German Chancellor Angela Merkel's husband Joachim Sauer (2ndR) talks with then French president Jacques Chirac's wife Bernadette (2ndL), British Prime Minister Tony Blair's wife Cherie (L) and Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos' wife Fotini 25 March in Berlin. Joachim Sauer, the low-key husband of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, has a tough duty at the Group of Eight summit. While Merkel hosts the leaders of the world's eight most wealthy nations, her husband, a professor of quantum chemistry, will be the only male with the spouses of the other presidents and prime ministers. Sauer, 58, is known as a rather timid partner of the German chancellor. He did not even go to her inauguration in late 2005. So he may not savor the prospect of showing Laura Bush and the other spouses around the sights of Heiligendamm while the leaders debate climate change and other crucial global topics. The Humboldt University of Berlin professor has had to organize the program. To practice, he volunteered to keep the wives and husbands at the European Union 50th anniversary celebrations in March entertained. On Thursday he will take the seven first ladies to the Schlitz castle near the Baltic port of Rostock, for a conference on demographic development. After lunch there will be a walk in the grounds of the chateau to see the Jugendstil nymph fountains, a work dating from 1903 by Walter Schott. Later the group will go to Wismar, about 45 kilometers from Heiligendamm, where 74 youths from the G8 countries are debating the main problems facing the world, in parallel to the main summit. The G8 brings together the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States for an annual summit. 點擊查看更多雙語新聞 (Reuters)

德國總理安吉拉·默克爾的丈夫尤沃欽·薩奧爾是個頗為低調的人，可在即將召開的八國集團首腦峰會上，他卻有一個艱巨的任務。 在默克爾接待世界上最富裕的八個國家的領導人的同時，她的身為量子化學教授的丈夫將成為各位領導人配偶中的唯一男性。 今年58歲的薩奧爾生性羞澀，他甚至沒有參加2005年底默克爾的總理就職儀式。 根據安排，在幾位首腦舉行有關氣候變化等重要全球性問題的會談期間，薩奧爾得率領勞拉·布什等幾位第一夫人游覽海利根達姆的風光，不過，薩奧爾可能對此并不期待。 可這位柏林洪堡德大學的教授不得不完成這個任務。為了“鍛煉”自己，他還主動承擔了3月份歐盟50周年紀念慶典接待各國首腦配偶的任務。 周四，他將率領七位第一夫人前往位于波羅的海海港城市羅斯托克附近的施里茨 城堡，參加一個有關人口發展的研討會。 午餐后，薩奧爾一行將在城堡四周“漫步”，參觀（雕刻大師）沃爾特·肖特1903年的作品--德國“青年派”風格女神雕像噴泉。 之后，薩奧爾一行將前往距海利根達姆45公里的維斯瑪，來自八國的74位青年代表將在此討論目前世界所面臨的主要問題，與主會場遙相呼應。 八國集團峰會的成員國包括英國、加拿大、法國、德國、意大利、日本、俄羅斯和美國。 （英語點津姍姍編輯）