Countries and their Leaders

Mexico:
Government: Federal Republic
Leader: Enrique Pena Nieto
Title: President 
Facts:
1. He has served as governor of the State of Mexico.
2. He joined the Institutional Revolutionary Party in 1984, and with a law degree nearly completed, he began earning his own money.
Sources:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-17816662



China:
Government: Communist State
Leader: XI Jinping
Title: President
Facts:
1. He was the son of a communist veteran, and he rose through the ranks politically in China's coastal provinces.
2. He was sent to Zhengding County in Hebei as Deputy Secretary, and was promoted in 1983 to Secretary of the Zhengding County Committee.
3. He will change China and get them back on the right track with the ecohttp://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21565210-xi-jinping-will-soon-be-named-china%E2%80%99s-next-president-he-must-be-ready-breakmony.
Sources:
http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21565210-xi-jinping-will-soon-be-named-china%E2%80%99s-next-president-he-must-be-ready-break



India:
Government: Federal Republic
Leader: Pranab Mukherjee
Title: President
Facts:
1. In 1969  he became the Prime Minister , Indira Gandhi
2.He was #2 in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government.
Sources:
http://www.ndtv.com/article/people/who-is-pranab-mukherjee-231318



Afghanistan:
Government: Islamic Republic
Leader: Hamid Karzai
Title: President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Facts:
1. He was selected by prominent Afghan political figures to serve a six-month term as Chairman of the Interim Administration.
2. He worked  as a fundraiser for the anti-communist mujahideen during the 1980s.
Sources:
 http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/asia/july-dec01/karzai_12-03.html



Germany:
Government: Federal Republic
Leader: Joachim Gauck
Title: President
Facts:
1. He was nominated as the candidate of the SPD and the Greens for President of Germany in 2010.
2. He was a co-founder of the New Forum opposition movement in East Germany.
Sources:
http://www.thelocal.de/20100604/27645
 


United Kingdom:
Government: Constitutional Monarchy and Commonwealth Realm
Leader: Elizabeth II
Title: Queen
Facts:
1.She began to undertake public duties during the Second World-War in which she served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service.
2.  Her coronation service took place in 1953 and was the first to be televised.
Sources:
http://www.royal.gov.uk/HistoryoftheMonarchy/The%20House%20of%20Windsor%20from%201952/QueenElizabethTheQueenMother/ActivitiesasQueen.aspx



France:
Government: Republic
Leader: Francois Hollande
Title: President
Facts:
1.  He served as the Mayor of Tulle from 2001 to 2008 and the President of the General Council of Correze from 2008 to 2012.
2. He is the second Socialist Party president of the French Fifth Republic.
Sources:
http://www.france24.com/en/france/2min/20120506-france-socialist-hollande-wins-presidential-election-sarkozy



Brazil:
Government: Federal Republic
Leaders: Dilma Rousseff
Title: President
Facts:
1. She joined the committee responsible for the energy policy and she become Minister of Energy.
2. She is the first woman to hold the office, and is a very strong person.
Sources:
http://www.forbes.com/profile/dilma-rousseff/



Venezuela:
Government: Federal Republic
Leaders: Nicolas Maduro Moros
Title: President
Facts:
1. He rose to become a trade union leader, before being elected to the National Assembly in 2000.
2. He was described during this time as the "most capable administrator and politician of Chávez's inner circle".
Sources:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-22220526



Saudi Arabia:
Government: Monarchy
Leader: Abdallah bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud
Title: King and Prime Minister
Facts:
1.  In 1961 he became mayor of Mecca, his first public office.
2. He also served as deputy defense minister.
Sources:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7068977.stm



Iran:
Government: Theocratic Republic
Leader: Ali Hoseini-Khamenei
Title: Supreme Leader
Facts:
1. He was the victim of an attempted assassination that paralyzed his right arm.
2. Forbes magazine selected him 21st in the list of "The World's Most Powerful People."
Sources:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14362281
.


Israel:
Government: Parliamentary Democracy
Leader: Shimon Peres
Title: President
Facts:
1. He held several diplomatic and military positions during and directly after Israel's War of Independence
2. He has represented five political parties
Sources:
http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1994/peres-bio.html