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• Mahmoud Abbas - President of Palestine, and leader of the Fatah party.
• Shinzo Abe - ex-Prime Minister of Japan. Resigned suddenly after less than a year, very unpopular.
• Abkhazia - Semi-autonomous Georgian state that is loyal to Russia.
• Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - President of Iran. Is seeking to build nuclear capabilities.
• AKP (AK Party) - Turkey's ruling party since 2002. Supported by Islamists, but upholds a secular government. (AK means white or clean in Turkish).
• APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) - All countries that border the Pacific Ocean are members. Incepted in 1989, APEC works to reduce tariffs and increase trade among the member nations.
• Arab League - Founded in 1945, it is comprised of 21 Arab and North African nations, and the PLO. Its purpose is to create closer relations among its members.
• ASEAN  (Association of SouthEast Asian Nations) - An organization of 10 Asian nations that promotes the economic growth of the member countries. Members include: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
• ASEAN+3 - ASEAN plus China, Japan and South Korea.
• Mustafa Kemal Ataturk - Beloved founder of the modern Turkish state. At the Ottoman empire's end, he reformed Turkey as one of the few Muslim democratic countries.
• Abu Musab al-Zarqawi - A Jordanian who is al-Qaeda's leader in Iraq. Thought to be trying to provoke a civil war between Shia's and Sunni's.
• Michelle Bachelet - First female President of Chile. Allied with existing popular government, which transitioned to democracy and economic growth. Pediatrician, separated mother of two, and survivor of torture under General Augusto Pinochet.
• Abdullah Badawi - Prime Minister of Malaysia. Elected in 2003, and reelected in 2004.
• Baltic States - Three former Russian countries on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
• Banco del Sur - Latin American development bank.
• Bank of Japan - Raised the prime lending rate to .5%.
• Ben Bernanke - Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank. Ph.D. in Economics from M.I.T.
• Blackstone Group - A private equity firm. Will go public at a market capitalization of $7.8 billion later this year.
• Tony Blair - Former Prime Minister of Great Britain. Best known for being main supporter of U.S. entering Iraq war.
• Gordon Brown - Prime Minister of Great Britain. As Chancellor of Exchequer, helped create economic growth.
• George W. Bush - President of the United States. Has created the world's largest current account deficit.
• Felipe Calderon - President of Mexico. Needs to reduce corruption and increase FDI to enable his country to reach its economic potential.
• CeMCoA (Center for Monetary Cooperation in Asia) - A Center set up within the Bank of Japan in 2005 to promote monetary cooperation in Asia.
• Hugo Chavez - President of Venezuela. Promotes Bolivarism. Outspoken critic of U.S. and World Bank. Uses oil wealth to influence other Latin American countries.
• Chindia - Phrase used to denote the growing global economic power of China and India. If both continued growing at current growth rates, they would comprise 50% of total world GDP by 2050.
• CIS States (Commonwealth of Independent States) - An association of former Soviet republics formed in December 1991 to ease the transition and form trade agreements. Members include: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. (CIS Web site)
• Rafael Correra - President of Ecuador. Ally of Hugo Chavez. Threatens to default on bonds and cut back on Galapagos tourism.
• ECB (European Central Bank) - It is the central bank for the European Union. It establishes monetary policy, including managing bank lending rates and foreign-exchange reserves. Its goal is to keep inflation at less than 2%.
• Eastern Europe - Includes the countries of Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia.
• EIA (Energy Information Administration) - U.S. Federal agency that provides all the data and forecasts the government needs to safeguard its energy supply.
• Recep Tayyip Erdogan - Charismatic Prime Minister of Turkey since 2002. A devout Muslim, he has threatened the military’s power base by improving the economy and leading the country towards EU membership.
• EU (European Union) - Known formally as the European Economic and Monetary Union. Its 27 members are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. All members pledge to convert to the Euro.
• Euro Area - Members of the EU who have converted to the Euro. Includes Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, and Spain.
• FARC - The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, a leftist guerrilla organization founded 35 years ago to promote land reform. It has evolved into a sophisticated paramilitary organization, funded by drug trafficking, that depends on kidnapping and murder to defend its power.
• Fatah - Moderate Palestinian party. Fatah was created by the late Yasser Arafat, and has been discredited by corruption scandals.
• Fed, or Federal Reserve - The Federal Reserve Bank of
  the United States. It regulates bank rates, which drive the rate of variable rate mortgages. It also tries to prevent inflation while at the same time preventing a recession.
• Vicente Fox - Former President of Mexico. Accused by opponents of giving away too much to the U.S., and not ending corruption.
• Alberto Fujimori - President of Peru from 1990 - 2000, when he was removed as being “morally unfit” by the Peruvian National Assembly, due to corruption charges.
• Yasuo Fukuda - Prime Minister of Japan. Will continue successful economic policies that Shinzo Abe let lag.
• G7 - The Group of Seven Finance Ministers meet annually to discuss current foreign exchange and central banking events. The members are the U.S., Germany, Japan, France, UK, Italy and Canada. In addition to attendance by the Finance Ministers (Treasury Secretary Paulson for the U.S.), these meetings are attended by the U.S. Fed Chairman and the EU Central Bank President.
• G-8 or Group of Eight - The eight leading industrialized nations: U.S., Japan, Germany, UK, France, Italy, Canada and Russia.
• G-20 or Group of 20 - The finance ministers and central bank governors of the G-8 plus 11 emerging market and smaller industrialized countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, plus the EU.
• Alan Garcia - President of Peru between 1985 and 1990. Re-elected President in June 2006, based on promises to continue existing successful economic growth policies.
• Gaza - The capital city of the Gaza Strip.
• Gaza Strip - A 146 square mile area of land in southeast Israel, bordering Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea. It has 1.3 million people, mostly Palestinian who became refugees when Israel was created in 1948.  Although administered by the Palestinians, its borders and major roads are controlled by Israel.
• Georgia - Former Soviet Union country that is a key gateway for energy transports between Asia and EU.
• Alan Greenspan - Former Federal Reserve Chairman from 1987 to 2006. Advocate of laissez-faire economics.
• Abdullah Gul - Possible candidate for President of Turkey. Foreign Minister since 2003. Negotiating Turkey’s accession to EU membership.
• Gulf Cooperation Council - Includes Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
• Hamas - Militant Palestinian group who advocate the destruction of Israel. Recently elected to majority in the Palestinian legislature.
• Ismail Haniya - Hamas leader and Prime Minister for Palestine.
• Ollante Humala - Populist candidate who lost election for Peruvian Presidency.
• IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) - The UN’s
  nuclear guardian.
• IDB (Inter-American Development Bank) - Created by the U.S. in 1959 to finance development in Latin America.
• IMF (International Monetary Fund) - created as part of the United Nations to provide short term credit to its 175 member nations.
• Islamic Jihad - A more radical terrorist group than Hamas. It seeks to establish Islamic rule in Palestine.
• Hu Jintao - President of China.
• Kim Jong II - The “Dear Leader” of North Korea. Chairman of the National Defense Commission, which is the most powerful body.
• Kadima - Centrist Israeli party formed by Ariel
  Sharon that advocates withdrawal from the West Bank and co-existence with Palestine.
• Hamid Karzai - President of Afghanistan.
• Ayatollah Khomeini - Father of the Iranian revolution.
• Christina Kirchner - President of Argentina. Wife of Nestor Kirchner.
• Nestor Kirchner - ex-President of Argentina.
  Spurred economic growth, paid back debts to IMF early.
• Knesset - Israeli Parliament, with 120 seats.
• Pascal Lamy - WTO chief. Prior EU trade commissioner.
• John Lipsky - First Deputy Managing director of the IMF since 2006. Has a PhD in Economics from Stanford and worked for Salomon Brothers, JPMorgan and Chase.
• Likud - Israeli right wing party. Wants to hold onto Israeli land, and settlements, regardless of cost.
• Andres Manuel Obrador Lopez - Defeated presidential candidate in Mexico’s 2006 election. Pro-local farmers, anti-corruption.
• Fernando Lugo - Newly elected President of Paraguay, ending 61 years of one-party rule.
• Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva known as Lula - President of Brazil. Reforms have spurred economic growth,and reduced poverty.
• Ma Ying-jeou - Elected President of Taiwan In March 2007. With Nationalist (KMT) party. Pro-China trade.
• Thabo Mbeki - President of South Africa. Wants to expand economy to 6% growth from 4.2%. Has lowered inflation, and spurred a good business climate.
• Dimitri Medvedev - President-elect, and former Prime Minister, of Russia. Seen as Putin's right hand man.
• Angela Merkel - Chancellor of Germany. Barely won over ex-Chancellor Gerhard Schroder, so has lead a coalition of both parties (Christian Democrats and Social Democrats). Is successfully reforming the German economy to increase growth, cut the budget deficit, reduce costs of health care, and reduce unemployment. President of the EU through 2007.
• Evo Morales - President of Bolivia. Native Bolivian
  Aymara Indian, wants more economic power for Bolivians. May legalize coca growing and have more state ownership of natural gas industry, one of the world’s largest.
• Hosni Mubarak - President for 25 years of Egypt. Keeps
  winning alleged fraudulent elections. Hasn’t addressed poverty in country. Uses police state to keep in power since1952 military coup.
• Pervez Musharraf - President of Pakistan since his 1999 military coup. He joined forces with the U.S. against al-Qaeda in Afghanistan in 2001, and has received $5.8 billion in military support.
• Lee Myung-Bak - Newly elected President of South Korea. Promises more free trade agreements.
• OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and
  Development)  - An association of 30 nations in Europe, North America, and the Pacific that works to promote the economic and social welfare of its members, and coordinates their efforts to aid developing countries.
• OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) - Founded in 1960 to coordinate petroleum policies. Eleven members include Algeria, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Venezuela.
• Shimon Peres - Labor leader in Israel. Nobel Peace Prize winner.
• Vladimir Putin - Prime Minister, and former President, of Russia. Revived economy by nationalizing oil and gas resources. Accused of playing pipeline politics.
• Quartet - The group guiding the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Consists of U.S., Russia, the UN and the EU.
• Mikheil Saakashvili - President of Georgia who is forming an allliance with the U.S. and is anti-Russia.
• Nicolas Sarkozy - President of France. Elected on promise to "put France back to work." Strengthening alliances with U.S., Germany and Great Britain. Opposes Turkey's membership in EU and independence of ECB.
• SARPSCO (South Asia Regional Port Security Cooperative) - Members include India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Comoros, Madagascar, the Maldives, Mauritius, Oman and Sri Lanka. A new organization working towards securing the India Ocean ports.
• SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) - Members include China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Russia. Created in 2001 to increase free trade, and reduce terrorism and drug trafficking.
• Ariel Sharon - Ex-Prime Minister of israel. Controversial for his insistence on Israeli settlers moving out of the Gaza strip area as a way to help broker peace with the Palestinians. Was previously the major proponent of Israeli settlement expansion.
• Shia - Minority sect of Muslims which believes that leadership should remain with relatives of Muhammad. This is the predominate sect in Iran, and on the fringe countries of ancient Persia.
• Thaksin Shinawatra - Former Prime Minister of Thailand. Charged with corruption by business leaders. Popular with the poor.
• Shining Path - Maoist guerilla group that sought to overthrow Peru’s government in the 1980’s and ‘90’s . Over 69,000 people, mostly poor Andean villagers, died in the fighting.
• Masaaki Shirakawa - Governor of the Bank of Japan. Winner of 1976 Noble Peace Prize. Does not believe in financial bailouts.
• Manmohan Singh - Prime Minister of India since 2004. Head of the Congress Party.
• Sinn Fein - The political wing of the Irish Republican Army.
• South Ossetia - Semi-autonomous state of Georgia loyal to Russia.
• Sunni - 85% of the world's Muslims belong to this sect.
• Jean-Claude Trichet - President of the European Central Bank
• Nguyen Minh Triet - President of Vietnam since June 2006. Used innovative policies as chief of his province in South Vietnam to increase FDI and economic growth.
• Yulia Tymoshenko - Prime Minster of Ukraine since Fall 2007. Pro-business and free trade with EU.
• United Nations - Created in October, 1945, to prevent another world war. Nearly every country in the world belongs to it, and has equal votes.
• Alvaro Uribe - President of Columbia since 2002. He has successfully reduced the violence of FARC, increasing both safety and the climate for investment.
• USTR (Office of the U.S. Trade Representative) - The USTR has the responsibility for negotiating trade agreements and representing the U.S. at the WTO.
• West Bank - Historically part of Palestine, it is a 2,270 square mile area bordered by Israel, Jordan and the Dead Sea. It was annexed by Jordan in 1950, and captured by Israel in the 1967 war. It has 2 million  residents, of which 85% are Palestinians, and 15% Israelis. In 1993, Israel agreed to begin moving their settlers out, but there is little agreement on how that process should move forward or be resolved.
• James Wolfensohn - ex-President of the World Bank. Represented the Quartet in Middle East peace process. Helped to create conditions that led Israel to withdraw from Gaza Strip in 2005.
• Paul Wolfowitz - ex-President of the World Bank, brought down in 2007 by cronyism allegations.
• World Bank - a United Nations agency that provides long term loans to any nation for development projects.
• World Economic Forum - a non-profit organization of over 1,000 members which includes most of the top corporations. Noted for their annual meeting in Davos each year, which draws 100 world leaders.
• World Trade Organization - Since 1995, the WTO has managed a multi-lateral trade agreement that removes trade barriers among its 149 member nations.
• Viktor Yanukovych - ex-Prime Minister of Ukraine.
• Umaru Musa Yar-adua - Since 2007, President of Nigeria, most populous country in Africa, and fifth largest supplier of oil to U.S.
• Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono - President of Indonesia since 2004.
• Viktor Yushchenko - President of Ukraine since 2004. Increasing ties with EU and improving economy.
• Robert Zoellick - World Bank President. Former Deputy Secretary of State, widely respected.