Group of Eight (G8), formerly and subsequently Group of 7 (G7), intergovernmental

organization that originated in 1975 through informal summit meetings of the leaders of
the worlds leading industrialized countries (the United States, the United
Kingdom, France, West Germany, Italy, Canada, and Japan). Canada did not attend the
initial meeting in 1975, and the president of the European Commission joined the
discussions in 1977. Beginning in 1994, Russia joined the discussions, and the group
became known as the Group of 8 (G8), or the Political Eight; Russia officially
became the eighth member in 1997. In March 2014 Russia precipitated an international
crisis when it occupied and annexed Crimea, an autonomous republic of Ukraine. The
original Group of 7 (G7) responded by indefinitely suspending Russias membership in
the group, effectively dissolving the larger G8.
With no formal charter, a limited bureaucratic structure, and no permanent secretariat,
leaders of the G7 discuss major economic issues in an informal setting. The agenda has
changed depending on international circumstancese.g., the oil crises in the 1970s,
global environmental issues in the 1980s, economic transition in the formerly communist
countries and debt and financial instability in the 1990s, and the special problems facing
Africa in the early 21st century. Historically, when noneconomic issues such as terrorism,
drug trafficking, human rights, regional security, and arms control dominated the
discussions, the G8 was convened.
Prior to the annual summits, the leaders personal representatives (known as
sherpasambassadors, secretaries in foreign offices, or other diplomatic advisers)
provide the groundwork for discussions, and follow-up ministerial meetings give
specificity to the decisions taken and offer substantive guidance on pertinent issues to
the United Nations General Assembly sessions and toInternational Monetary
Fund and World Bank meetings. The meetings, the sites of which are rotated among
member states, permit valuable personal relationships to develop. Leaders are better able
to establish priorities, give guidance to international organizations, and reach collective
decisions. Since the late 1990s the annual meetings have attracted intense international
media attention andantiglobalization demonstrations.
The Group of Eight (G8) was the name of a forum for the governments of a group of
eight leading industrialised countries that was originally formed by six leading
industrialised countries and subsequently extended with two additional members.
[1]Russia, which was invited to join as the last member, was excluded from the forum by
the other members on March 24, 2014, as a result of its involvement in the 2014 Crimea
crisis in Ukraine.[2] Thus the group now comprises seven nations and will continue to
meet as the G7 group of nations.

The forum originated with a 1975 summit hosted by France that brought together
representatives of six governments: France,West Germany, Italy, Japan, the United
Kingdom, and the United States, thus leading to the name Group of Six or G6. The
summit became known as the Group of Seven or G7 the following year with the addition
of Canada. The G7 is composed of the seven wealthiest developed countries on Earth (by
national net wealth or by GDP[3]), and it remained active even during the period of the
G8. Russia was added to the group from 1998 to 2014, which then became known as the
G8. The European Union is represented within the G8 but cannot host or chair summits.
[4] The 40th summit became the first time the European Union able to host and chair a
summit.
"G8" can refer to the member states in aggregate or to the annual summit meeting of the
G8 heads of government. The former term, G6, is now frequently applied to the six most
populous countries within the European Union. G8 ministers also meet throughout the
year, such as the G7/8 finance ministers (who meet four times a year), G8 foreign
ministers, or G8 environment ministers.
Collectively, in 2012 the G8 nations comprised 50.1% of 2012 global nominal
GDP and 40.9% of global GDP (PPP). Each calendar year the responsibility of hosting
the G8 is rotated through the member states in the following order: France, United States,
United Kingdom, Russia, Germany, Japan, Italy, and Canada. The holder of
the presidency sets the agenda, hosts the summit for that year, and determines which
ministerial meetings will take place. Both France and the United Kingdom have
expressed a desire to expand the group to include five developing countries, referred to as
the Outreach Five (O5) or the Plus Five: Brazil (7th country in the world by nominal
GDP [3]), People's Republic of China (2nd country in the world by GDP[3]), India (10th
country in the world by GDP [5]), Mexico, and South Africa. These countries have
participated as guests in meetings which are sometimes called G8+5.
With the G-20 major economies growing in stature since the 2008 Washington summit,
world leaders from the group announced at their Pittsburgh summit on September 25,
2009, that the group would replace the G8 as the main economic council of wealthy
nations.[6][7]
On March 24, 2014, the original G7 nations voted to effectively suspend Russia from the
organization in response to the country's annexation of Crimea;[8][9][10] however, it was
made clear that the suspension was temporary.[11]

History[edit]

At the 34th G8 Summit at Toyako, Hokkaido, formal photo during Tanabata matsuri
event for world leaders Silvio Berlusconi (Italy), Dmitry
Medvedev(Russia), Angela Merkel (Germany),Gordon Brown (UK), Yasuo
Fukuda(Japan), George W. Bush (US), Stephen Harper (Canada), Nicolas
Sarkozy(France), Jos Manuel Barroso (EU) July 7, 2008.
The concept of a forum for the world's major industrialized countries emerged prior
the 1973 oil crisis. On Sunday, March 25, 1973,Secretary of the Treasury George
Shultz convened an informal gathering of finance ministers from West Germany (Helmut
Schmidt), France (Valry Giscard d'Estaing), and Britain (Anthony Barber) before an
upcoming meeting in Washington, D.C. When running the idea past President Nixon, he
noted that he would be out of town, and offered use of the White House; the meeting was
subsequently held in the library on the ground floor.[12] Taking their name from the
setting, this original group of four became known as the "Library Group".[13] In mid1973, at the World Bank-IMF meetings, Shultz proposed the addition of Japan to the
original four nations, who agreed.[14] The informal gathering of senior financial officials
from the United States, the United Kingdom, West Germany, Japan, and France became
known as the "Group of Five."[15]
The year that followed was one of the most turbulent of the post World War II era, The
heads of state or government of the top ten industrial nations fell due to illness or scandal.
There were two elections in the UK, three Chancellors of West Germany, three presidents
of France, three Prime Ministers of Japan and Italy, two US Presidents and Prime
Minister Trudeau of Canada was forced into an early election. Of the members of the
"Group of Five", all were new to the job with the exception of Prime Minister Trudeau.
As 1975 dawned, Schmidt and Giscard were now heads of government in their respective
countries, and since they both spoke fluent English, it occurred to them that they, British
Prime Minister Harold Wilson and US President Gerald Ford could get together in an
informal retreat and discuss election results and the issues of the day. So, in the late
spring, President Giscard invited the heads of government from West Germany, Italy,
Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States to a summit in Chteau de Rambouillet;
the annual meeting of the six leaders was organized under a rotating presidency, forming
the Group of Six (G6). The following year, with Wilson out as Prime Minister of
Britain,Schmidt and Ford felt an English speaker with more experience was needed, so
Canada's Pierre Trudeau was invited to join the group [16] and the group became the
Group of Seven (G7). The European Union is represented by the President of the

European Commission and the leader of the country that holds the Presidency of the
Council of the European Union. The President of the European Commission has attended
all meetings since first invited by the United Kingdom in 1977[17] and the Council
President now also regularly attends.
Following 1994's G7 summit in Naples, Russian officials held separate meetings with
leaders of the G7 after the group's summits. This informal arrangement was dubbed the
Political 8 (P8) or, colloquially, the G7+1. At the invitation of Prime Minister of the
United Kingdom Tony Blair and President of the United States Bill Clinton,
[18] President Boris Yeltsin was invited first as a guest observer, later as a full participant.
It was seen as a way to encourage Yeltsin with his capitalist reforms. Russia formally
joined the group in 1998, resulting in the Group of Eight, or G8

Food[edit]
A major focus of the G8 since 2009 has been the global supply of food.[19] At the
2009 L'Aquila summit, the G8's members promised to contribute $20 billion to the issue
over three years.[20] Since then, only 22% of the promised funds have been delivered.
[21]
At the 2012 summit, President Barack Obama plans to ask G8 leaders to adopt a policy
that would privatize global food investment.[22][23]

Crimean crisis and Russian suspension[edit]

On March 2, 2014, the remaining non-Russian G8 members, the European Union, and
the European Commission suspended the planned G8 summit in the Russian city of Sochi
and would instead meet as the G7 in Brussels,[24] blaming Russia's role in the Crimean
crisis.[25] Following the suspension of the summit, on March 18 the French Minister of
Foreign Affairs Laurent Fabius claimed that Russia was suspended from the G8; however,
the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French Foreign Ministry spokesman Romain
Nadal[26] clarified that Russia would remain a G8 member, and only the meeting would
be suspended.
While visiting Kiev, Ukraine on March 22, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen
Harper stated that he supports expelling Russia from the G8 and expects to discuss the
potential expulsion with other G7 leaders at an upcoming meeting in The Hague.[27] On
March 24, G7 leaders met formally in The Hague, without Russia being present, and
voted to officially suspend Russia's membership in the G8. Russian Foreign Minister
Lavrov stated earlier that day that the G8 was an informal organization and membership
was optional for Russia.[8]

Structure and activities[edit]

Leaders of the G8 on 18 June 2013, inLough Erne, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
By design, the G8 deliberately lacks an administrative structure like those for
international organizations, such as the United Nations or the World Bank. The group
does not have a permanent secretariat, or offices for its members.
The presidency of the group rotates annually among member countries, with each new
term beginning on 1 January of the year. The rotation order is: France, the United States,
the United Kingdom, Russia, Germany, Japan, Italy, and Canada.[28] The country
holding the presidency is responsible for planning and hosting a series of ministerial-level
meetings, leading up to a mid-year summit attended by the heads of government. The
president of the European Commission participates as an equal in all summit events.[29]
The ministerial meetings bring together ministers responsible for various portfolios to
discuss issues of mutual or global concern. The range of topics include health, law
enforcement, labor, economic and social development, energy, environment, foreign
affairs, justice and interior, terrorism, and trade. There are also a separate set of meetings
known as the G8+5, created during the 2005 Gleneagles, Scotland summit, that is
attended by finance and energy ministers from all eight member countries in addition to
the five "outreach countries" which are also known as the Group of
Five Brazil, People's Republic of China, India, Mexico, and South Africa.[30]
In June 2005, justice ministers and interior ministers from the G8 countries agreed to
launch an international database on pedophiles.[31] The G8 officials also agreed to pool
data on terrorism, subject to restrictions by privacy and security laws in individual
countries.[32]

Global energy[edit]
Main articles: International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation and Climate
Investment Funds

G8 leaders confer
during the 2009
summit in L'Aquila (A
bruzzo, Italy).

At the Heiligendamm Summit in 2007, the G8 acknowledged a proposal from the EU for
a worldwide initiative on efficient energy use. They agreed to explore, along with
the International Energy Agency, the most effective means to promote energy efficiency
internationally. A year later, on 8 June 2008, the G8 along with China, India, South Korea
and the European Community established the International Partnership for Energy
Efficiency Cooperation, at the Energy Ministerial meeting hosted by Japan holding 2008
G8 Presidency, in Aomori.[33]
G8 Finance Ministers, whilst in preparation for the 34th Summit of the G8 Heads of State
and Government in Toyako, Hokkaido, met on the 13 and 14 June 2008, in Osaka, Japan.
They agreed to the G8 Action Plan for Climate Change to Enhance the Engagement of
Private and Public Financial Institutions. In closing, Ministers supported the launch of
new Climate Investment Funds (CIFs) by theWorld Bank, which will help existing efforts
until a new framework under the UNFCCC is implemented after 2012. The UNFCCC is
not on track to meeting any of its stated goals.[34]

Annual summit[edit]
The annual G8 leaders summit is attended by the heads of government.[35] The member
country holding the G8 presidency is responsible for organizing and hosting the year's
summit.
The serial annual summits can be parsed chronologically in arguably distinct ways,
including as the sequence of host countries for the summits has recurred over time, series,
etc.[36]

Member facts[edit]
These G8 countries represent:

7 of the 7 top-ranked advanced economies with the largest GDP and with the
highest national wealth (United States, Japan, Germany, France, UK, Italy,
Canada) last century also known as G7 [67]
7 of the 15 top-ranked countries with the highest net wealth per capita (United
States, France, Japan, UK, Italy, Canada, Germany)
8 of 12 top-ranked leading export countries.[68]
6 of 10 top-ranked countries with the largest gold reserves (United States,
Germany, Italy, France, Russia, Japan).
8 of 11 top-ranked economies (by nominal GDP), according to latest (2012 data)
International Monetary Fund's statistics.
4 countries with a nominal GDP per capita above US$40,000 (United States,
Canada, Germany, France).
5 countries with a sovereign wealth fund, administered by either a national or a
state/provincial government (Russia, United States, France, Canada, Italy).[69]

8 of 30 top-ranked nations with large amounts of foreign-exchange reserves in

their central banks.
4 out of 9 countries having nuclear weapons (France, Russia, UK, United States).
[70][71]
2 countries that have nuclear weapon sharing programs (Germany, Italy).[72][73]
7 of the 9 largest nuclear energy producers (United States, France, Japan, Russia,
Germany, Canada, UK), although Germany announced in 2011 that it will close
all of its nuclear power plants by 2022.[74] Following the 2011 Thoku
earthquake and tsunami, Japan shut down all of its nuclear reactors.[75] However,
in July 2012, Japan restarted two nuclear reactors at the i Nuclear Power Plant.
These reactors are the only ones currently in operation at this time.
8 of the 15 top donors to the UN budget for the 2013 annual fiscal year.
4 countries with a HDI index for 2013 of 0.9 and higher (United States, Germany,
Japan, Canada).
2 countries with the highest credit rating from Standard & Poor's, Fitch,
and Moody's at the same time (Canada and Germany).[76]

Current leaders[edit]

Canada
Stephen Harper, Prime
Minister

France
Franois
Hollande, President

Germany
Angela Merkel, Chancellor

Italy
Matteo Renzi, Prime Minister

Japan
Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister

United Kingdom
David Cameron, Prime Minister

United States
Barack Obama, President

European Union
Herman Van
Rompuy,President of the
European Council

European Union
Jean-Claude Juncker,President
of the European Commission

Suspended[edit]

Russia
Vladimir Putin, President