Interesting Facts about Leaders all of the World

Mexico: Enrique Pena Nieto:
      - His election marked the return to power of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, which controlled the Mexican presidency for more than 70 years.
       -Enrique is the fifth member of his extended family to serve as governor of the State of Mexico.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/04/world/americas/enrique-pea-nieto-fast-facts/index.html


China: Xi Jinping:
        - Xi Jinping was the first leader who had a PH.D.
        - He is seen as "princeling" because he owes some of him success to his anscetors. In this case, he is the son of revolutionary veteran Xi Zhongxun who is one of the Communist Party's founding father.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11551399
http://contextchina.com/2012/11/ten-facts-about-chinas-incoming-leader-xi-jinping/


India: Pranab Mukherjee:
        - He is among the small handful of politicians of India to have the three key ministries of finance, defense, and external affairs.
        -According to his daughter, he is a compulsive workaholic. Mukerjee works nearly 18 hours a day and hasn't taken a holiday since the last 20 years.
http://www.indiatimes.com/india/top-7-interesting-facts-about-pranab-mukherjee-33200-7.html#list_start


Afghanistan: Hamid Karzai:
         - After a civil war broke out between many groups, Karzai resigned from his place as deputy foreign minister in order to help organize a grand council to resolve differences between the groups.
         - Karzai, along with the military commander of the Northern Alliance named Massoud, warned the United States that the Talibans were connected with al Qaeda and that they were planning on a great attack on America. The United States ignored these warnings.
 http://www.biography.com/people/hamid-karzai-537356?page=2


Germany:
     Joachim Gauck (president):
          - He beat his main rival Beate Klarsfeld, who was a veteran anti-Nazi campaigner, 991 to 126 votes.
          - When he was 11 years old, his father was sent to jail for allegedly spying and was in there for four years. This gave him the idea that freedom would be the main theme for his presidency.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/18/anti-communist-pastor-gauck_n_1356919.html


United Kingdom:
   David William Donald Cameron (Prime Minister):
        - He is a descendant of King William IV and became the youngest prime minister since 1812 and was 43 when he took office.
         - One of his very first actions after becoming prime minister was forming a pact with Nick Clegg, who was the Liberal Democrat Leader. This resulted in the first coalition government since World War 2.
http://www.biography.com/people/david-cameron-39203?page=2


France: Francois Hollande
         - He is the first Socialist president since 1995 when Francois Mitterrand left the office.
         - During his campaign, he promised renegotiating the austerity agreement, withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, lowered the retirement age, and higher taxes for the people who were extremely wealthy.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/21/world/europe/francois-hollande---fast-facts/


Brazil: Dilma Rousseff:
        - It was her first time ever running for an elected office when she became president.
        - After joining the resistance movement against the British military dictatorship, she was jailed for three years and allegedly tortured in the 1970s.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/04/world/americas/dilma-rousseff---fast-facts/index.html?iref=allsearch


Venezuela: Nicolas Maduro Moros:
         - Before becoming politically active in the 1990s, he belonged to the transit union and worked as a bus driver for Caracas Metro.
         - He beat Henrique Capriles Radonski in the 2013 presidential election by two percentage points.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/26/world/americas/nicolas-maduro-fast-facts/


Saudi Arabia: Abdallah bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (King):
         - While he was in charge, Saudi Arabia joined the World Trade Organization.
         - On September 15, 2011, he announced that women will be able to run for office and vote in local elections in the year 2015. This was the biggest chance in a decade for women in a puritanical kingdom that practices strict separation between males and females. This was the only country in the world who banned women from driving.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/28/world/meast/king-abdullah-bin-abdulaziz-al-saud---fast-facts/


Iran:
    Ali Hoseini- Khamenei (Supreme Leader):
         - After being appointed after Mohammad-Ali Rajai's assassination, he became the first cleric to serve in the Iranian presidency.
          - He issued a religious prohibition against any insult to Muhammad's wives or companions. Also, he forbid the production, stockpiling, and use of nuclear weapons.
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/khamenei.html


Israel:
   Shimon Peres (President):
        - in 1994, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize along with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Prime Minisiter Yitzhak Rabin.
        - When he addressed the Turkish parliament, he became the first Israeli president ever to speak to a Muslim country's legislature
http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/03/world/meast/shimon-peres---fast-facts/