17th G7 summit
1991 international leader meeting in England
title: "17th G7 summit" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1990s-in-the-city-of-westminster", "1991-conferences", "1991-in-international-relations", "1991-in-london", "20th-century-diplomatic-conferences", "diplomatic-conferences-in-the-united-kingdom", "g7-summits", "july-1991-in-the-united-kingdom", "premiership-of-john-major", "presidency-of-george-h.-w.-bush"] description: "1991 international leader meeting in England" topic_path: "politics" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/17th_G7_summit" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary 1991 international leader meeting in England ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox summit"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| summit_name | 17th G7 summit |
| image | Lancaster House (5880536589).jpg |
| caption | Lancaster House in London |
| country | United Kingdom |
| dates | 15–17 July 1991 |
| follows | 16th G7 summit |
| precedes | 18th G7 summit |
| :: |
| summit_name = 17th G7 summit | image = Lancaster House (5880536589).jpg | caption = Lancaster House in London | country = United Kingdom | dates = 15–17 July 1991 | follows = 16th G7 summit | precedes = 18th G7 summit
The 17th G7 Summit was held in England between 15 and 17 July 1991. The venue for the summit meetings was Lancaster House in London.
The Group of Seven (G7) was an unofficial forum which brought together the heads of the richest industrialized countries: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada (since 1976), and the President of the European Commission (starting officially in 1981). The summits were not meant to be linked formally with wider international institutions; and in fact, a mild rebellion against the stiff formality of other international meetings was a part of the genesis of cooperation between France's president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and West Germany's chancellor Helmut Schmidt as they conceived the first Group of Six (G6) summit in 1975.
Leaders at the summit
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/17th_G7_summit_member_19910715.jpg" caption="Summit leaders at the [[Lancaster House]]: (left to right) [[François Mitterrand]], [[George H. W. Bush]], [[Giulio Andreotti]], [[Jacques Delors]], [[Toshiki Kaifu]], [[John Major]], [[Brian Mulroney]], and [[Helmut Kohl"] ::
The G7 is an unofficial annual forum for the leaders of Canada, the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The 17th G7 summit was the first summit for British Prime Minister John Major. It was also the last summit for Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti and Japanese Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu.
Participants
These summit participants are the current "core members" of the international forum:
The formal order of this section mirrors the order of the Muskoka 2010 G8 official website -- see http://g8.gc.ca/about/member-states/
This format order is also congruent with "Summit Meetings of the Past" at the website of Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs -- see http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/economy/summit/2000/past_summit/table_e/index.html
- Canada
- France
- Germany
- Italy
- Japan
- United Kingdom
- USA
- European Union
--
::data[format=table]
| Member | Represented by | Title | CAN | FRA | Germany | Italy | Japan | UK | US | European Union | Member | Represented by | Title | USSR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | Brian Mulroney | Prime Minister | ||||||||||||
| France | François Mitterrand | President | ||||||||||||
| Germany | Helmut Kohl | Chancellor | ||||||||||||
| Italy | Giulio Andreotti | Prime Minister | ||||||||||||
| Japan | Toshiki Kaifu | Prime Minister | ||||||||||||
| United Kingdom | John Major | Prime Minister | ||||||||||||
| United States | George H. W. Bush | President | ||||||||||||
| European Community | Jacques Delors | Commission President | ||||||||||||
| Ruud Lubbers | Council President | |||||||||||||
| Guest Invitees (Countries) | ||||||||||||||
| Soviet Union | Mikhail Gorbachev | President | ||||||||||||
| :: |
Major sent a letter to other members of the G7, asking for their permission to invite Mikhail Gorbachev, who has been pressing to come to London to plead for more Western economic support for his country. Pressure to invite Gorbachev had come mainly from the leaders of France, Germany, and Italy who have made public appeals for him to be invited to attend; but Britain sent the official invitation inviting the Soviet Union to participate. A wry comment which was oft repeated during the summit was that G7 had become the G8½ with the participation of the European Community and the meetings with Gorbachev.
Issues
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/YORK_HOUSE_Plan_of_the_Principal_Floor.jpg" caption="The "grand gallery" runs the length of one side of the building. The 1827 layout of the principal floor is largely unchanged from the initial construction plans."] ::
The summit was intended as a venue for resolving differences among its members. As a practical matter, the summit was also conceived as an opportunity for its members to give each other mutual encouragement in the face of difficult economic decisions. In anticipation of this conference, a new 35-foot-long table was built for the Long Gallery, where the main negotiating sessions were planned to unfold. Issues which were discussed at this summit included:
- Economic Policy
- International Trade
- Energy
- Central and Eastern Europe
- The Soviet Union
- The Middle East
- The Developing Countries and Debt
- Environment
- Drugs
- Migration
Accomplishments
In 1991, the summit leaders proclaimed "concern" about protecting existing forests, but there is little evidence of follow-up action.
Gallery of participating leaders
Core G7 participants
File:Brian Mulroney (cropped).jpg|Canada Canada Brian Mulroney, Prime Minister File:President François Mitterrand in 1983.jpg|France France François Mitterrand, President File:Helmut Kohl (1996) cropped.jpg|Germany Germany Helmut Kohl, Chancellor File:Giulio Andreotti (cropped).jpg|Italy Italy Giulio Andreotti, Prime Minister File:Toshiki Kaifu 19890810.jpg|Japan Japan Toshiki Kaifu, Prime Minister File:Major PM full (cropped).jpg|United Kingdom United Kingdom John Major, Prime Minister (Host) File:George H. W. Bush presidential portrait (cropped 2).jpg|United States United States George H. W. Bush, President File:Jacques Delors (cropped).jpg|EU European Union Jacques Delors, Commission President File:Ruud Lubbers 1985.jpg|EU European Union Ruud Lubbers, Council President
Guest Invitees
File:RIAN archive 850809 General Secretary of the CPSU CC M. Gorbachev (cropped).jpg|USSR Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev, President
Notes
References
- Bayne, Nicholas and Robert D. Putnam. (2000). Hanging in There: The G7 and G8 Summit in Maturity and Renewal. Aldershot, Hampshire, England: Ashgate Publishing. ; OCLC 43186692
- Reinalda, Bob and Bertjan Verbeek. (1998). Autonomous Policy Making by International Organizations. London: Routledge. ; ;
References
- Japan, [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan). Ministry of Foreign Affairs]] ([[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan). MOFA]]): [http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/economy/summit/2000/past_summit/table_e/index.html Summit Meetings in the Past.]
- Saunders, Doug. [https://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080704.wG8-analysis05/BNStory/International/columnists "Weight of the world too heavy for G8 shoulders,"] {{webarchive. link. (2008-10-11 ''Globe and Mail'' (Toronto). July 5, 2008 -- n.b., the G7 becomes the [[G8). Group of Eight]] ([[G8#History. G7]]) with the inclusion of [[Russia]] starting in 1997.
- Reuters: [https://web.archive.org/web/20081023185037/http://uk.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUKB26280520080703?sp=true "Factbox: The Group of Eight: what is it?"], July 3, 2008.
- Reinalda, Bob and Bertjan Verbeek. (1998). [https://books.google.com/books?id=Bt3AzOHtXwgC&dq=G7+summit&pg=PA205 ''Autonomous Policy Making by International Organizations,'' p. 205.]
- Rieffel, Lex. [http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2009/0327_global_governance_rieffel.aspx "Regional Voices in Global Governance: Looking to 2010 (Part IV),"] {{webarchive. link. (June 3, 2010 Brookings. March 27, 2009; [http://g8.gc.ca/about/member-states/ "core" members (Muskoka 2010 G-8, official site).] {{webarchive). link. (June 2, 2010)
- MOFA: [http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/economy/summit/2000/past_summit/table_e/index.html Summit (17)]; [[European Union]]: [http://www.deljpn.ec.europa.eu/union/showpage_en_union.external.g8.php "EU and the G8"] {{webarchive. link. (2007-02-26)
- Schmidt, William E. [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE0DA1E3FF934A35755C0A967958260&scp=1&sq=g8+summit+canada+&st=nyt "Britain Is Proposing to Invite Gorbachev to London Talks,"] ''New York Times.'' June 7, 1991.
- Apple, R.W. [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CEFD61430F936A25754C0A967958260&sec=&spon=&&scp=1&sq=1978%20summit%20G7%20&st=cse "Reporter's Notebook; British Hosts, Being British, Plan an Understated Splendor,"] ''New York Times.'' July 15, 1991.
- [[Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan
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