When investment bankers decide it is time to leave their industry, many take extended leave or choose to retire altogether. Milen Veltchev went straight to being Bulgaria’s finance minister.

Paul Martin, chairman of the G-20, speaks on the dangers of hosting global economic summits in light of the new wave of terrorism. He also talks about the upcoming conference in Ottawa, trade finance, and the economic side of the war on terrorism.

After two years in the job, the South African Reserve Bank’s governor Tito Mboweni has earned the respect and admiration of his peers and market players. His biggest success has been in bringing inflation under control.

If ever a finance minister was in the firing line, Shaukat Aziz is that man. The 30-year veteran of Citibank is saddled with the task of selling yet another military government in Pakistan to a sceptical international investor community.

Daniel Vasella has had a tough time as chief executive of life sciences company Novartis, with a collapse in its agribusiness, management turmoil in pharmaceuticals and weak performance in the US. But he's restructured the company and now hopes new drugs can deliver growth.

Protests against her austerity package and calls for her resignation have failed to stop Brigita Schmögnerovà from doing the most exciting job she has ever had. By Jonathan Brown.

Other central bank governors may lead a sedate life, contemplating the economy through half open eyes and jumping into action once or twice a year to notch the prime rate up or down by 25 basis points before they go back to watching the fiscal grass grow. Not Turkey’s Gazi Ercel. Metin Munir reports.

They may be a decade late, but Japan's banks are finally restructuring. The headline deals will create the world's two largest banks. An exclusive interview with Masao Nishimura, president of IBJ and a prime mover in the recent combination of IBJ with Fuji Bank and DKB, gives an insight into the thinking of Japan's financial elite. But, as Simon Brady reports, bad debts, low profitability and economic malaise will prevent even these new giants from becoming world leaders.

Rolf Breuer, speaker of Deutsche Bank, defends the purchase of Bankers Trust

When Armínio Fraga quit his job at Soros Fund Management to become Brazil's central banker he was dubbed a "poacher turned gamekeeper". But he is no stranger to the public sector. With stability restored he is now modernizing Brazil's finance sector. Brian Caplen reports

Plummeting oil prices, turmoil in world markets and natural disasters: José Angel Gurría's first months as Mexico's finance secretary were a baptism of fire. But his legendary powers of persuasion enabled him to make vital budget cuts to keep Mexico on track. By Brian Caplen

He has been the prince regent of international finance, the central banker in waiting. But Rafael Buenaventura has finally taken on the mantle of Philippines central bank governor more than a year after his old school mate, President Estrada, let it be known that Buenaventura would be the man.

Alexander Nelson Hood, 4th Viscount Bridport.

Gordon Brown, UK chancellor of the exchequer, speaks to Nick Kochan about the birth of the euro, tax competition in Europe and rethinking the world's financial architecture.

In the 1980s, John Gutfreund was the "King of Wall Street". The soberly dressed former municipal bond trader would arrive at work each morning with a reputed readiness to "bite the ass off a bear".

Long, long ago, when half the world was ruled by men who still believed in state control of the economy, Poland took the gamble of letting the market decide the price of goods. That dose of shock therapy in 1989 became a model for eastern Europe. The man who imposed it became one of the region's leading economic thinkers. Now he is back at the helm of the Polish economy. James Rutter talks to Leszek Balcerowicz about history, movies and the trials of coalition government.

How did Asia's foremost investment bank come to grief? Andre Lee - seen by many as the villain of the piece - speaks out for the first time. He tells Peter Lee about the internal tensions at Peregrine, the role of his fixed-income business, the firm's culture of credit management and the source of the rumours that broke the bank

You could never get them together in one room at the same time. But, using the wonders of technology, Euromoney did the next best thing. We collected the views of seven top European bank chairmen and CEOs on the challenges facing the banking industry, and synthesized them into a virtual roundtable. Garry Evans moderated the discussion.

ABN Amro is not one house but many. Its interests across the globe include auto leases in Brazil and Japan's biggest foreign bank. But it has achieved this position in seven years without making either headline-grabbing mergers or hiring high-flyers. Instead, its universal banking business is a patchwork of different names. Through all the expansion, the bank's culture remains distinctly Dutch and every decision is pondered by its eight-man executive board. Chairman Jan Kalff is the man who holds it all together.

Since Anatoly Chubais became finance minister, Russia's stock has risen dramatically. The architect of privatization is now pushing ahead with wide-ranging economic reforms, to the delight of the international community.

Over the past three months Euromoney editor Garry Evans interviewed Ospel for a total of five hours, twice in Ospel's office in Basel and once last month, the day after the bank announced its 1996 results, by video link-up between London and Basel. The full 15,000-word text follows.

Diethart Breipohl is a modest man. But as finance director of the Allianz insurance group he presides over Dm320 billion of investments, probably the biggest portfolio in Europe. That includes significant stakes in Germany's blue-chip firms, suggesting to some that Allianz is "the spider in the web" of corporate Germany.

Antonio Fazio, governor of the Banca d'Italia since May 1993, has steered the Italian economy towards low inflation and further enhanced the central bank's reputation for independence.

Robert Rubin, secretary of the US treasury, has faced tough situations and made tough decisions. In a remarkably short time, he dealt with the Mexico crisis and put the dollar back on course, demonstrating a rare grasp of both domestic politics and global markets. By Katharine Morton

Edson Mitchell's bold attempt to turn Deutsche Morgan Grenfell (DMG) into a world-beating bond house has made headlines in the past year. He has employed about 500 new staff -­ including many from his old firm, Merrill Lynch -­ in little more than 12 months. But until now Mitchell has shied away from talking publicly about his plans. Here, for the first time, he reveals what his aims are -­ and how he's going about achieving them. Mitchell spoke to Garry Evans

Last month, Fidel Castro, president of Cuba since 1959, gave an exclusive interview to Euromoney editor Garry Evans – his first interview with the western press in years. The old dog is having to learn new tricks. While he makes it clear he is not about to allow democracy or convert Cuba to capitalism, he is gung-ho about encouraging foreign investment. But, with the Cuban economy going into a tailspin, he admits he has little choice.