G20 Sherpa

About:

• A Sherpa is a personal representative of the leader of a member country at an international Summit meeting such as the G8, G20, the Nuclear Security Summit etc.
• The Sherpa engages in planning, negotiation and implementation tasks through the Summit.
• They coordinate the agenda, seek consensus at the highest political levels, and participate in a series of pre-Summit consultations to help negotiate their leaders’ positions.
• Sherpas are career diplomats or senior government officials appointed by the leaders of their countries.
• The term is derived from the Nepalese Sherpa people, who serve as guides for mountaineers in the Himalayas.
• There is only one Sherpa per Summit for each member country; he/she is assisted by several sous Sherpas.