Leader board: The who's who of the NATO Summit
BY STEFANO ESPOSITO AND KIM JANSSEN Staff reporters May 15, 2012 11:04PM
(Clockwise from left) U.S. President Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Bahrain Prime Minister HRH Prince Khalifa bin Salman al Khalifa, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, French President Francois Hollande, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Tonga Prime Minister Lord Tu'ivankano and Republic of Korea President Lee Myung-bak.
Article Extras
Updated: June 18, 2012 8:37AM
The leaders listed below are some of those who have been invited to the NATO Summit, although it’s possible not all will attend and there may be some late additions not included on the current list, NATO officials said.
NATO Member Countries
ALBANIA
Leaders: President Bamir Topi, Prime Minister Sali Berisha
Population: 3.6 million
Military personnel: 14,795
Fun fact: Albania is famous for concrete bunkers.
Useful word or phrase: C’kemi [What’s up?]
BELGIUM
Leader: Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo
Population: 10.5 million
Military personnel: 40,492
Fun fact: 58 percent of Belgians say they are satisfied with their sex life, far above the worldwide average of 44 percent.
Useful word or phrase [Dutch]: frietjes met mayonnaise, alstublieft! [French fries with mayonnaise, please]
BULGARIA
Leaders: Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, President Rosen Plevneliev
Population: 7.4 million
Military personnel: 371,475
Fun fact: Borrissov — a former firefighter and bodyguard — has a black belt in karate.
Useful word or phrase: Bikh iskal da vi pokanya na vyechyerya [I would like to invite you to dinner]
CANADA
Leader: Prime Minister
Stephen Harper
Population: 34.4 million
Military personnel: 127,954
Fun fact: Harper has been known to use a personal stylist to do everything from coordinating his suits and ties to overseeing his makeup and hair for major speeches.
Useful word or phrase: Garburator [Canadian word for garbage disposal]
CROATIA
Leaders: President Ivo Josipovic, Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic
Population: 4.4 million
Military personnel: 42,600
Fun fact: Josipovic is also a law professor and composer of classical music.
Useful word or phrase: Hrvatska je lijepa zemlja [Croatia is a wonderful country]
CZECH REPUBLIC
Leaders: Prime Minister Petr Necas, President Vaclav Klaus
Population: 10.5 million
Military personnel: 28,920
Fun fact: Klaus became an Internet sensation last year in a video that appeared to show him stealing a ceremonial pen during an official visit to Chile.
Useful word or phrase: Smím prosit? [Would you like to dance?]
DENMARK
Leader: Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt
Population: 5.6 million
Military personnel: 80,092
Fun fact: Thorning-Schmidt is Denmark’s first female prime minister.
Useful word or phrase: Jeg elsker dig
[I love you]
ESTONIA
Leader: President Toomas Hendrik Ilves
Population: 1.3 million
Military personnel: 40, 516
Fun fact: Ilves graduated from Leonia High School in New Jersey in 1972.
Useful word or phrase: Vabandage, kus asub tualettruum? [Where is the toilet, please?]
FRANCE
Leader: President Francois Hollande
Population: 65 million
Military personnel: 469,461
Fun fact: Hollande’s estranged partner (and the mother of his four children) Segolene Royal lost to outgoing President Nicolas Sarkozy in the 2007 election.
Useful word or phrase: J’ai le cafard
[I’m down in the dumps]
GERMANY
Leader: Chancellor Angela Merkel
Population: 81.5 million
Military personnel: 451,425
Fun fact: President George W. Bush once crept up behind Merkel during a G-8 summit and gave her an impromptu shoulder rub.
Useful word or phrase: Du leidest wohl unter Grossenwahn [Your ego is out of control]
GREECE
Leader: Prime Minister Lucas Papademos
Population: 11.3 million
Military personnel: 461,600
Fun fact: Per capita, Greeks eat more cheese than any other nation.
Useful word or phrase: Eho filo
[I have a boyfriend]
HUNGARY
Leader: Prime Minister Viktor Orban
Population: 10 million
Military personnel: 85,450
Fun fact: Famous Hungarians include Janos Irinyi, who invented a quietly igniting match, and Erno Rubik, inventor of the Rubik’s Cube.
Useful word or phrase: Jobbulast
[Get well soon].
ICELAND
Leader: Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir
Population: 318,000
Military personnel: 130
Fun fact: Sigurdardottir — the world’s first openly gay leader — is a former flight attendant.
Useful word or phrase: Eg saknadi thin svo mikid [I missed you so much]
ITALY
Leader: Prime Minister Mario Monti
Population: 60.6 million
Military personnel: 478,000
Fun fact: The average Italian consumes 26 gallons of wine a year.
Useful word or phrase: No, grazie, non voglio assaggiare la trippa [No, thank you, I don’t want to try the tripe]
LATVIA
Leaders: President Andris Berzins and Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis
Population: 2.2 million
Military personnel: 16,611
Fun fact: Latvia is home to what was arguably the world’s first miniature camera, the VEF Minox.
Useful word or phrase: Pudeli majas sarkanvina [A bottle of the house red wine]
LITHUANIA
Leaders: Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius, President Dalia Grybauskaite
Population: 3.2 million
Military personnel: 30,150
Fun fact: Dalia has been dubbed the “Iron Lady,” former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s nickname. Dalia has said she’s a Thatcher fan.
Useful word or phrase: Sveikite, Taisykites [Get well soon]
LUXEMBOURG
Leaders: Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker
Population: 518,000
Military personnel: 1,512
Fun fact: The national dish is smoked pork in a creamy sauce with broad beans and potato chunks.
Useful word or phrase: Rufft d’Police!
[Call the police!]
THE NETHERLANDS
Leader: Prime Minister Mark Rutte
Population: 16.8 million
Military personnel: 67,641
Fun fact: Rutte still teaches college classes two hours a week.
Useful word or phrase: Eet Smakelijk! [Bon Apetit!]
POLAND
Leaders: President Bronislaw Komorowski, Prime Minister Donald Tusk
Population: 38.5 million
Military personnel: 137,878
Fun fact: Tusk once worked as a chimney painter.
Useful word or phrase: Prosze mówic wolniej [Please speak more slowly]
PORTUGAL
Leader: Prime Minister Pedro Manuel Mamede Passos Coelho
Population: 10.6 million
Military personnel: 301,930
Fun fact: Coelho’s first wife scored a European pop hit with “Bem bom,” later translated into English as “Bim Bom.”
Useful word or phrase: Bem bom
[Very good]
ROMANIA
Leader: President Traian Basescu
Population: 19 million
Military personnel: 198,250
Fun fact: Basescu was once ridiculed for uttering the immortal quote, “Winter is unlike summer” during a news conference.
Useful word or phrase: Va doresc o zi placuta! [Have a nice day!]
SLOVAKIA
Leader: President Ivan
Gasparovic
Population: 5.4 million
Military personnel: 16,531
Fun fact: Gasparovic met his wife through their shared love of basketball.
Useful word or phrase: Tento pán všetko zaplatí [This gentleman will pay for everything]
SLOVENIA
Leader: Prime Minister Janez Jansa
Population: 2.1 million
Military personnel: 15,500
Fun fact: Jansa was imprisoned for dissident journalism in 1988.
Useful word or phrase: Smem prositi za ples? [Would you like to dance with me?]
SPAIN
Leader: Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy Brey
Population: 46 million
Military personnel: 527,223
Fun fact: Brey wears a beard to hide scars he sustained in a serious car accident.
Useful word or phrase: Dónde está el baño? [Where is the bathroom?]
TURKEY
Leader: President Abdullah Gul
Population: 74.7 million
Military personnel: 1.2 million
Fun fact: Gul is the first openly devout Muslim President in modern Turkey.
Useful word or phrase: Bir dil asla yeterli degildir [One language is never enough]
UNITED KINGDOM
Leader: Prime Minister David Cameron
Population: 62.3 million
Military personnel: 410,180
Fun fact: Cameron’s great-great-grandfather, Alexander Geddes, made a fortune in Chicago’s grain trade.
Useful word or phrase: You’re having a bubble! [You’re joking!]
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Leader: President Barack Obama
Population: 313.5 million
Military personnel: 2.9 million
Fun fact: One in four Americans does not believe Obama was born in the U.S., according to a 2011 poll.
Useful word or phrase: Howdy! [Hello!]
NATO PARTNERS AND
COOPERATING COUNTRIES
ARMENIA
Leader: President Serzh Sargsyan
Population: 3.2 million
Military personnel: 261,432
Fun fact: first Christian nation.
Useful word or phrase: Genats! [Cheers!]
AUSTRALIA
Leader: Prime Minister Julia Gillard
Population: 21.5 million
Military personnel: 82,500
Fun fact: Australia is home to 130 species of snakes.
Useful word or phrase: It’s 50 k’s south of Woop Woop [It’s in the middle of nowhere]
AZERBAIJAN
Leader: President Ilham Aliyev
Population: 7.8 million
Military personnel: 381,940
Fun fact: Aliyev’s photograph is shown in the final moments of the movie, “Borat.”
Useful word or phrase: Salam [Hello]
BAHRAIN
Leader: Prime Minister HRH Prince Khalifa bin Salman al Khalifa
Population: 723,000
Military personnel: 19,460
Fun fact: Five percent of the country’s landmass is covered by burial tombs.
Useful word or phrase: Lam naraka mundhu muddah [Long time no see]
BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA
Leaders: Rotating presidency — Bakir Izetbegovic , Zeljko Komsic and Nebojsa Radmanovic
Population: 3.8 million
Military personnel: 11,099
Fun fact: The average monthly net salary is $550.
Useful word or phrase: Da li iko ovdje govori engleski? [Does anybody speak English?]
EL SALVADOR
Leader: President Mauricio Funes
Population: 6.1 million
Military personnel: 42,400
Fun fact: El Salvador is the only Central American country without an Atlantic coastline.
Useful word or phrase: Que chivo [How cool]
FINLAND
Leader: President Sauli Niinisto
Population: 5.4 million
Military personnel: 391,650
Fun fact: Finland is home to some 230,000 reindeer.
Useful word or phrase: Hauska tavata [Pleased to meet you]
THE FORMER YUGOSLAV
REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA
Leader: Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski
Population: 2 million
Military personnel: 30,000
Fun fact: Macedonia is the birthplace of Mother Teresa.
Useful word or phrase: Ne aadam svinsko [I don’t eat pork]
GEORGIA
Leader: President Mikheil Saakashvili
Population: 4.6 million
Military personnel: 32,850
Fun fact: Saakashvili speaks five languages and is a graduate of Columbia Law School in New York.
Useful word or phrase: Thavi damanebe! [Leave me alone!]
IRELAND
Leader: Prime Minister Enda Kenny
Population: 4.6 million
Military personnel: 25,335
Fun fact: Kenny’s grandfather was a lighthouse keeper.
Useful word or phrase: Lig dom! Fág dom i m’éinear! [Leave me alone!]
JAPAN
Leader: Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda
Population: 126.5 million
Military personnel: 284,350
Fun fact: Tokyo has 6 million vending machines, according to Lonely Planet.
Useful word or phrase: Kekkon shite kureru [Will you marry me?]
JORDAN
Leader: Prime Minister H. E. Awn Shawkat Al-Khasawneh
Population: 6.5 million
Military personnel: 175,500
Fun fact: Jordan is about the same size as Indiana.
Useful word or phrase: Assalam-o-alaikum [Peace be with you]
MALAYSIA
Leaders: Prime Minister Mohamed Najib bin Abdul Razak
Population: 28.3 million
Military personnel: 429,900
Fun fact: Malaysia is home to the flower with the world’s largest bloom, the Rafflesia arnoldii.
Useful word or phrase: Saya sakit [I am sick]
MONGOLIA
Leader: President Elbegdorj Tsakhia
Population: 2.7 million
Military personnel: 154,200
Fun fact: Mongolian barbecue originated in Taiwan, not Mongolia.
Useful word or phrase: Iluu udaan yarina uu [Please speak more slowly]
MONTENEGRO
Leader: Prime Minister Igor Luksic
Population: 620,029
Military personnel: 13,227
Fun fact: In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby,” Gatsby tells Nick about his accomplishments, including receiving a medal for valor from Montenegro.
Useful word or phrase: Dobar dan [Good afternoon]
NEW ZEALAND
Leader: Prime Minister John Phillip Key
Population: 4.4 million
Military personnel: 11,951
Fun fact: There are approximately four sheep for every human.
Useful word or phrase: Bobby calves [newborn cow between four and seven days old]
REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Leader: President Lee Myung-bak
Population: 48.9 million.
Military personnel: 8,691,50
>Fun fact: Nicknamed “bulldozer,” Lee once took apart a bulldozer, just to see how it worked
>Useful word or phrase: Bulldozer reul hangukmal-lo eotteoh-ge maraeyo? [How do you say bulldozer in Korean?
> SINGAPOR
> Leader: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loon
>Population: 5.2 millio
>Military personnel: 522,80
>Fun fact: With a salary of $2.2 million, Lee Hsien Loong is the world’s highest paid political leader
>Useful word or phrase: Majulah Singapura [Onward Singapore!
> SWEDE
> Leader: Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeld
>Population: 9.4 millio
>Military personnel: 255,85
>Fun fact: Reinfeldt’s great-great-grandfather was an African-American circus director called John Hood
>Useful word or phrase: Ring polisen! [Call the police!
> TONGA
>Leader: Prime Minister Lord Tu’ivakan
>Population: 103,00
>Military personnel: 50
>Fun fact: Tu’ivakano is a hereditary title meaning “King of the borrowed boat.
>Useful word or phrase: fakamolemole [sorry
> UKRAIN
> Leader: President Viktor Yanukovyc
>Population: 45.9 million
>Military personnel: 1.2 millio
>Fun fact: Yanukovych was twice jailed as a teenager for robbery and assault
>Useful word or phrase: Chi mozhu ia otrmat vash nomer telefonu? [Can I have your phone number?
> UNITED ARAB EMIRATE
> Leader: President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahya
>Population: 8.3 millio
>Military personnel: 51,00
>Fun fact: Khalifa was described in a WikiLeaks cable signed by the U.S. ambassador as a “distant and uncharismatic personage.
>Useful word or phrase: ayn al-ammam? [Where’s the toilet?
> Other countries expected to attend include:
Russia, Pakistan, Morocco, Switzerland and Qatar
