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The three-term Labour Party prime minister is a committed social democrat. Now 58, she has been prime minister since 1999.

Clark's administration has boosted economic growth, cut government debt and stacked up huge budget surpluses. But the economy slumped into recession in 2008 — hit by global economic head winds, the credit crunch and a domestic downturn.

Clark opposed the U.S.-led war in Iraq but sent troops to help with reconstruction there and in Afghanistan, and held firm on anti-nuclear policies that prevent U.S. warships from entering New Zealand's ports.

She helped steer the country to a free trade agreement with China — the first such deal between the emerging giant and a developed Western-style economy. And she has declared that New Zealand will be the world's first carbon-neutral society.

___

JOHN KEY:

The 47-year-old National Party leader is a former currency trader and multimillionaire who entered politics in 2002.

His "ordinary guy" style belies his determination to give New Zealand what he characterizes as a chance to draw a "line under the past ... and choose a fresh start."

Bought up in a state-owned house by his widowed mother, Key has spent most of his career out of the public eye, cloistered in currency trading rooms as he made his fortune.

Key glosses over his past as a money trader — including stints in the United States, Singapore and elsewhere for Merrill Lynch — before entering parliament in 2002.

He won his party's top post after it lost the last election in 2005, and has demonstrated he isn't afraid to speak his mind and make tough calls.

Described by critics as "Labour-lite," Key has forced the traditional center-right National Party into the political middle ground. As a result, the party has accepted Labour policies like the anti-nuclear law and the deployment of troops to Afghanistan.

Key says he wants to "rebalance" the economy, slash taxes, get tough with criminal gangs, ramp up spending on infrastructure and cut the bureaucracy.

 

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Africans reach out to Obama via text messagesPDF Print E-mail
Written by Admin
Saturday, 11 July 2009

(CNN) -- The text messages address various issues and come from all over the African continent.

President Obama greets people Saturday during breakfast at Osu Castle in Accra, Ghana.

President Obama greets people Saturday during breakfast at Osu Castle in Accra, Ghana.

From the personal: "Obama, as a young lady I dream of being the president. U r a huge encouragement."

To cries for help: "Dear president, Darfur firing again...waiting for peace through the change u promised."

To calls for intervention: "Encourage African leaders to improve the quality and access to education for citizens."

The messages, from Ghana, Sudan and South Africa respectively, were among more than 5,000 sent to Barack Obama during his first visit as president to sub-Saharan Africa as president.

Obama, accompanied by his wife, Michelle, and their two daughters arrived in Ghana on Friday night, sparking excitement in the west African nation. Video Watch how Ghana is celebrating Obama's visit »

Despite being home to some of the world's poorest nations, Africa has a vibrant cell phone market, considered by industry analysts as among the fastest-growing worldwide.

Administration officials said they set up different numbers across the continent for citizens to communicate with Obama, whose father was from the east African nation of Kenya.

"Over the past week, we have been collecting questions, comments and words of welcome for President Obama via SMS, Twitter, Facebook and from newspapers across Africa," the White House said on its Web site.

Three journalists from South Africa, Senegal and Kenya will vet the questions and provide a few to Obama, who will address them on African radio stations and via a Web video Monday, the White House said.

Peter Kimani, a senior associate editor for a Kenyan daily, The Standard, is one of the three.

"The U.S. Embassy picked and vetted the journalists, and we are getting the questions, then it is up to us to determine what questions we will forward to the president," Kimani said. "It is our judgment call on what to pick."

Most of the text messages were coming from South Africa, according to a log on the White House Web site.

Obama's one-nation visit has generated envy among Ghana's neighbors, who considered it a message from the White House to governments that have poor records of stability.

Citizens of Nigeria, Africa's most populous nations, and Kenya were the most vocal in their concerns over the choice of Ghana.

"We r disappointed that you have not chosen Nigeria as your first African point of call," one text said.

 

 

 

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