| 16th G7 summit | |
|---|---|
 Lovett Hall at Rice University in Houston | |
| Host country | United States |
| Dates | July 9–11, 1990 |
| Follows | 15th G7 summit |
| Precedes | 17th G7 summit |
The16th G7 Summit was held atHouston between July 9 and 11, 1990. The venue for the summit meetings was the campus ofRice University and other locations nearby in theHouston Museum District.[1]
TheGroup of Seven (G7) was an unofficial forum which brought together the heads of the richest industrialized countries:France,West Germany,Italy,Japan, theUnited Kingdom, theUnited States,Canada (since 1976),[2] and thePresident of the European Commission (starting officially in 1981).[3] The summits were not meant to be linked formally with wider international institutions; and in fact, a mild rebellion against the stiff formality of other international meetings was a part of the genesis of cooperation between France's presidentValéry Giscard d'Estaing and West Germany's chancellorHelmut Schmidt as they conceived the firstGroup of Six (G6) summit in 1975.[4]
The G7 is an unofficial annual forum for the leaders of Canada, the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.[3]
The 16th G7 summit was the first forJapanese Prime MinisterToshiki Kaifu. It was also the last summit forBritish Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher.[5]
These summit participants are the current "core members" of the international forum:[6][1][7]
| Core G7 members Host state and leader are shown in bold text. | |||
| Member | Represented by | Title | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Canada | Brian Mulroney | Prime Minister |
 | France | François Mitterrand | President |
 | West Germany | Helmut Kohl | Chancellor |
 | Italy | Giulio Andreotti | Prime Minister |
 | Japan | Toshiki Kaifu | Prime Minister |
 | United Kingdom | Margaret Thatcher | Prime Minister |
 | United States | George H. W. Bush | President |
 | European Community | Jacques Delors | Commission President |
| Giulio Andreotti | Council President | ||
President George H.W. Bush unofficially opened the summit the night before the first official round of meetings was scheduled. He hosted a rodeo and barbecue with "armadillo races, bull riding, barrel racing, calf scrambling, the Grand Ole Opry, an Old West village, cowboys and Indians, oil rigs, square dancing, a sheriff with silver spurs, Styrofoam cacti, a model of the space shuttle, horseshoe contests, 1,250 gallons of barbecue sauce and jalapenos, 500 pounds of onions, 5,000 servings of cobbler and carrot cake, and 650 gallons of lemonade and iced tea."[8]
The official opening ceremonies were held outside in the Academic Quadrangle atRice University. The leaders stood on a specially built platform with air conditioners built into the floor which only afforded a measure of relief as temperatures rose to near 100 degrees. This platform was located in front of Lovett Hall, a Romanesque revival administration building designed by Ralph Adams Cram and built in 1912.[9]
At the close of initial speeches by each leader, the group moved inside, into the building's Founders Room, for their first working session in the building's "Founders Room." The talks lasted about two hours.[9]
A working dinner atBayou Bend, once the home of a philanthropist,Ima Hogg, and now a museum of American decorative arts was scheduled. The food, includingtortilla soup and grilled red snapper with basil lime sauce, was prepared by three of the premier chefs in Texas.[9]
In addition to their talks about significant international problems, the world leaders set aside some time to dine together in a formal affair which took place in Houston'sMuseum of Fine Arts (MFAH).[10]
Each leader attending the economic summit has a slightly different perspective about the priorities which need to be addressed by the group working together[11]
The summit was intended as a venue for resolving differences among its members. As a practical matter, the summit was also conceived as an opportunity for its members to give each other mutual encouragement in the face of difficult economic decisions.[4] Issues which were discussed at this summit included:
In 1990, as in 1989, the summit leaders proclaimed the necessity to fight climate change, restore the Ozone layer, protect the biodiversity and restore forests.http://www.g7.utoronto.ca/summit/1990houston/declaration.html#environment
Houston spent nearly $20 million on civic beautification projects in advance of the summit.[12]
DisgracedEnron Chief Executive and Chairman of the BoardKenneth Lay was the co-chairman of the organizing committee for economic summit for G-7 nations.[13]
A large sculpture was commissioned by Bush for the event. It ultimately consisted of several rectangular light pillars with the designs of the flags of the seven participating countries (plus theflag of Europe). After the summit, the sculpture was relocated toHouston Intercontinental Airport, which was renamed in honor of the former President some years later.
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