World Leaders Blog

Being a proud kiwi one of my first actions on acquiring WorldPresidentsDB.com was to begin adding New Zealand Prime Ministers.

Sixteen of New Zealand’s past leaders have been added so far including creator of the welfare state Michael Savage, Keith Holyoake, Robert Muldoon, Helen Clark and current New Zealand PM John Key.

We hope to complete the list of New Zealand Prime Ministers soon with only pre 1930s PM’s currently missing. Until then if you are looking for more NZ history surf over to the New Zealand history section at HistoryOrb.com or visit Today in New Zealand History by the same site.

Today is the last day of George W. Bush as president of the United States.

Tomorrow at noon, Barack Obama will sworn in as the 44th President of the United States.

If you are keeping count of the hours…check out Bush Last Day.

The phrase “white mans burden” referred to the burden of taking “care” of Africans in the british colonies in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Idi Amin Dada was a  dictator who took power in Uganda. He was president from 1971 to 1979. He was a cruel and ruthless tyrant, who nevertheless had a perverse sense of humour. Having taken over most English businesses in Uganda he gave himself the CBE medal ( Conqueror of the British Empire).

In 1975 at a meeting of the Organization of African Unity, Idi Amin (wheighing 300 pounds) arrived carried in a chair by four Englishmen of the business community, with another white man carrying a parasol to shade him. Idi Amin then said that “this was the true white man’s burden”.

Mexican president Felipe Calderón fell off his bike while exercising, on saturday august 30, fracturing his shoulder plus sundry bruises. It seems he fell off when he hit a wet spot on the ground inside the presidential compound. He was taken to the hospital for treatment, and will need a couple of months physical therapy for the shoulder.
Calderón, who is 46,  took office in 2006 in a controversial election, with accusations of fraud .
No further details are available as yet on how he just fell off  the bike…..

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez has threatened to talk for 24 hours running by radio and television so as to “pulverize” the lies he says the media is publishing about his government. He admitted that it’s best to communicate every day instead of a marathon speech but said measures were needed to terminate the lies.
In September 2007 Chavez gave an 8 hour speech by radio and television, in Venezuela.

I think Chavez is trying to replace Fidel Castro (former leader of cuba) as the windiest speaker. As far as I know Castro’s longest speech was 7 hours and 10 minutes in Havana, in 1986. So, if chavez does make good on his threat, then he’s got Castro beat hands down.

According to Alfred Nobel’s will, the Peace Prize should be awarded “to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between the nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.”.

This is a list of world presidents who were awarded the nobel peace prize:

• In 1906 Theodore Roosevelt (U.S. President from 1901-1909) was awarded the peace prize for helping to end the Russian-Japanese war of 1904.
• In 1919 Thomas Woodrow Wilson (U.S. President from 1913-1921) in recognition for his work to establish the League of Nations, a forerunner of the United Nations.
• In 1978 Muhammad Anwar Al Sadat (President of Egypt from 1970-1981) and Menachem Begin (Prime Minister of Israel from 1977-1983) for jointly negotiating peace between Egypt and Israel.
• In 1987 Oscar Arias Sanchez (current President of Costa Rica), before he became president, received the peace prize for his work for peace in Central America, efforts which led to the accord signed in Guatemala on August 7 this year.
• In 1990 Mikhail Gorbachev (Presidents of the USSR from 1990-1991) for his leading role in the peace process which today characterizes important parts of the international community.
• In 1993 Nelson Mandela (President of South Africa from 1994-1999) and Frederik Willem de Klerk (president of South Africa from 1989-1994) for their work for the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime, and for laying the foundations for a new democratic South Africa.
• In 1994 Yasser Arafat (Palestine President from 1996-2004), jointly with Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin were awarded the peace prize for their efforts to create peace in the Middle East.
• In 2002 Jimmy Carter (U.S. President from 1977-1981) was awarded the peace prize for his work to promote peace and democracy in the world.

Welcome to the World Leaders Blog.