Nobel Peace Prize winner Gorbachev at Leaders in Dubai

The trio of political heavyweights, who have dominated headlines over the last 20 years, will join five business and strategy leaders to debate international leadership principles in front of an expected 2,500 delegates.

Gorbachev was leader of the former USSR from 1985 and 1991, and his attempts at reform led to the end of the Cold War, as well as the introduction of glasnost and perestroika to the Communist state, resulting in the end of its political supremacy and eventual dissolution.

In January 1987, he called for the Soviet political process to move towards democracy and launched radical reforms to reduce Communist Party control over government - and the other Eastern bloc countries.

The loosening of Soviet control over Eastern Europe led to a string of largely peaceful revolutions and the collapse of Communism.

In international affairs, he sought to improve relations and trade with the West, as well as the signing of nuclear weapons treaties with the USA. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990.

Speaking at the event are seven other political and business leaders:
•Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad, former Prime Minister of Malaysia from 1981 - 2003
•Madeleine Albright, the first female Secretary of State in the USA and a director of the New York Stock Exchange
•Daniel Pink, the author of Free Agent Nation, the Washington Post bestseller, who will suggest six aptitudes crucial to the survival of white-collar workers
•Kenichi Ohmae, the former director of McKinsey Japan, who has earned global acclaim as 'Mr Strategy'
•Arie de Geus, who was at the helm of Royal Dutch Shell for 40 years and has been described as "the global statesman" of business change
•Spencer Johnson, the author of the bestsellers Who Moved My Cheese and The One-Minute Manager
•Scott Bedbury, one of the world's leading brand architects, responsible for Nike's Just Do It campaign and the emergence of the Starbucks brand

Leaders in Dubai is expected to attract more than 2,500 business leaders from across Arabia and will be held at Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai, from November 28 to 29, 2005.

Delegate prices for the full two-day summit are US $2,995 per person with an early registration offer of an Apple iPod mp3 player. Corporate booking and prices are available through www.leadersindubai.com.

LEADING MINDS, part of the international conference organisers IIR, is a company specialising in presenting the latest thoughts and groundbreaking ideas from pre-eminent international business authorities.