Day 14 – Powerful People
You are now fully recharged having spent the last few days watching TV and listening to music in your hotel room. You decide to go for a walk. As soon as you step outside you see a big bus drive past. On the side of the bus is a huge picture of the leader, the president/prime minister, of the country. They are the most powerful person in the whole country.
Scroll down to learn more about the prime minister and/or president for your chosen country.
Country + Title
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Name
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Information
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Picture
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Prime Minister of Canada
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Mr. Justin Pierre James Trudeau
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Justin Trudeau is the current Prime Minister of Canada. He became prime minister on 4 November 2015. His dad, Pierre, was the prime minister of Canada in the 1970s. Before Justin became the prime minister he worked as a teacher.
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President of Chile
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Ms. (Veronica) Michelle Bachelet
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The current President of the Republic of Chile is Michelle Bachelet. She was first became president in 2006 and is the first woman in the history of Chile to be the president. She speaks five languages - Spanish, English, German, Portuguese and French.
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President of Chile
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Mr. Joachim Gauck
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The current president of Germany is Mr. Joachim Gauck. He became president in March 2012. Before he became the president, he was a minister. He is married and has four children – Christian, Martin, Gesine and Katharina.
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Malaysian Prime Minister
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The current Prime Minister of Malaysia is Mr. Najib Razak. He is the 6th prime minister of the country. He became the prime minister in April 2009. He is married to his wife, Rosmah, and together they have five children.
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Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
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Mrs. Theresa Mary May
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Mrs. May became the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on 13 July 2016. She is the leader of the conservative party and only the second woman to ever become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Mrs. May has been married to her husband, Philip, for 36 years. They do not have any children.
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President of the United Mexican States (Mexico)
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Mr. Enrique Pena Nieto
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Mr. Nieto is the 57th President of Mexico. He was elected on 1 July 2012 and took office on 1 December 2012. He was originally educated as a lawyer and had been the governor of Mexico prior to becoming president. Mr. Pena Nieto is currently married to a soap opera actress, Angelica Rivera. He has four children.
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President of the Republic of South Africa
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Mr. Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma
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Mr. Zuma was elected as president in 2009 and re-elected in 2014. He is also the President of the African National Congress (ANC). Mr. Zuma is currently married to four women and has approximately 20 children.
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President of the United Arab Emirates
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Mr. Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan
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Mr. (Sheikh) Khalifa became the president on 3 November 2004 after his father, the former president, passed away. He is the head of the government, the army and the supreme council for the UAE. His family is worth approximately $150 billion dollars. Sheikh Khalifa is married to Shamsa bint Suhail Al Mazrouri. He has no children.
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Prime Minister of Japan
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Mr. Shinzo Abe
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Mr. Abe is the prime minister and the president of the Liberal Democratic Party in Japan. He was first elected as prime minister in 2006 but had to resign in 2007 for health reasons. He recovered and was re-elected as prime minister in 2012. He and his wife, Akie Matsuzaki, have no children.
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Prime Minister of Australia
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Mr. Malcolm Turnbull
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Mr. Turnbull became the prime minister on 15 September 2015. He was not elected by the people of Australia but, instead, by members of his own party, the Liberal Party. They had a special vote because they were not happy with the work that the current prime minister, Tony Abbott, was doing. Mr. Turnbull was then elected by the people of Australia in the 2016 election. He is married to his wife Lucy and they have two children.
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Prime Minister of Australia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_Turnbull
Activity 1
Here in New Zealand, the prime minister of the country is the Honourable Bill English. Imagine that you are Mr. English and you have the power to create laws (rules) that all people in New Zealand would have to follow. If I (Rachel) were the prime minister I would make a rule that everyone should eat lollies for breakfast. What three (3) rules would you make up if you were the prime minister? On your blog tell us what your three rules would be.
I don't think I can handle being a prime minister because it's really hard work. But if I was one here are my 3 rules I would make up.
1. If I were prime minster I would make a rule that you can eat whatever you want.
2. Take some time with your family.
3. When you walk past the poor take time to talk to them ask them if they are really poor because they might be lying to you. Have a little talk then if they are poor give them how much you want to give to the poor.
Activity 2
Some people say that the most powerful person in the world is the president of the United States. His name is Donald Trump and he became the president this past November when he beat out his competitor, a woman named Hillary Clinton. Google ‘Hillary Clinton’ to find out a little bit more about her. On your blog, post three interesting facts about Hillary.
1. Hilary attended Yale Law school 1969 - 1973
2. As she attended Law school she met the love of her life Bill Clinton who was president of USA.
3. If Hilary won the election last year she would've been the first ever female to become a president of USA in history.
Hi Amelia,
ReplyDeleteIt is nice to see that you've learned so much about Hillary Clinton. She is a very special woman who, just recently, was trying to become the first ever female president of the United States. The country has never voted for a female head of state and she was very close to becoming elected.
It's interesting that America has never had a female president yet New Zealand has had two female prime ministers - Jenny Shipley and Helen Clark. I think that it's very special that we come from a country that recognises that women can become leaders and actively votes for them. It's wonderful!
I will be interested to watch the news over the next little while to see what Hillary Clinton does now that she is no longer running for the presidency. I think that she may stay in politics and try to run again in the next election. Only time will tell...
In the meantime, she will be able to work alongside her husband, Bill. She met him at Law school and they got married in 1975. They lived and worked for years before Bill ran for the presidency of the United States in the early 1990s and was elected as president in 1993. It must have been quite interesting for Hillary to be the First Lady of the United States when Bill was the president.
Would you ever consider working in politics, Amelia? I read that you wouldn't want to become the prime minister but you could become a politician. I think that you would be great! You have really good ideas, you're very creative and you think carefully about things. These are all important traits for someone who wants to become a politician...
Cheers,
Rachel :)