G7
The Group of Seven (G7) is an intergovernmental political and economic forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States; additionally, the European Union (EU) is a "non-enumerated member". It is organized around shared values of pluralism, liberal democracy, and representative government.[1][2][3] G7 members are the major IMF advanced economies.
"Group of Six" redirects here. For the unofficial European group, see G6 (EU). For other uses, see G7 (disambiguation).
Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
President Emmanuel Macron
Chancellor Olaf Scholz
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak
President Joe Biden
- Council President Charles Michel
- Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
- 25 March 1973
- (Library Group)
- 15 November 1975
- (1st G6 summit)
- Washington, D.C. (Library Group)
- Rambouillet (1st G6 summit)
Informal club
Political and economic forum
- Library Group
- Group of Six (G6)
- Group of Eight (G8) (reversion)
Originating from an ad hoc gathering of finance ministers in 1973, the G7 has since become a formal, high-profile venue for discussing and coordinating solutions to major global issues, especially in the areas of trade, security, economics, and climate change.[4] Each member's head of government or state, along with the EU's Commission President and European Council President, meet annually at the G7 Summit; other high-ranking officials of the G7 and the EU meet throughout the year. Representatives of other states and international organizations are often invited as guests, with Russia having been a formal member (as part of the G8) from 1997 until its expulsion in 2014.
The G7 is not based on a treaty and has no permanent secretariat or office. It is organized through a presidency that rotates annually among the member states, with the presiding state setting the group's priorities and hosting the summit; Italy presides for 2024.[5] While lacking a legal or institutional basis, the G7 is widely considered to wield significant international influence;[6] it has catalyzed or spearheaded several major global initiatives, including efforts to combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic, provide financial aid to developing countries, and address climate change through the 2015 Paris Agreement.[6][1][7] However, the group has been criticized by observers for its allegedly outdated and limited membership, narrow global representation, and ineffectualness.[8][9][10]
History[edit]
Origins[edit]
The concept of a forum for the capitalist world's major industrialized countries emerged before the 1973 oil crisis. On 25 March 1973, the United States Secretary of the Treasury, George Shultz, convened an informal gathering of finance ministers from West Germany (Helmut Schmidt), France (Valéry Giscard d'Estaing), and the United Kingdom (Anthony Barber) before an upcoming meeting in Washington, DC. United States President Richard Nixon offered the White House as a venue, and the meeting was subsequently held in its library on the ground floor;[11] the original group of four consequently became known as the "Library Group".[12] In mid-1973, at the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, Shultz proposed the addition of Japan, which all members accepted.[11] The informal gathering of senior financial officials from the United States, United Kingdom, West Germany, Japan, and France became known as the "Group of Five".[13]
In 1974, all five members endured sudden and often troubled changes in leadership. French President Georges Pompidou abruptly died, leading to a fresh presidential election that was closely won by Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. West German Chancellor Willy Brandt, American President Richard Nixon, and Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka all resigned due to scandals. In the United Kingdom, a hung election led to a minority government whose subsequent instability prompted another election the same year. Consequently, Nixon's successor, Gerald Ford, proposed a retreat the following year for the group's new leaders to learn about one another.
Renewed calls for expanded membership[edit]
There have been various proposals to expand the G7. The U.S.-based Atlantic Council has held the D-10 Strategy Forum since 2014 with representatives from what it calls "leading democracies" which support a "rules-based democratic order", consisting of all members of the G7 (including the European Union) plus Australia and South Korea. Several democratic countries – including India, Indonesia, Poland, and Spain – participate as observers.[29] Centered around a similar mandate as the G7, the D-10 has been considered by some analysts to be an alternative to the group;[30] This is also favored by various think tanks and former British leader Boris Johnson.[29]
In 2019 under Putin, Russia had signaled support for the inclusion of China, India, and Turkey if the G7 had reinstated Russian membership.[31]
In 2020 under Trump, the U.S. had signaled support for the inclusion of Australia, Brazil, India, and South Korea, plus the reincorporation of Russia.[32][33] The leaders of the other six G7 members unanimously rejected this proposal.[34]
Also in November 2020, Jared Cohen and Richard Fontaine, writing in Foreign Affairs, suggested that the G7 might be expanded to a "T-12" of "Techno Democracies". Earlier, in June of that same year, the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) was announced. Something of a spin-out of the G7, founded by members Canada and France, GPAI's initial membership was 15, including both the EU and India, as well as Australia, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, Slovenia, and the Republic of Korea.
Boris Johnson invited members of Australia and the Republic of Korea to the June 2021 G7 summit.[30] India was also invited to the 2021 summit, with an aim to "deepen the expertise and experience around the table" along with the other guests, according to a U.K. government statement.[35]
In 2021, French jurist and consultant Eric Garner de Béville, a member of the Cercle Montesquieu, proposed Spain's membership to the G7.[36] American Chargé d'Affaires in Spain, Conrad Tribble, stated that the United States "enthusiastically supports" a "greater" role of Spanish leadership at the international level.[37]
In 2022, Germany has confirmed it will be inviting India,[38] against rumours to the contrary.[39][40]
In 2023, Japan's prime minister Fumio Kishida invited South Korea, Australia, India, Indonesia, Brazil, Vietnam, Comoros, the Cook Islands (representing the Pacific Islands Forum) and Ukraine to the 49th summit hosted in Hiroshima.[41][42][43][44][45][46]
