Former leaders find that all the world's their stage
As Blair and Chirac step down, they look to the examples set by Clinton, Mandela, and others for life after public office.
from the May 21, 2007 edition
Page 3 of 3
Yes, it will be easier to speak more frankly about issues now, but they have fewer tools at their disposal. Bill Gates presides over the richest private charitable foundation, but even his generosity is dwarfed by aid budgets of rich countries.
Personalities can make a difference, "but their position makes a bigger difference," says Jan Aart Scholte, an expert at Warwick University in England. He says the kind of foundation set up by Bill Clinton, which has galvanized billions for AIDS and climate change, is great "as a supplementary initiative, but if we could get leaders in office to tap into the resources of states, it will be far greater. People in office can make a lot more happen...."
Carne Ross, a former British diplomat and expert at the Chatham House think-tank, agrees. [In political office], they can institute debt forgiveness deals, and aid budgets are generally larger than private foundations." As a diplomatic adviser, he says his interlocutors have already "switched their focus to [his successor] Gordon Brown and are not interested in Blair's plans for the future."
Major roles for key players
• Jimmy Carter, US: Carter Center, focusing on human rights and suffering; Habitat for Humanity advocate.
• Oscar Arias, Costa Rica: Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress.
• Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Brazil: president, Club of Madrid; Fernando Henrique Cardoso Institute.
• Bill Clinton, US: William J. Clinton Foundation
• Mikhail Gorbachev, Russia: the Gorbachev Foundation, social and economic research.
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