10 MOST POWERFUL PEOPLE IN THE WORLDS 2012

There are 6.8 billion people on the planet. These are the 10 who matter.

Kim Jong-un

Kim Jong-un also romanised as Kim Jong-eun or Kim Jung-eun, born 8 January 1983 or 1984), is the current Supreme leader of North Korea. He has held the titles of the First Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, the Chairman of the Central Military Commission, First Chairman of the National Defence Commission of North Korea, the Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army, and also a presidium member of the Central Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea. He was officially declared the supreme leader following the state funeral for his father, Kim Jong-il on 28 December 2011. He is the third and youngest son of his deceased predecessor Kim Jong-il and his consort Ko Young-hee.

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Mark Zuckerberg

Mark Elliot Zuckerberg (born May 14, 1984) is an American computer programmer and Internet entrepreneur. He is best known for co-creating the social networking site Facebook, of which he is chairman and chief executive. It was co-founded as a private company in 2004 by Zuckerberg and classmates Dustin Moskovitz, Eduardo Saverin, and Chris Hughes while they were students at Harvard University. Zuckerberg is the largest individual shareholder with 28.4 percent of the common stock and 56.9 percent of the voting power. As of 2012, his personal wealth is estimated to be $17.5 billion, making him one of the world's youngest billionaires.

Zuckerberg was named four times in Time 100 respectively in 2009 as one of the 100 influential people of the world, in 2010 as Time magazine's Person of the Year, in 2011 as one of the 100 influential people of the world and in 2012 in "The All-Time TIME 100 of All Time" by Joel Stein in Time.

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Mahmohan Singh

Manmohan Singh born 26 September 1932) is the 13th and current Prime Minister of India. He is the only Prime Minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to return to power after completing a full five-year term. A Sikh, he is the first non-Hindu to occupy the office. Singh is also the 7th Prime Minister from the Indian National Congress (Congress) party. He is a four-time Member of Parliament from the Upper House of the Parliament of India, the Rajya Sabha, representing the state of Assam. His term in the 14th Rajya Sabha was from 22 May 2004 to 26 February 2009. In the 15th Rajya Sabha his term started 22 May 2009 and is scheduled to continue till 2014.

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Pope Benedict XVI

Benedict XVI born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger on 16 April 1927, is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church, which includes the Latin Church and the twenty-two sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches. In the Catholic Church, Benedict as Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter. Benedict XVI was elected on 19 April 2005 in a papal conclave, celebrated his Papal Inauguration Mass on 24 April 2005, and took possession of his cathedral, the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, on 7 May 2005. A native of Bavaria, Pope Benedict XVI has both German and Vatican citizenship.

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Francois Hollande

François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande ( Born 12 August 1954) is the 24th and current President of France and ex-officio Co-Prince of Andorra since 15 May 2012. He previously served as the First Secretary of the French Socialist Party from 1997 to 2008 and as a Deputy of the National Assembly of France for Corrèze's 1st Constituency from 1988 to 1993 and then again from 1997 to 2012. He also served as the Mayor of Tulle, and the President of the General Council of Corrèze.

Hollande is a member of the French Socialist Party. He was elected President of France on 6 May 2012, defeating Nicolas Sarkozy, and was inaugurated on 15 May. He is the first Socialist President of the French Fifth Republic since François Mitterrand.

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Angela Merkel

Angela Dorothea Merkel (born 17 July 1954) is the Chancellor of Germany and Chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Merkel is the first female Chancellor of Germany.

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Mitt Romney

Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and politician. He was the 70th Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and he is the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party for the 2012 presidential election.

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Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. In January 2005 Obama was sworn in as a U.S. Senator in the state of Illinois. He would hold this office until November 2008, when he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.

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Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician who has been the President of Russia since 7 May 2012. Putin previously served as President from 2000 to 2008 and as Prime Minister of Russia from 1999 to 2000, and again from 2008 to 2012. Putin also serves as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when president Boris Yeltsin resigned in a surprising move. Putin won the 2000 presidential election; in 2004 he was re-elected for a second term lasting until 7 May 2008.

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Xi Jinping

Xi Jinping (pronounced English approx.:SHEE JIN PING; born 1 June 1953) is a high-ranking politician of the People's Republic of China. He currently serves as the top-ranked member of the Central Secretariat of the Communist Party of China, the country's Vice President, Vice-Chairman of the Central Military Commission, President of the Central Party School and the 6th ranked member of the CPC Politburo Standing Committee, China's de facto top power organ.-MD