A sherpa is the
personal representative
In common law jurisdictions, a personal representative or legal personal representative is a person appointed by a court to administer the estate of another person. If the estate being administered is that of a deceased person, the personal repres ...
of a
head of state
A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...
or
head of government
In the Executive (government), executive branch, the head of government is the highest or the second-highest official of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presid ...
who prepares an international summit, such as the annual
G7 and
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
The Sherpa people () are one of the Nepalese ethnic groups native to the most mountainous regions of Nepal, India, and the Tibetan Autonomous Region of China.
The majority of Sherpas live in the eastern regions of Nepal, namely the Solukhum ...
, a
Nepal
Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
ese
ethnic group
An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...
, who serve as guides and
porters in the
Himalayas
The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...
, 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 European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
, the name was originally used informally for representatives of the
member states
A member state is a state that is a member of an international organization or of a federation or confederation.
Since the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) include some members that are not sovereign 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
The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and less formally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven institutions of the European Union (EU) a ...
(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".
Examples
* In
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
,
Emmanuel Bonne is G7 and G20 sherpa. Previous French sherpas include
Jacques Attali,
Anne Lauvergeon
Anne Lauvergeon (born 2 August 1959) is a French businesswoman who was CEO of Areva from 2001 to 2011. According to ''The Wall Street Journal'', she is known internationally as one of the most prominent defenders of nuclear power.
Early life an ...
,
Jean-Marc de La Sablière,
Maurice Gourdault-Montagne,
Jean-David Levitte;
Pascal Lamy was a sherpa on the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
(representing
Jacques Delors
Jacques Lucien Jean Delors (; 20 July 192527 December 2023) was a French politician who served as the eighth president of the European Commission from 1985 to 1995. Delors played a key role in the creation of the single market, the euro and th ...
).
* In
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, 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
Ministry of Economics (since 2005). The title was held before by
Horst Köhler
Horst Köhler (; 22 February 1943 – 1 February 2025) was a German politician who served as President of Germany from 2004 to 2010. As the candidate of the two Christian Democratic sister parties, the Christian Democratic Union of Germany, CDU ...
(former
President of Germany
The president of Germany, officially titled the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany (),The official title within Germany is ', with ' being added in international correspondence; the official English title is President of the F ...
) and
Hans Tietmeyer (became later the President of the
Deutsche Bundesbank
The Deutsche Bundesbank (, , colloquially Buba, sometimes alternatively abbreviated as BBk or DBB) is the National central bank (Eurosystem), national central bank for Germany within the Eurosystem. It was the German central bank from 1957 to 19 ...
). Since December 2009 the position of G8-Sherpa is held by
Jens Weidmann
Jens Weidmann (born 20 April 1968) is a German economist who served as president of the Deutsche Bundesbank between 2011 and 2021. He also served as chairman of the Board of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).
Before moving to the Bunde ...
who has been sherpa to the
G20 summits before.
* In India,
Amitabh Kant is the Sherpa to the
G-20. Previous Indian sherpas include
Piyush Goyal,
Suresh Prabhu,
Shaktikanta Das,
Arvind Panagariya,
Montek Singh Ahluwalia.
* In
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, 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. 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).
[ ]
See also
*
Sous-Sherpa The term Sous-Sherpa translates as “under Sherpa.” Sherpas are the Nepalese porters that help climbers in the Himalayas. Experts say when used in the context of the G8 or G20 summit the term “Sous-Sherpa” most likely refers to the hefty w ...
*
Spaak method The Spaak method of negotiation is named after Paul-Henri Spaak, a Belgian politician, who applied this method at the Intergovernmental Conference on the Common Market and Euratom in 1956 at Val Duchesse castle in preparing for the Treaties of Ro ...
*
BRICS
BRICS is an intergovernmental organization comprising ten countriesBrazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. The idea of a BRICS-like group can be traced back to Russian foreign ...
*
G8
*
G-20 major economies
References
{{reflist
External links
Sherpa's Blog Official site on the pre-summits leading up to the G8 summit of 2010 in Canada.
G7 summits
Diplomacy