The InterAction Council is an independent non-profit organization that brings together former world leaders to mobilize their energy, experience and international contacts in an effort to develop recommendations and foster co-operation and positive action around the world.
Founded in 1983, this body meets on annually and is composed of 40 former world leaders. The organization and its members jointly develop recommendations on, and practical solutions for, the political, economic and social problems confronting humanity. These efforts are focused on three main priority areas: peace and security, world economic revitalization and universal ethical standards.
One of its most well-known initiatives was the development of a draft Universal Declaration of Human Responsibilities, which was an attempt to propose a set of responsibilities that were shared by all individuals to counterbalance the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This new "global ethic" would provide a foundation of freedom, justice and peace in order for universal rights to be meaningful. These agreed values and standards complement universal rights, as the maximization of personal freedom at the expense of others, without consideration of others, is as problematic as having no rights at all.
The current Secretary General is
Tom Axworthy Thomas Sidney Axworthy, (born May 23, 1947) is a Canadian civil servant, political strategist, writer and professor. He is best known for having served as Principal Secretary and Chief Speechwriter to Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Axworth ...
(2011-present).
Members
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Franz Vranitzky, Honorary Co-chair and Chancellor of Austria (1986-1997)
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Jean Chrétien
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003.
Born and raised in Shawinigan Falls, Quebec, Chrétien is a law graduate from Uni ...
, Honorary Co-chair and Prime Minister of Canada (1993-2003)
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Olusegun Obasanjo, Co-chair and President of Nigeria (1976–79, 1999-2007)
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Bertie Ahern, Co-chair and Taoiseach of Ireland (1997-2008)
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James Bolger
James Brendan Bolger ( ; born 31 May 1935) is a New Zealand retired politician of the National Party who was the 35th prime minister of New Zealand, serving from 1990 to 1997.
Bolger was born to an Irish immigrant family in Ōpunake, Taran ...
, Prime Minister of New Zealand (1990-1997)
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Gro Harlem Brundtland, Prime Minister of Norway (1981, 1986-1989, 1990-1996)
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Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, President of Iceland (1980-1996)
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Bill Clinton, President of the United States (1993-2001)
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Fernando de la Rúa, President of Argentina (1999-2001)
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Goh Chok Tong, Prime Minister of Singapore (1990-2004)
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Vicente Fox, President of Mexico (2000-2006)
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Oscar Arias
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People
* Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms.
* Oscar (Irish mythology) ...
, President of Costa Rica (1986-1990, 2006-2010)
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Shaukat Aziz
Shaukat Aziz ( ur, ; born 6 March 1949) is a Pakistani former banker and financier who served as 17th prime minister of Pakistan from 28 August 2004 to 15 November 2007, as well as the finance minister of Pakistan from 6 November 1999 to 15 ...
, Prime Minister of Pakistan (2004-2007)
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Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi
Tun Abdullah bin Ahmad Badawi ( Jawi: عبد الله بن احمد بدوي; born 26 November 1939) is a Malaysian politician who served as the 5th Prime Minister of Malaysia from October 2003 to April 2009. He was also the sixth president of ...
, Prime Minister of Malaysia (2003-2009)
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Tarja Halonen, President of Finland (2000-2012)
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Alain Juppé, Prime Minister of France (1995-1997)
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Seyed Mohammad Khātamī, President of Iran (1997-2005)
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Václav Klaus, President of the Czech Republic (2003-2013)
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Leonid Kuchma, President of Ukraine (1994-2005)
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Lee Hong-koo
Lee Hong-Koo (born May 9, 1934; Hangul: 이홍구; Hanja: 李洪九) is a former Korean academic, politician, and think tank leader who served as a former Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea, former South Korean Ambassador to the United Kingd ...
, Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea (1994-1995)
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Abdul Salam Majali, Prime Minister of Jordan (1993-1995, 1997-1998)
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John Major
Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament ...
, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1990-1997)
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Péter Medgyessy, Prime Minister of Hungary (2002-2004)
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James Fitz-Allen Mitchell, Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (1972-1974, 1984-2000)
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Benjamin William Mkapa
Benjamin William Mkapa (12 November 193824 July 2020) was the third president of Tanzania, in office from 1995 to 2005. He was Chairman of the Revolutionary State Political Party ( Chama Cha Mapinduzi, CCM).
Early life
Mkapa was born in Lupaso, ...
, President of Tanzania (1995-2005)
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Andrés Pastrana
Andres or Andrés may refer to:
*Andres, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Will County, Illinois, US
*Andres, Pas-de-Calais, a commune in Pas-de-Calais, France
*Andres (name)
*Hurricane Andres
* "Andres" (song), a 1994 song by L7
See also ...
, President of Colombia (1998-2002)
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Percival Noel James Patterson, Prime Minister of Jamaica (1992-2006)
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Romano Prodi, Prime Minister of the Republic of Italy (1996-1998, 2006-2008)
* Abdulaziz Al-Quraishi, Former Governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (1974 - 1984)
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Jerry John Rawlings
Jerry John Rawlings (22 June 194712 November 2020) was a Ghanaian military officer and politician who led the country for a brief period in 1979, and then from 1981 to 2001. He led a military junta until 1992, and then served two terms as the de ...
, Head of State of Ghana (1986-2000)
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José Sarney, President of Brazil (1985-1990)
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Gerhard Schröder, Chancellor of Germany (1998-2005)
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Konstantinos G. Simitis, Prime Minister of Greece (1996-2004)
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Tung Chee Hwa, Chief Executive of Hong Kong Administration (1997-2005)
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George Vassiliou
Giorgos Vasos Vassiliou ( el, Γιώργος Βασιλείου; born 20 May 1931) is a Cypriot politician who served as the third president of Cyprus from 1988 to 1993. He was also the founder and leader of the Cypriot United Democrats party (ED ...
, President of Cyprus (1988-1993)
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Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, President of Latvia (1999-2007)
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Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (born 9 September 1949), commonly referred to by his initials SBY, is an Indonesian politician and retired army general who served as the sixth president of Indonesia from 2004 to 2014. A member of the Democratic Party ...
, President of Indonesia (2004-2014)
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Viktor Yushchenko, President of Ukraine (2005-2010)
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Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de Léon, President of Mexico (1994-1999)
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Viktor Zubkov, Prime Minister of Russia (2007-2008)
Post-mortem Members
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Takeo Fukuda 1905-1995, Founder and Prime Minister of Japan (1976-1978)
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Kiichi Miyazawa 1919-2007, Co-Chairman and Prime Minister of Japan (1991-1993)
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Helmut Schmidt 1918-2015, Honorary Chairman and Chancellor of West Germany (1974-1982)
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Malcolm Fraser, 1930-2015, Honorary Chairman and Prime Minister of Australia (1975-1983)
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Lord Callaghan of Cardiff 1912-2005, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1976-1979)
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Jean-Luc Dehaene
Jean Luc Joseph Marie "Jean-Luc" Dehaene (; 7 August 1940 – 15 May 2014) was a Belgian politician who served as the prime minister of Belgium from 1992 until 1999. During his political career, he was nicknamed "The Plumber" and "The Minesweep ...
, 1940-2014, Prime Minister of Belgium (1992-1999)
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Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo
Maria de Lourdes Ruivo da Silva de Matos Pintasilgo (; 18 January 1930 – 10 July 2004) was a Portuguese chemical engineer and politician. She was the first and to date only woman to serve as Prime Minister of Portugal, and the second woman to ...
1930-2004, Prime Minister of Portugal (1979-1980)
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Lee Kuan Yew, 1923-2015, Prime Minister of Singapore (1959-1990)
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Shin Hyun-hwak
Shin Hyun-hwak (; October 29, 1920 – April 26, 2007) was Prime Minister of South Korea from December 13, 1979 to May 21, 1980, representing the Democratic Republican Party.
Early life and career
Shin was born in Chilgok-gun, North Gyeongsa ...
1920-2007, Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea (1979-1980)
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Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...
1918-2013, President of South Africa (1994-1999)
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Misael Pastrana Borrero 1923-1997, President of the Republic of Colombia (1970-1974)
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Yevgeny M. Primakov 1929-2015, Prime Minister of the Russian Federation (1998-1999)
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Kalevi Sorsa
Taisto Kalevi Sorsa (21 December 1930 – 16 January 2004) was a Finnish politician who served as Prime Minister of Finland three times: 1972–1975, 1977–1979 and 1982–1987. At the time of his death he still held the record for most day ...
1930-2004, Prime Minister of the Republic of Finland (1972-1975, 1977-1979, 1982-1987)
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Pierre Elliott Trudeau 1919-2000, Prime Minister of Canada (1968-1979, 1980-1984)
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Richard von Weizsäcker
Richard Karl Freiherr von Weizsäcker (; 15 April 1920 – 31 January 2015) was a German politician ( CDU), who served as President of Germany from 1984 to 1994. Born into the aristocratic Weizsäcker family, who were part of the German nobilit ...
1920-2015, President of the Federal Republic of Germany (1984-1994)
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Kriangsak Chomanan, 1917-2003, Prime Minister of Thailand (1977-1980)
Books
The InterAction Council released its first book in 2008 through the McGill-Queen's University Press in Canada, entitled ''Bridging the Divide: Religious Dialogue and Universal Ethics''.
A second book, produced with the Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation of Canada and the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health, was released in the fall of 2012, entitled: ''The Global Water Crisis: Addressing an Urgent Security Issue''.
In 2014, the InterAction Council again partnered with the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health on the release of Global Agenda 2013: Water, Energy, and the Arab Awakening.
Also in 2014, the Council published a book from its Interfaith Dialogue in Vienna, Austria in March of that year, entitled, ''Ethics in Decision-Making''.
References
External links
InterAction Council WebsiteInterAction Council Members
{{DEFAULTSORT:Interaction Council Of Former Heads Of State And Government
International political organizations