The International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) is a professional exchange program funded by the U.S. Department of State Office of International Visitors in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The purpose of the program is to help build mutual understanding between citizens of the U.S. and other countries.
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In 1948 representative Karl E. Mundt and Senator H. Alexander Smith marshaled the Informational and Educational Exchange Act, also known as the Smith-Mundt Act which was passed by the 80th United States Congress and approved by President Harry S. Truman. During a time when Americans grew increasingly concerned about Soviet propaganda, the purpose of the Smith-Mundt was "to promote a better understanding of the United States in other countries, and to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries" though educational and cultural exchanges.[1] From this legislation birthed the Foreign Leaders Program, which was eventually consolidated into the International Visitor Program (IVP) in 1952. In 2004 the IVP was renamed the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP).
While the IVLP has no written statement of purpose, Dr. Sherry L. Mueller (President, National Council for International Visitors) has identified at least two goals that have remained consistent since the inception of the program:
- Link the foreign leaders with their U.S. counterparts, providing a solid professional experience and in-depth, substantive exploration of key issues and diverse, balanced approaches to these issues.
- Enable the visitors to gain a better understanding of the history and heritage of the United States, a better sense of who [Americans] are as a people and what [Americans] value.[2]
The following tables list current and former chiefs of state and heads of government who have participated in the International Visitor Leadership Program.[3][4]
| Country | Name | Highest Position | Year Participated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | Julia Gillard | Prime Minister | 2006 |
| Paul Keating | Prime Minister | 1977 | |
| William Hayden | Governor General | 1970 | |
| Malcolm Fraser | Prime Minister | 1964 | |
| Gough Whitlam | Prime Minister | 1964 | |
| Cook Islands | Terepai Maoate | Prime Minister | 1987 |
| Federated States of Micronesia | Tosiwo Nakayama | President | 1961 |
| Fiji | Kamisese Mara | Acting President | 1964 |
| Penaia Ganilau | President | 1963 | |
| George Cakobau | Governor General | 1964 | |
| Indonesia | Megawati Sukarnoputri | President | 1989 |
| Abdurrahman Wahid | President | 1979 | |
| Japan | Morihiro Hosokawa | Prime Minister | 1980 |
| Toshiki Kaifu | Prime Minister | 1962 | |
| Malaysia | Mahathir bin Mohamad | Prime Minister | 1973 |
| Abdul Razak | Prime Minister | 1963, 1953 | |
| Mongolia | Nambaryn Enkhbayar | President | 1994 |
| New Zealand | Helen Clark | Prime Minister | 1998 |
| Jenny Shipley | Prime Minister | 1989 | |
| David Lange | Prime Minister | 1983 | |
| Norman Kirk | Prime Minister | 1971, 1962 | |
| Robert Muldoon | Prime Minister | 1965 | |
| Wallace E. Rowling | Prime Minister | 1967 | |
| Jack Marshall | Prime Minister | 1958 | |
| Palau | Lazarus Salii | President | 1968 |
| Papua New Guinea | Ignatius Kilage | Governor-General | 1976 |
| Michael Somare | Prime Minister | 1971 | |
| Philippines | Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo | President | 1964 |
| Samoa | Vaai Kolone | Prime Minister | 1981 |
| Singapore | Wee Kim Wee | President | 1964 |
| Devan Nair | President | 1979 | |
| South Korea | Kim Dae-jung | President | 1965 |
| Kim Yong-sam | President | 1964 | |
| Han Seung-soo | Prime Minister | 1977 | |
| Hyun Seung-jong | Acting Prime Minister | 1971 | |
| Lee Yung-duk | Prime Minister | 1966 | |
| Kim Sang-hyup | Prime Minister | 1970, 1960 | |
| Nam Duck-woo | Prime Minister | 1975 | |
| Chung Il-kwon | Prime Minister | 1971 | |
| Lee Han-key | Prime Minister | 1972 | |
| Choi Doo-sun | Prime Minister | 1950 | |
| Taiwan | Ma Ying-jeou | President | 1971, 2003 |
| Chen Shui-bian | President | 1990 | |
| Thailand | Chuan Leekpai | Prime Minister | 1971 |
| Tonga | Taufa'ahau Tupou IV | King | 1964 |
| Fatafehi Tu'ipelehake | Prime Minister | 1968 | |
| Vanuatu | Walter Lini | Prime Minister | 1976 |
| Country/Region | Name | Highest Position | Year Participated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | Heinz Fischer | President | 1964 |
| Alfred Gusenbauer | Chancellor | 1987 | |
| Wolfgang Schüssel | Chancellor | 1984, 1971 | |
| Franz Vranitzky | Chancellor | 1975 | |
| Bruno Kreisky | Chancellor | 1958 | |
| Fred Sinowatz | Chancellor | 1965 | |
| Belgium | Yves Leterme | Prime Minister | 1983 |
| Guy Verhofstadt | Prime Minister | 1983 | |
| Wilfried Martens | Prime Minister | 1971 | |
| Leo Tindemans | Prime Minister | 1967 | |
| Mark Eyskens | Prime Minister | 1984 | |
| Bulgaria | Sergei Stanishev | Prime Minister | 2004 |
| Zhan Videnov | Prime Minister | 1992 | |
| Philip Dimitrov | Prime Minister | 1990 | |
| Croatia | Ivica Racan | Prime Minister | 1998 |
| Denmark | Anders Fogh Rasmussen | Prime Minister | 1982 |
| Poul Nyrup Rasmussen | Prime Minister | 1985 | |
| Finland | Tarja Halonen | President | 1983 |
| Matti Vanhanen | Prime Minister | 1993 | |
| Paavo Lipponen | Prime Minister | 1974 | |
| Esko Aho | Prime Minister | 1979 | |
| Harri Holkeri | Prime Minister | 1970 | |
| France | Nicolas Sarkozy | President | 1985 |
| François Fillon | Prime Minister | 1984 | |
| Lionel Jospin | Prime Minister | 1977 | |
| Alain Juppe | Prime Minister | 1978 | |
| Pierre Beregovoy | Prime Minister | 1977 | |
| Valery Giscard D'Estaing | President | 1956 | |
| Georgia | Mikheil Saakashvili | President | 1999 |
| Zurab Noghaideli | Prime Minister | 1997 | |
| Zurab Zhvania | Prime Minister | 1997 | |
| Germany | Christian Wulff | President | 2000 |
| Gerhard Schröder | Chancellor | 1981 | |
| Richard von Weizsäcker | President | 1978 | |
| Walter Scheel | President | 1951 | |
| Karl Carstens | President | 1950 | |
| Kurt Georg Kiesinger | Chancellor | 1954 | |
| Willy Brandt | Chancellor | 1954 | |
| Helmut Schmidt | Chancellor | 1956 | |
| Greece | Konstandinos Karamanlis | Prime Minister | 1995 |
| Constantine Mitsotakis | Prime Minister | 1959 | |
| Constantine Karamanlis | President | 1951 | |
| Constantine Tsatsos | President | 1952 | |
| George Rallis | Prime Minister | 1958, 1953 | |
| Hungary | Gyula Horn | Prime Minister | 1981 |
| Jozsef Antall | Prime Minister | 1989 | |
| Iceland | Geir Haarde | Prime Minister | 1985 |
| David Oddsson | Prime Minister | 1983 | |
| Thorsteinn Palsson | Prime Minister | 1984 | |
| Kristjan Eldjarn | President | 1957 | |
| Ireland | Mary Robinson | President | 1976 |
| John Bruton | Prime Minister | 1980 | |
| Italy | Oscar Luigi Scalfaro | President | 1960 |
| Francesco Cossiga | President | 1966 | |
| Giuseppe Saragat | President | 1963 | |
| Romano Prodi | Prime Minister | 1979 | |
| Giovanni Goria | Prime Minister | 1981 | |
| Giovanni Spadolini | Prime Minister | 1952 | |
| Arnaldo Forlani | Prime Minister | 1960 | |
| Kosovo | Fatmir Sejdiu | President | 2003 |
| Bajram Kosumi | Prime Minister | 2001 | |
| Bajram Rexhepi | Prime Minister | 2000 | |
| Lithuania | Gediminas Kirkilas | Prime Minister | 2002 |
| Luxembourg | Jacques Santer | Prime Minister | 1973 |
| Macedonia | Nikola Gruevski | Prime Minister | 2000 |
| Boris Trajkovski | President | 1996 | |
| Ljubco Georgievski | Prime Minister | 1996 | |
| Malta | Edward Fenech Adami | President | 1974, 1975 |
| Lawrence Gonzi | Prime Minister | 1990 | |
| Ugo Mifsud Bonnici | President | 1971 | |
| Dominic Mintoff | Prime Minister | 1965 | |
| Moldova | Petru Lucinschi | President | 1995 |
| The Netherlands | Jan Peter Balkenende | Prime Minister | 1985 |
| Willem Kok | Prime Minister | 1978 | |
| Joop den Uyl | Prime Minister | 1953, 1979 | |
| Norway | Jens Stoltenberg | Prime Minister | 1988 |
| Kjell Magne Bondevik | Prime Minister | 1971 | |
| Jan P. Syse | Prime Minister | 1978 | |
| Kare Willoch | Prime Minister | 1979 | |
| Poland | Bronislaw Komorowski | President | 2006 |
| Donald Tusk | Prime Minister | 1995 | |
| Hanna Suchocka | Prime Minister | 1988 | |
| Mieczysław Rakowski | Prime Minister | 1978 | |
| Portugal | Anibal Cavaco Silva | President | 1978 |
| Jorge Sampaio | President | 1965 | |
| Mario Alberto Soares | President | 1976 | |
| Antonio Guterres | Prime Minister | 1978 | |
| Francisco Pinto Balsemao | Prime Minister | 1965 | |
| Romania | Victor Ciorbea | Prime Minister | 1995 |
| Slovenia | Janez Drnovšek | President | 1988 |
| Sweden | Frederik Reinfeldt | Prime Minister | 2002 |
| Carl Bildt | Prime Minister | 1973 | |
| Switzerland | Moritz Leuenberger | President | 1993 |
| Turkey | Abdullah Gul | President | 1995 |
| Suleyman Demirel | President | 1957 | |
| Ukraine | Leonid Kuchma | President | 1994 |
| Leonid Kravchuk | President | ||
| United Kingdom | Gordon Brown | Prime Minister | 1992, 1984 |
| Tony Blair | Prime Minister | 1992, 1986 | |
| Margaret Thatcher | Prime Minister | 1967 | |
| Edward Heath | Prime Minister | 1953 |
| Country | Name | Highest Position | Year Participated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | Hamid Karzai | President | 1987 |
| Bangladesh | Fakhruddin Ahmed | Chief Advisor | 1977 |
| Sheikh Mujibur Rahman | Prime Minister | 1952 | |
| Bhutan | Jigme Thinley | Prime Minister | 1987 |
| Khandu Wangchuk | Prime Minister | 1993 | |
| Egypt | Anwar Sadat | President | 1968 |
| Ahmed Nazif | Prime Minister | 1990 | |
| Ahmad Fuad Mohieddin | Prime Minister | 1977 | |
| India | Pratibha Patil | President | 1999, 1986 |
| Kocheril Raman Narayanan | President | 1969 | |
| Manmohan Singh | Prime Minister | 1981 | |
| Atal Bihari Vajpayee | Prime Minister | 1960 | |
| Indira Gandhi | Prime Minister | 1961 | |
| Morarji Desai | Prime Minister | 1962 | |
| Israel | Moshe Katzav | President | 1980 |
| Ehud Olmert | Prime Minister | 1978 | |
| Jordan | Adnan Badran | Prime Minister | 1977 |
| Faisal al-Fayez | Prime Minister | 1988 | |
| Abdelsalam al-Majali | Prime Minister | 1969 | |
| Kyrgyzstan | Kurmanbek Bakiyev | President | 2004 |
| Lebanon | Amin Gemayel | President | 1979, 1972 |
| Elias Sarkis | President | 1971 | |
| Morocco | Azzedine Laraki | Prime Minister | 1986 |
| Maati Bouabid | Prime Minister | 1965, 1961 | |
| Nepal | Krishna Prasad Bhattarai | Prime Minister | 1993 |
| Sher Bahadur Deuba | Prime Minister | ||
| Pakistan | Ghulam Ishaq Khan | President | 1949 |
| Sri Lanka | Mahinda Rajapakse | President | 1989 |
| Ratnasiri Wickremanayake | Prime Minister | 1975 | |
| Ranasinghe Premadasa | President | 1966 | |
| Tunisia | Mohamed Mzali | Prime Minister | 1964 |
| Qatar | Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani | Prime Minister | 1989 |
The IVLP functions through a public-private partnership with several national program agencies that arrange the itineraries for the foreign visitors.