Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (Brazil)

Brazilian President Lula da Silva cemented Brazil's leadership of the Global South in 2025, using the G20 as a stage to push debt relief for developing nations. Amazon deforestation fell 30%, marking the strongest environmental enforcement of any G20 member this year. Outperforms #10 Ahmed al-Sharaa in soft power reach, influencing global trade policy with data-backed sustainability gains. Lula's administration navigated institutional tensions after 2022–2023 upheavals while countering inflation, delivering real GDP growth of 2.1% in the first half of 2025 — faster than the average for emerging markets. His role in climate diplomacy remains unmatched in this list for concrete results.