Powerful People - Day 14

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	Name	Information	Picture
Prime Minister of Canada	Mr. Justin Pierre James Trudeau	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.
President of Chile	Ms. (Veronica) Michelle Bachelet	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.
President of Chile	Mr. Joachim Gauck	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.
Malaysian Prime Minister	Mr. Dato' Sri Haji Mohammad Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak	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.
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom	Mrs. Theresa Mary May	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.
President of the United Mexican States (Mexico)	Mr. Enrique Pena Nieto	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.
President of the Republic of South Africa	Mr. Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma	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.
President of the United Arab Emirates	Mr. Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan	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.
Prime Minister of Japan	Mr. Shinzo Abe	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.
Prime Minister of Australia	Mr. Malcolm Turnbull	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.

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.

Answers:

1. If I were the prime minister I would make a rule that you must give each poor person you see on the street a dollar or two.

2. My second rule would be in every 5 months we will all receive 300 dollars each, just to help with the bills.

3. My last rule would be we will all receive a package of treats ever 3 months.

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.

Answers:

1. In college she was the president of her senior class at Wellesley College. I think that's what gave her the inspiration to run for president.

2. She studied law at Yale Law School, which she graduated from and volunteered at New Haven Legal Services to provide free legal advice to the poor. 

3. In 1995 she said, Human rights are women’s rights, and women’s rights are human rights.” This helped start a global movement for woman's rights. 

Bonus Activity

Being the prime minister of a country is a big responsibility. Would you like to be the prime minister of New Zealand one day? On your blog tell us what you think. Would you like to be the prime minister?  Why or why not?

Answer:

I think I'll be responsible enough to be prime minister of New Zealand one day. I think I'll like to be prime minister of New Zealand because I'll be able to help a lot of people on the streets. Maybe help them apply for a job and they can earn the money to get back on their feet.