{{Short description|Representative of a government leader and summit host}} [[File:G20_Sherpa_Meeting_in_Seoul_(July_21)_-_4814220857.jpg | thumb|right | The sherpa meeting held in preparation for the G-20 Financial Summit in Seoul (2010)]] A '''sherpa'''<ref>http://club.bruxelles2.eu/les-conclusions-du-sommet-premiere-analyse/ Analyse par Nicolas Gros-Verheyde auteur du blog Bruxelles2 (B2), Bruxelles2.eu et de Bruxelles2 - Le Club (Club de B2) suite au sommet européen concernant la situation Ukraine-Russie</ref> is the [[diplomat|personal representative]] of a [[head of state]] or [[head of government]] who prepares an international summit, such as the annual [[Group of Seven|G7]] and [[Group of Twenty|G20]] summits. Between the G7 summits there are multiple sherpa conferences where possible agreements are laid out. This reduces the amount of time and resources required at the negotiations of the heads of state at the final summit. The name sherpa—without further context—refers to sherpas for the G7 summit, but the designation can be extended to different regular conferences where the participation of the head of state is required. The sherpa is generally quite influential, although they do not have the authority to make a final decision about any given agreement.
The name is derived from the [[Sherpa people]], a [[Nepal]]ese [[ethnic group]], who serve as guides and [[porter (carrier)|porters]] in the [[Himalayas]], a reference to the fact that the sherpa does all the heavy lifting for the principal to reach a major summit.
==European Union==
In the [[European Union]], the name was originally used informally for representatives of the [[Member state of the European Union|member states]]. Usually, representatives conduct preparatory work for the ministers. The only decisions with legislative power are made by ministers at the [[Council of the European Union]] (Council of Ministers), which is generally attended by representatives of ministerial rank although they can be replaced by delegates.
The position of a chief negotiator can be traced back under varying names to the first years after the founding of the European Union, including the [[Intergovernmental Conference]] (IGC) meetings.
The name was enshrined in an official document since 2005 with the designation of a high-profile group on competition regulation in the chemistry industry that names officially a "Sherpa-Subgroup".<ref>European Union, L 156/34, 16. June 2007, Articles 4, 5 and 6)</ref><ref>[http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2007:156:0034:0036:EN:PDF L 156/34 (2007/418/EC): "setting up the High Level Group on the Competitiveness of the Chemicals Industry in the European Union"], Commission Decision of 14 June 2007, Official Journal of the European Union of 16 June 2007</ref><ref>also earlier in L 36/43, 23. December 2005, Articles 3 and 4.</ref><ref>[http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2006:036:0043:0044:EN:PDF L 36/43 (2006/77/EC) "setting up a High Level Group on Competitiveness, Energy and the Environment"], Commission Decision of 23 December 2005, Official Journal of the European Union of 8 February 2006</ref>
==Examples== * In [[France]], [[Emmanuel Bonne]] is G7 and G20 sherpa. Previous French sherpas include [[Jacques Attali]], [[Anne Lauvergeon]], [[Jean-Marc de La Sablière]], [[Maurice Gourdault-Montagne]], [[Jean-David Levitte]]; [[Pascal Lamy]] was a sherpa on the [[European Commission]] (representing [[Jacques Delors]]). * In [[Germany]], the canonic name of ''Chefunterhändler'' (chief negotiator) is a common second title to another high-profile position. The [[Bernd Pfaffenbach]] did hold this position since 2004 being also [[secretary of state]] in the [[Federal Ministry for Economics and Labour (Germany)|Ministry of Economics]] (since 2005). The title was held before by [[Horst Köhler]] (former [[President of Germany]]) and [[Hans Tietmeyer]] (became later the President of the [[Deutsche Bundesbank]]). Since December 2009 the position of G8-Sherpa is held by [[Jens Weidmann]] who has been sherpa to the [[G-20 major economies|G20]] summits before.<ref>[http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/0,1518,666452,00.html Spiegel Online: "Merkel beruft neuen Super-Sherpa"]</ref>{{update inline|date=May 2018}} * In India, [[Amitabh Kant]] is the Sherpa to the [[G20|G-20]]. Previous Indian sherpas include [[Piyush Goyal]], [[Suresh Prabhu]], [[Shaktikanta Das]],<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/former-dea-secretary-shaktikanta-das-confirmed-as-g-20-sherpa-117112800060_1.html|title=Former DEA secretary Shaktikanta Das confirmed as G-20 sherpa|date=November 28, 2017|newspaper=[[Business Standard]]|location=[[New Delhi]]|access-date=January 15, 2018|last1=Chakraborty|first1=Subhayan}}</ref> [[Arvind Panagariya]], [[Montek Singh Ahluwalia]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.news18.com/news/india/india-needs-full-time-sherpa-for-g20-says-arvind-panagariya-1479889.html|title=India Needs Full Time Sherpa For G20, Says Arvind Panagariya|last=|first=|date=August 1, 2017|website=[[News 18]]|location=[[New Delhi]]|access-date=August 15, 2019}}</ref> * In [[Italy]], Giampiero Massolo has been Sherpa for the G8 in 2008. [[Fabrizio Pagani]] has been G20 Sherpa in 2013.
==Sherpa pre-summit== During the preliminary preparatory process which takes place in advance of a G7 summit, the leader of a G7 host country conventionally invites representatives from the other G7 participants to send representatives known as "sherpas" to develop the agenda topics and other matters.<ref>[http://pm.gc.ca/eng/media.asp?id=3209 Statement by the Prime Minister of Canada] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100420021101/http://pm.gc.ca/eng/media.asp?id=3209 |date=2010-04-20 }}, 18 March 2010; excerpt, "I think many people are probably not aware that the relatively brief leaders' summits are the culmination of months of work at various levels of our governments to arrive at the final declarations and next steps forward. You, as the so-called ‘sherpas' of your countries, play a leading role in this process."</ref> They often produce communiques which show the current state of negotiations.
Apart from conferences of the sherpas of the head of state there are additional conferences held in specific domains that are routinely attended by other state secretaries in the government—most of the G8 countries have national sherpa teams in the field of foreign affairs (Foreign Affairs Sous-Sherpa) and finance (Finance Sous-Sherpa).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.g7finance.tesoro.it/en/G7-G8/Background/ |title=G7/G8 Finance Minister Meeting - 2009 Italian Presidency |accessdate=2010-04-30 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090616083622/http://www.g7finance.tesoro.it/en/G7-G8/Background/ |archivedate=2009-06-16 }} {{blockquote| "The G8 mainly operates at the level of Heads of State and Government, who meet once a year on the occasion of the G8 Summit. The Summit is the conclusion of a process that involves coordination between the Ministry of the Economy and Finance (MEF), the Prime Minister's Office, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE). The coordination between the ministries is left up to the Sherpa (the Prime Minister's personal representative) who, in turn, has two representatives: the Foreign Affairs Sous-Sherpa with regard to MAE related matters and the Financial Sous-Sherpa with regard to MEF responsibilities. // The Finance Ministers meet three times each year in the G7 format, together with the Central Banks' Governors. Preliminary meetings at the level of Ministers' Deputies and Deputies' Deputies are convened more frequently. A fourth meeting, known as the Pre-Summit, as it precedes and prepares the Summit of the Heads of State and Government, is held in the G8 format (thus including Russia), but without the participation of the Central Banks' Governors. // The Communiqués issued at the conclusion of the Finance Ministers' meetings and the Summits are political documents setting out the decisions made in relation to the measures to be adopted" | Website for the G7 Finance Minister Meetings during Itialian 2009 Presidency }}</ref>
==See also== * [[Sous-Sherpa]] * [[Spaak method]] * [[BRICS]] * [[G8 (forum)|G8]] * [[G-20 major economies]]
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20100502031516/http://g8.gc.ca/g8-summit/sherpas-blog/ Sherpa's Blog]- Official site on the pre-summits leading up to the G8 summit of 2010 in Canada.
[[Category:G7]] [[Category:Diplomacy]]