Obama’s Speech after

London’s G20 Summit

Background

Barack Hussein Obama

Barack Hussein Obama (born August 4, 1961) is the 44th and current President of the United States. The first African American to hold the office, he served as the junior United States Senator from Illinois from January 2005 until he resigned after his election to the presidency in November 2008.

Obama is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he was the president of the Harvard Law Review. He was a community organizer in Chicago before earning his law degree. He worked as a civil rights attorney in Chicago and also taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004.

Obama served three terms in the Illinois Senate from 19

97 to 2004. Following an unsuccessful bid for a seat in t

he U.S. House of Representatives in 2000, Obama ran fo

r United States Senate in 2004. His victory, from a crow

ded field, in the March 2004 Democratic primary raised

his visibility. His prime-time televised keynote address a

t the Democratic National Convention in July 2004 mad

e him a rising star nationally in the Democratic Party. He

was elected to the U.S. Senate in November 2004 by the

largest margin in the history of Illinois.

He began his run for the presidency in February 2007.

After a close campaign in the 2008 Democratic Party p

residential primaries against Hillary Rodham Clinton,

he won his party's nomination, becoming the first majo

r party African American candidate for president. In th

e 2008 general election, he defeated Republican nomin

ee John McCain and was inaugurated as president on J

anuary 20, 2009.

London Summit

On 2 April 2009, world leaders from the G20 countries – representing 85% of the world’s output – met in London. They met against the backdrop of the worst international banking crisis in generations. The London Summit took place at a time when the world confronts the worst economic crisis since the Second World War. Building on the outcome of the Washington Summit in November 2008, the aims of the London summit were to bring together leaders of the world’s major economies and key international institutions to take the collective action necessary to stabilise the world economy and secure recovery and jobs.

Real action was agreed at the London Summit

including detailed commitments to strengthen the

financial system and additional resources amounting to

1.1 trillion dollars to support jobs and growth across the

World.

The London Summit was chaired by UK Prime

Minister Gordon Brown as the UK currently has the

Chair for the G20 Finance Ministers meeting

Words and Expressions

defer

postpone, delay; If you defer an event or action, you arrange for it to happen at a later date, rather than immediately or at the previously planned time. e.g. Customers often defer payment for as long as possible.

devastating

If you describe something as devastating, you are emphasizing that it is very harmful or damaging. e.g. Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.

commentator

A commentator is someone who often writes or broadcasts about a particular subject. e.g. a political commentator A. M. Babu is a commentator on African affairs.

legacy

A legacy is money or property which someone leaves to you when they die. e.g. You could make a real difference to someone's life by leaving them a generous legacy.

amplify

To amplify something means to increase its strength or intensity. e.g. The mist had been replaced by a kind of haze that seemed to amplify the heat.

abusive

Someone who is abusive behaves in a cruel and violent way towards other people. e.g. He became violent and abusive toward Ben's mother.

endanger

To endanger something or someone means to put them in a situation where they might be harmed or destroyed completely. e.g. The debate could endanger the proposed peace talks.

jurisdiction

A jurisdiction is a state or other area in which a particular court and system of laws has authority.

e.g. The good news is that if your offer is accepted, transfer costs are minimal in most jurisdictions.

mandate

If a government or other elected body has a mandate to carry out a particular policy or task, they have the authority to carry it out as a result of winning an election or vote. e.g. The President and his supporters are almost certain to read this vote as a mandate for continued economic reform.

vulnerable

Someone who is vulnerable is weak and without protection, with the result that they are easily hurt physically or emotionally. e.g. Old people are particularly vulnerable members of our society.

catastrophe

Disaster; A catastrophe is an unexpected event that causes great suffering or damage. e.g. From all points of view, war would be a catastrophe.

charity

A charity is an organization which raises money in order to help people who are ill, disabled, or very poor. e.g. The National Trust is a registered charity.

underscore

underline; If you underscore something such as a word or a sentence, you draw a line underneath it in order to make people notice it or give it extra importance. e.g. He heavily underscored his note to Shelley.

proactive

Proactive actions are intended to cause changes, rather than just reacting to change. e.g. In order to survive the competition a company should be proactive not reactive.

scourge

A scourge is something that causes a lot of trouble or suffering to a group of people.

The scourge of drugs must also be eradicated if the world is to be safer place for our children.

consensus

A consensus is general agreement among a group of people. e.g. The consensus amongst the world's scientists is that the world is likely to warm up over the next few decades.

intersperse

If you intersperse one group of things with another or among another, you put or include the second things between or among the first things. e.g. Originally the intention was to intersperse the historical scenes with modern ones.