The Dalai Lama of Tibet has been voted the third most preferred individual that people would like to run the world, according to a poll conducted by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
In a press release dated October 3, 2005, BBC said 15,000 people throughout the world took part in this poll “to ‘elect’ a fantasy 11-member world government from a selection of the most powerful, charismatic and (in some cases) notorious people on the planet.” The people were provided with a list of 100 “contenders” — leaders, thinkers, economists — that included Chinese President Hu Jintao. The only conditions were that their choice must include one leader, one thinker, and one economist. The other eight were up to the voters.
South African leader Nelson Mandela was voted first with President Bill Clinton being the second. The 11 members that were “voted” are
1. Nelson Mandela
2. Bill Clinton
3. Dalai Lama
4. Noam Chomsky
5. Alan Greenspan
6. Bill Gates
7. Steve Jobs
8. Archbishop Desmond Tutu
9. Richard Branson
10. George Soros
11. Kofi Annan
According to the release, this poll was “part of the BBC’s global season Who Runs Your World? exploring where power lies in the 21st century.”
BBC’s description of the Dalai Lama in its list was the following.
Dalai Lama
Nationality: Tibetan
Born: 06/07/1935
Occupation: Religious leader
Tenzin Gyatso was recognised at the age of two as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama and brought up in the Potala Palace in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa. In 1950, the 15-year-old assumed full responsibility as the head of Tibet, the same year that 80,000 Chinese troops poured into the mountain kingdom. After a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959, the Dalai Lama and thousands of his followers fled across the border to India, where he still lives in exile. In 1989, he won the Nobel Peace Prize, which he accepted “on behalf of the oppressed everywhere”.
Following is the full text of the BBC press release:
Nelson Mandela tops BBC poll asking “Who should run the world?”
October 3, 2005
Nelson Mandela has been voted the person most people would like to run the world in a poll conducted by the BBC as part of an interactive game called Power Play.
The former President of South Africa received more than 8,000 votes with past United States President Bill Clinton coming second with nearly 7,500 votes – just ahead of the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s exiled leader and Nobel peace prize winner.
Prime Minister Tony Blair was in 12th place – well ahead of President George W Bush at number 43.
The toppled leader of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, was at 90 in the list of nearly one hundred names on the ‘ballot’.
More than 15,000 people worldwide voted online to ‘elect’ a fantasy 11-member world government from a selection of the most powerful, charismatic and (in some cases) notorious people on the planet.
At least one vote had to be from lists of ‘leaders’, ‘thinkers’ and ‘economists’ – but the remaning eight choices could be for candidates in areas ranging from the arts to sport.
Footballer David Beckham was at number 72, one place ahead of Chelsea boss, Roman Abramovich, but well behind golfer Tiger Woods (45) and tennis star Maria Sharapova (62).
Heart-throb actor Brad Pitt only managed 87th place, one place above singer Michael Jackson and five places above actress and singer Jennifer Lopez.
Other well-known names winning support included actor and politician Arnold Schwarzenegger in at 46 – one ahead of media magnate Rupert Murdoch – Live Aid campaigner Bob Geldof at 30 and singer Kylie Minogue at 77.
The American writer and commentator, Noam Chomsky, was in fourth place.
The other members of the world ‘cabinet’ were: Alan Greenspan (chairman of US Federal Reserve bank); Microsoft’s Bill Gates; Steve Jobs (founder of Apple computers); Archbishop Desmond Tutu (Nobel Peace Prize winner); tycoon Richard Branson; financier George Soros and – in eleventh place – UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan.
The highest-ranked women in the voting was Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi at 13th with Hillary Clinton next in 16th place and the former President of the Irish Republic, Mary Robinson, one place behind. Writer Germaine Greer came in at 38.
The Power Game was part of the BBC’s global season Who Runs Your World? exploring where power lies in the 21st century.
“We wanted there to be some element of fun – some light and shade – in the season,” said Hilary Bishop, its joint project manager.
“The idea – based on Fantasy Football – was about persuading our worldwide audience to consider not just individual names but the type of power they represent – moral authority, strategic thinking, a role model for young people, entrepreneurship, technology…”
Alice Donald, the other project manger, added: “We asked BBC World Service regions to nominate names in terms of all types of power – not just politcal leaders.
“The hard part was trimming the list to just under a hundred. We knew it would be hard to come up with names that everyone agreed were ‘contenders’ – but it’s been a huge success with thousands worldwide casting their vote.”
While the online voting – via bbcworldservice.com/yourworld – was spread worldwide, the heaviest voting was in the United States, followed by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and mainland Europe.
