The Global Progress Council

Thu, 29/09/2011 - 14:32 — admin

Co-chaired by Felipe González, (IDEAS, Europe) and Bill Clinton (CAP, North America), the Council for Global Progress is comprised by progressive leaders from all regions of the World.

In this first phase, Michelle Bachelet (former President of Chile, representing Latin America), Thabo Mbeki (former President of South Africa representing Africa) and Helen Clark (former Prime Minister of New Zealand representing Australasia), have been invited to join the Council, although it could be gradually expanded up to eleven members.

  • Felipe González

    Spanish politician, Secretary General of the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) from 1974 to 1997, and third Prime Minister after the restoration of democracy in Spain from 1982 to 1996. He served as Prime Minister for 13 and a half years, one of the longest terms, not only of democracy but of the modern history of Spain. Under his leadership, the PSOE became one of the two major parties in Spain and won two consecutive absolute majorities: the historic one of 1982, with 202 deputies in Congress, and that of 1986, with 184 deputies.

  • Bill Clinton

    Bill Clinton was the 42nd President of the United States during the periods of 1993-1997 and 1997-2001 with the Democratic Party, and the third youngest president of the nation. Previously he was Governor of the state of Arkansas between 1983 and 1992. At the end of his presidency, Clinton and his administration left the White House with a surplus of 559,000 million dollars and an approval rate of 66%, the highest for a U.S. president since World War II. Among other occupations, since 2010, Clinton has been Honorary Chancellor of the network of Laureate International Universities.

  • Helen Clark

    Current Program Director of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), she is the first woman to head the organization. Helen Clark was the Prime Minister of New Zealand between 1999 and 2008 with the Labour Party. During her tenure she promoted progressive policies at the international level, and she was one of the main opponents of the Iraq War.

  • Thabo Mbeki

    A renowned figure of South African politics, he was elected President of South Africa in June 1999 and re-elected in 2004, being in office until September. His very ambitious international activism focused on enhancing the dialogue and cooperation in the South-South and North-South axis, through the African Union and the NEPAD, and the pacification of conflicts in Africa.

  • Michele Bachelet

    She is a pediatrician and an important Chilean socialist leader. She was the president of Chile between March 2006 and March 2010, being the first women to be elected as a head of State in this country. Previously, she had been Minister of Health and Minister of Defense, always in “Concertación de Partidos por la Democracia”, the coalition governments of center-left. During her career as a politician, she has advocated for democracy, human rights and social empathy, which characterized her actions.