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Barack Obama is most powerful while Gen Kayani is
ranked 34, says Forbes magazine. ISI chief Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha is
ranked 56th. Obama has regained the top spot in Forbes magazine s list
of the world s most powerful people, edging out Russian Prime Minister
Vladimir Putin and last year s winner, Chinese President Hu Jintao, who
slipped down to third.
Obama, who topped the list in 2009 only to be dethroned by Hu in 2010,
has had a difficult year at home as the American economy struggles to
emerge from a crippling recession, but he did enjoy a number of foreign
policy successes.
"Sure, his jobs bill was gutted, his debt-ceiling negotiating was
derided and his popularity has plummeted, endangering his reelection,
but Obama regains his position as the most powerful person on the planet
this year," Forbes said.
"Why? Despite faddish American declinism, the US remains, indisputably,
the most powerful nation in the world, with the largest, most innovative
economy and the deadliest military.
"Plus, Obama s only legitimate rival for the title, last year s number
one, Chinese President Hu Jintao, is diminishing in influence as he
gives up political office."
Forbes lists Obama s 2011 highlight as a Navy SEAL raid the president
ordered inside Pakistan that killed the world s most wanted man,
Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
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"In second place is Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who is poised
to regain the Russian presidency this year from his loyal underling
President Dmitry Medvedev," Forbes said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel was ranked fourth, followed by Microsoft
chairman and philanthropist Bill Gates, Saudi Arabia s King Abdullah,
Pope Benedict XVI, US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Facebook
founder Mark Zuckerberg.
Britain s Prime Minister David Cameron nailed down the number 10 spot,
followed by Indian National Congress President Sonia Gandhi, the
European Central Bank s Italian president, Mario Draghi, and President
Nicolas Sarkozy of France.
Among those dropping off the top 70 list were WikiLeaks founder Julian
Assange and former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who resigned to
fight sexual assault charges.
Talk show queen Oprah Winfrey also fell off the rankings after her
retirement, and the deaths of Steve Jobs and bin Laden took them off the
list.
The Dalai Lama dropped 12 spots this year to 51st place after announcing
that he plans to give up his position atop Tibet s government in exile,
Forbes said.
Two criminals made the list: Mexican drug lord Joaquin Guzman Loera of
the Sinaloa cartel was 55th and Mumbai organized crime figure Dawood
Ibrahim Kaskar was 57th.
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The complete list is available at www.forbes.com/power. Here is the top
10:
1. US President Barack Obama
2. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
3. Chinese President Hu Jintao
4. German Chancellor Angela Merkel
5. Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
6. King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia
7. Pope Benedict XVI
8. Ben Bernanke, chairman of the US Federal Reserve
9. Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook
10. British Prime Minister David Cameron
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