Photo montage by Adam Connors
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RANKINGS 1-5
| 6-10 | 11-15
| 16-20 | 21-25
| 26-30 | 31-35
| 36-40 | 41-45
| 46-50 | next
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36
Amien Rais
CHAIRMAN, PEOPLE'S CONSULTATIVE ASSEMBLY,
INDONESIA
BORN April 26, 1944, in Solo, Central Java
EDUCATION Post-graduate degrees in political science
FAMILY Married to Kusnariyati Sri Rahayu, five children
QUOTE "Religious law teaches a life for a life, an ear for
an ear, an eye for an eye."
POWER POINTS When opportunity knocks, Rais answers. The astute
Jogjakarta lecturer turned defeat at the polls into a place as the
chief of the People's Consultative Assembly, the nation's highest
legislative body. Swinging from religious right to moderate center
and back, Rais is hard to pin down, except as a political opportunist.
Add to that his new status as a powerbroker: witness his naming of
cabinet ministers after first maneuvering Abdurrahman Wahid to the
presidency. But Rais's cavalier, shoot-from-the-hip approach doesn't
sit well with the president, and his ideological switches have confused
his public image and shaken his urban intellectual support. His challenge:
find the right voter base to buttress his power.
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37
Ishihara Shintaro
GOVERNOR OF TOKYO
BORN Sept. 30, 1932, in Kobe, Japan
EDUCATION Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo
FAMILY Married, four sons
QUOTE "There is no political leader who is not a nationalist."
HOBBIES Golf and tennis
POWER POINTS He just can't keep his mouth shut. Author of the
controversial The Japan That Can Say No, Ishihara recently slammed
his foot into his mouth again, using the derogatory term sangokujin,
for foreigners. Still, Tokyo is cheering his decision to tax big banks,
thereby improving the city's finances. If only he were more action
and less talk.
William
West/AFP
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38
Li Hongzhi
LEADER, FALUNGONG
BORN July 7, 1952, in Jilin province, later changed by Li to
May 13, 1951, to coincide with the Buddha's birthday
EDUCATION No. 48 Middle School, Changchun, Jilin
FAMILY Married, with one daughter
HOBBIES Plays the trumpet
POWER POINTS This former government grain clerk is still managing
to unnerve China's leaders with his banned Buddhist-inspired religion.
Since the 1999 protest at Zhongnanhai, Falungong practitioners have
staged sporadic protests in Tiananmen Square, professing devotion
to Li's teachings. Not bad for someone apparently in exile in New
York.
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China
News Service
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39
Wen Jiabao
VICE-PREMIER OF THE STATE COUNCIL
BORN September 1942, in Tianjin
EDUCATION Beijing Institute of Geology
FAMILY Married to Zhang Peili
HOBBIES Bridge, classical Chinese painting
POWER POINTS Since taking charge of such high-profile portfolios
as financial reform and agriculture, Wen is pleasing both CPC conservatives
and liberals. Rumored to be Zhu Rongji's successor, the notoriously
media-shy Wen wisely keeps a low profile. The former bridge buddy
of late patriarch Deng Xiaoping, Wen probably learned more than a
few card tricks. Now he has only to get the right hand.
40
Narayana Murthy
CHAIRMAN AND CEO, INFOSYS TECHNOLOGIES
BORN Aug. 20, 1946, in Karnataka, India
EDUCATION Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur
FAMILY Married, one daugher, one son
QUOTE "I'm a capitalist in my mind, a socialist in my heart."
POWER POINTS Being labeled a "national icon" can wreak havoc
on your ego. But not on Murthy's, despite cofounding the biggest market-cap
software firm listed on Nasdaq. The ex-socialist also gives stock
options to all employees. Marx would approve. (See interview.)
RANKINGS 1-5
| 6-10 | 11-15
| 16-20 | 21-25
| 26-30 | 31-35
| 36-40 | 41-45
| 46-50 | next
>>
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