#36 Manmohan Singh
Prime Minister
India
Age: 77
Soft-spoken Sikh economist won landslide re-election victory despite sharp slowdown, poverty and non-Hindu faith. Credited with transforming India's quasi-socialist economy into world's second-fastest-growing. As finance minister (1991-1996), abolished cumbersome "Licence Raj" requirements and opened up India to foreign investors and outsourcing. From the "fences make good neighbors" file: "We all know the epicenter of terrorism in the world today is Pakistan." Has nuclear arsenal at disposal.
