit was cancelled.[citation needed
^ Canada did not join the organization until 1976 while Russia did not join until 1997. Therefore, Canadian leaders prior to 1976 and Russian leaders before 1997 are not included in this list.[citation needed
^ Wilson first served as Prime Minister from 16 October 1964 to 19 June 1970, and then again from 4 March 1974 to 5 April 1976.[citation needed
^ Canada joined the organization on this date. Trudeau had been in office longer than any of the other leaders and so took the title of senior G8 leader from Schmidt.[citation needed
^ Trudeau first served as Prime Minister from 20 April 1968 to 4 June 1979, and then again from 3 March 1980 to 30 June 1984.[citation needed
^ Berlusconi first served as Prime Minister from 10 May 1994 to 17 January 1995, then again from 11 June 2001 to 17 May 2006, and then again from 8 May 2008 to 16 November 2011.[citation needed
^ Putin first served as President of Russia from 2000 to 2008.[citation needed
^ Trump previously served as President from 2017 to 2021
References
