The Group consists of the 6-7-8 largest industrialized democracies, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States and formerly Russia.
The G7 holds an annual summit, which each nation's head of government attends.
Each year the heads of government take turns assuming the presidency, whose job it is to set the agenda for and host the annual summit.
Russia joined the Group of Eight, G8, in 1997, under the leadership of President Boris Yeltsin.
[1] The following is a chronology of senior G7 leaders from the founding of the G6 (a precursor organization to the G8) to the present.