16th G7 summit: Difference between revisions
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*{{flagicon|United Kingdom}} '''[[United Kingdom]]''' - [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]] [[Margaret Thatcher]].<ref name="j-mofa1"/> |
*{{flagicon|United Kingdom}} '''[[United Kingdom]]''' - [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]] [[Margaret Thatcher]].<ref name="j-mofa1"/> |
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*{{flagicon|USA}} '''[[United States]]''' - [[President of the United States|President]] [[George H. W. Bush]].<ref name="j-mofa1"/> |
*{{flagicon|USA}} '''[[United States]]''' - [[President of the United States|President]] [[George H. W. Bush]].<ref name="j-mofa1"/> |
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*{{flagicon|EU}} '''[[European Commission]]''' - [[President of the European Commission|President]] [[Jacques Delors]]<ref name="ec1">{{cite web| url = http://www.deljpn.ec.europa.eu/union/showpage_en_union.external.g8.php| title = EU and the G8| accessdate = 2007-09-25| publisher = European Commission}}</ref> |
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Although she didn't know it at the time, this was Prime Minister Thatcher's last opportunity to participate in a G7 summit meeting; however, she did last longer than any of her colleagues in the G7 group of industrialized nations or in the European Community.<ref name="nyt_apple1">Apple, R.W. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE1D71739F937A15752C1A966958260&sec=&spon=&&scp=5&sq=1980%20summit%20%20conference%20G7&st=cse "Thatcher's Failing: Inadaptability,"] ''New York Times.'' November 24, 1990.</ref> |
Although she didn't know it at the time, this was Prime Minister Thatcher's last opportunity to participate in a G7 summit meeting; however, she did last longer than any of her colleagues in the G7 group of industrialized nations or in the European Community.<ref name="nyt_apple1">Apple, R.W. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE1D71739F937A15752C1A966958260&sec=&spon=&&scp=5&sq=1980%20summit%20%20conference%20G7&st=cse "Thatcher's Failing: Inadaptability,"] ''New York Times.'' November 24, 1990.</ref> |
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Revision as of 21:36, 10 April 2009
| 16th G7 summit | |
|---|---|
 Lovett Hall at Rice University in Houston | |
| Host country | United States |
| Dates | July 9-11 |
The 16th G7 Summit was held at Houston, Texas between July 9th and 11th, 1990. The venue for the summit meetings was the campus of Rice University and other locations nearby in the Houston Museum District.[1]
The Group of Seven (G7) was an unofficial forum which brought together the heads of the richest industrialized countries: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada (since 1976)[2] and the President of the European Commission (starting officially in 1981).[3] The summits were not meant to be linked formally with wider international institutions; and in fact, a mild rebellion against the stiff formality of other international meetings was a part of the genesis of cooperation between France's President Giscard d'Estaing and Germany's Chancellor Helmut Schmidt as they conceived the first Group of Six (G6) summit in 1975.[4]
Leaders at the Summit
The composition of the G7 summit is a perennial topic. The G7 summits after 1981 considered the President of the European Commission as a permanently welcome participant in all meetings and decision-making, which means that this G7 summit has eight essential participants.[3]
Canada - Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.[1]
France - President François Mitterrand.[1]
West Germany - Chancellor Helmut Kohl.[1]
Italy - Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti.[1]
Japan - Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu.[1]
United Kingdom - Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.[1]
United States - President George H. W. Bush.[1]
Although she didn't know it at the time, this was Prime Minister Thatcher's last opportunity to participate in a G7 summit meeting; however, she did last longer than any of her colleagues in the G7 group of industrialized nations or in the European Community.[5]
Agenda
July 9
President Bush unofficially opened the summit the night before the first official round of meetings was scheduled. He hosted a rodeo and barbecue with "armadillo races, bull riding, barrel racing, calf scrambling, the Grand Ole Opry, an Old West village, cowboys and Indians, oil rigs, square dancing, a sheriff with silver spurs, Styrofoam cacti, a model of the space shuttle, horseshoe contests, 1,250 gallons of barbecue sauce and jalapenos, 500 pounds of onions, 5,000 servings of cobbler and carrot cake, and 650 gallons of lemonade and iced tea."[6]
July 10
The official opening ceremonies were held outside in the Academic Quadrangle at Rice University. The leaders stood on a specially built platform with air conditioners built into the floor which only afforded a measure of relief as temperatures rose to near 100 degrees. This platform was located in front of Lovett Hall, a Romanesque revival administration building designed by Ralph Adams Cram and built in 1912.[7]
At the close of initial speeches by each leader, the group moved inside, into the building's Founders Room, for their first working session in the building's "Founders Room." The talks lasted about two hours.[7]
A working dinner at Bayou Bend, once the home of a philanthropist, Ima Hogg, and now a museum of American decorative arts scheduled. The food, including tortilla soup and grilled red snapper with basil lime sauce, was prepared by three of the premier chefs in Texas.[7]
July 11
In addition to their talks about significant international problems, the world leaders set aside some time to dine together in a formal affair which took place in Houston's Museum of Fine Arts (MFAH) (HF.[8]
Issues
Each leader attending the economic summit has a slightly different perspective about the priorities which need to be addressed by the group working together[9]
The summit was intended as a venue for resolving differences among its members. As a practical matter, the summit was also conceived as an opportunity for its members to give each other mutual encouragement in the face of difficult economic decisions.[4] Issues which were discussed at this summit included:
- The International Economic Situation
- International Monetary Developments and Policy
- The International Trading System
- Direct Investment
- Export Credits
- Reform in Central and Eastern Europe
- The Soviet Union
- The Developing Nations
- Third World Debt
- The Environment
- Narcotics
Budget
Houston spent nearly $20 million on civic beautification projects in advance of the summit.[10]
Involving the local community
Disgraced Enron Chief Executive and Chairman of the Board Kenneth Lay was the co-chairman of the organizing committee for economic summit for G-7 nations.[11]
Art Installation
A large sculpture was commissioned by U.S. President George Bush for the event. It ultimately consisted of several rectangular light pillars with the designs of the flags of the seven participating countries (including the flag of the European Union). After the summit, the sculpture was relocated to Houston Intercontinental Airport, which was renamed in honor of the former President some years later.
See also
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h Japan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA): Summit Meetings in the Past.
- ^ Saunders, Doug. "Weight of the world too heavy for G8 shoulders," Globe and Mail (Toronto). July 5, 2008 -- n.b., the G7 becomes the Group of Eight (G7) with the inclusion of Russia starting in 1997.
- ^ a b Reuters: "Factbox: The Group of Eight: what is it?", July 3, 2008.
- ^ a b Reinalda, Bob and Bertjan Verbeek. (1998). Autonomous Policy Making by International Organizations, p. 205.
- ^ Apple, R.W. "Thatcher's Failing: Inadaptability," New York Times. November 24, 1990.
- ^ Dowd, Maureen. "Reporter's Notebook; The Welcome by Bush Is as Big as All Texas," New York Times. July 9, 1990.
- ^ a b c Apple, R. W. "The Houston Summit; U.S. Pushes to End Farming Subsidies." New York Times. July 10, 1990.
- ^ Dowd, Maureen. "The Language Thing," New York Times. July 29, 1990.
- ^ "Each Country's Agenda at the Economic Summit Meeting," New York Times. July 9, 1990.
- ^ Apple, R. W. "Reporter's Notebook; British Hosts, Being British, Plan an Understated Splendor," New York Times. July 15, 1991.
- ^ New York Times: Ken Lay, career timeline.
References
- Bayne, Nicholas and Robert D. Putnam. (2000). Hanging in There: The G7 and G8 Summit in Maturity and Renewal. Aldershot, Hampshire, England: Ashgate Publishing. 10-ISBN 0-754-61185-X; 13-ISBN 978-0-754-61185-1; OCLC 43186692
- Reinalda, Bob and Bertjan Verbeek. (1998). Autonomous Policy Making by International Organizations. London: Routledge. 10-ISBN 0-415-16486-9; 13-ISBN 978-0-415-16486-3
External links
- No official website is created for any G7 summit prior to 1995 -- see the 21st G7 summit.
- University of Toronto: G8 Research Group, G8 Information Centre
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