<!-- The१९७३ के तेल संकट और आर्थिक मंदी के बाद विश्व के बडे औद्यिगिक-लोकतांत्रिक देशों को एक मंच पर लाने का प्रस्ताव सामने आया।The concept of a forum for the world's major industrialized [[democracy|democracies]] emerged following the [[1973 oil crisis]] and subsequent global [[recession]]. In 1974 the United States created the Library Group, an informal gathering of senior financial officials from the [[United States]], the [[United Kingdom]], [[West Germany]], [[Japan]] and [[France]]. In [[1975]], French President [[Valéry Giscard d'Estaing]] invited the [[heads of government]] from West Germany, [[Italy]], Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States to a summit in [[Rambouillet]]. The six leaders agreed to an annual meeting organized under a rotating presidency, forming the Group of Six (G6). The following year, [[Canada]] joined the group at the behest of [[Germany]]'s Chancellor [[Helmut Schmidt|Chancellor Helmut Schmidt]] and [[President of the United States|U.S. President]] [[Gerald Ford]]<ref>[http://www.canadianencyclopedia.ca/PrinterFriendly.cfm?Params=A1ARTFET_E10 ''G8: The Most Exclusive Club in the World'', Thomas S. Axworthy, ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'', Historica Foundation of Canada, Toronto, Undated].Accessed07-12-2008.</ref> and the group became the 'Group of Seven' -or G7. The [[European Union]] is represented by the [[President of the European Commission]] and the leader of the country that holds the [[Presidency of the Council of the European Union]]. The [[President of the European Commission]] has attended all meetings since it was first invited by the United Kingdom in [[1977]]<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.deljpn.ec.europa.eu/union/showpage_en_union.Harry.g8.php| title = EU and the G8| accessdate = 2006-07-17| publisher = European Union}}</ref> and the [[President of the European Council|Council President]] now also regularly attends.
The [[Cold War]] with the [[Soviet Union]] ended and the country's dissolution in 1991, [[Russia]] became the successor state. From the [[20th G7 summit|1994's G7 summit in Naples]], Russian officials held separate meetings with leaders of the G7 after the group's summits. This informal arrangement was dubbed the Political 8 (P8) - or, colloquially, the 'G7+1'. At the invitation of [[United Kingdom]] [[Tony Blair|premier Tony Blair]] and [[United States|US]] President [[Bill Clinton]]<ref>[http://www.theglobalist.com/storyid.aspx?StoryId=5151 ''Russia — Odd Man Out in the G-8'', Mark Medish, ''The Globalist'', 02-24-2006].Accessed: 07-12-2008]</ref>, Russia formally joined the group in 1997, resulting in the 'Group of Eight' - the G8. -->
