Finance Minister Trevor Manuel has been loudly hailed by all and sundry as South Africa's most capable of Cabinet operatives, a man who is often held up to the international community as an outstanding example of local efficiency. Business Editor Ebrahim Moolla lined him up against a couple of other big financial names who've held the precarious position.

Alan Greenspan — Longest span

Controversial, terse, and obtuse, the longest serving Fed Reserve chairperson in history managed to confuse and inspire in equal measure. Lauded for his handling of the 1987 stock market crash, he has also been vilified as the architect of the US sub-prime crisis and political bed-hopping. A firm advocate of laissez-faire capitalism, the dour Greenspan’s views on economic policy are considered gospel by many as he continues to write profusely since retiring from government service in 2006.

What Greenspan lacks in charisma, he more than makes up in staying power – he has been through it all, the stock market crash of 1987, the boom of the 1990s, the trauma of 9/11, the climactic end of the Cold War, a cascade of events propelling a new world forward at warp speed. Such is the one-time jazz musician’s mathematical prowess that former congressman Frank Ikard once called him "the kind of person who knows how many thousands of flat-headed bolts were used in a Chevrolet and what it would do to the national economy if you took out three of them".

Christine Lagarde — Queen of exports

Manuel has to defend his budgetary applications in front of a female opposition leader, but he should be thankful her name is Helen Zille and not Christine Lagarde. Saddled with the unenviable task of instating a number of unpopular reforms on a notoriously pessimistic French public, including doing away with a cushy 37-hour working week, the Parisian Finance Minister has shown the kind of mettle and characteristic candour that makes her a leading member of President Nicolas Sarkozy's administration. She is held in high regard in international circles, as seen at the recent G7 summit.

The Legion d'Honneur award-winner has not only survived but thrived in the male-dominated upper echelons of government. The former head of one of the world’s largest law firms, Lagarde has been the rudder behind the French export boom of the last few years. Forbes voted her the 30th most powerful woman in the world in 2006, a ranking she will no doubt improve upon as her presence grows.

Benjamin Disraeli — War and wit

With the unique distinction among British politicians for having gained equal social and political renown, a Benjamin Disraeli Budget Speech would be something to savour. In a long and illustrious career, he served three turbulent 17th century terms as the chancellor of the exchequer before going on to become prime minister and being elevated to the peerage.

A celebrated wit and novelist of some standing, his Budgets were not as well received, marked as they were by bad timing and perceived inexperience. The consummate statesman was however, an entrepreneur of great vision – it was Disraeli who purchased 44 percent of the Suez Canal Company on behalf of the Empire, an incredibly lucrative investment. As a man who once said "Power has only one duty - to secure the social welfare of the People," Disraeli would have made an exceedingly popular addition to the Zuma cabinet.

Palaniappan Chidambaram — Bridling the beast

Any finance ministry will throw up challenges but managing the booming economy of a nation with over a billion inhabitants is a job for which only the truly gifted need apply. A champion of economic reform and poverty elimination, Indian Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram has succeeded in bridling bestial growth rates of over eight percent and soaring foreign investment while keeping inflation in check in his second stint in the financial hotseat. A captivating speaker, Chidambaram has made a name for himself as an economic diplomat.

Economists acclaim his "dream-budget" for 1996-97, in which he brought discipline in government spending and launched an ambitious tax reform programme to tackle an unwieldy fiscal deficit. The Harvard graduate is one of the most outspoken supporters of free trade as a means to poverty elimination and a darling of the industrialists. Coming from an affluent trading community, Chidambaram is also a leading lawyer and has acted as consultant to many multinational firms – an experience that has prepared him for success at the head of one of the biggest ‘firms’ of them all.


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