From Florida Governor, Republican Ron DeSantis, to French basketball prodigy Victor Wembanyama, to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, here are ten personalities to follow around the world in 2023.
Ron DeSantis
Critical year for Ron DeSantis, 44. The very popular governor of Florida, re-elected hands down in November at the head of this southeastern American state, should announce his candidacy for the Republican primaries for the presidential election of 2024. This rising star of the conservative camp would then face his former mentor Donald Trump, who afflicts him with the nickname “Ron la Morale” (“Ron de Sanctimonious”).
Kristalina Georgieva
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva will be on the front lines in 2023 trying to stave off a full-scale debt crisis. The pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict have weakened the world economy, caused state borrowing to explode and fueled vertiginous inflation. Between rising interest rates and a looming recession, many more fragile countries are at risk of default.
prince harry
After his sensational departure from the royal family with his wife Meghan in 2020, his shock interview in 2021 and a documentary series expected on Netflix on December 8, Prince Harry publishes his memoirs in January. This book titled The Alternate and announced without filter, risks causing a stir a few months before the coronation of his father Charles, on May 6.
Bob Iger
Recalled in November at the head of Disney, Bob Iger has two years to save his legacy and make up for the losses of the streaming platforms with which the American entertainment giant launched an attack on Netflix. His predecessor Bob Chapek, who left through the back door, had also drawn the wrath of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis by criticizing his “Don’t say gay” law. This text prohibits the teaching of subjects related to sexual orientation and gender identity in primary school. In retaliation, DeSantis removed the special status enjoyed by the Disney World theme park in Florida since the 1960s.
Ons Jabeur
The first Arab woman to play in the final of the Wimbledon tournament, Tunisian tennis player Ons Jabeur, has two goals for next year: to become world number one and to win a Grand Slam tournament. The 28-year-old world number two is celebrated as a star in Tunisia where the Minister of Sports has awarded her the title of “Minister of Happiness”. The player, who began to break into the professional rankings in 2018, has led the whole country to taste this discipline.
Sydney McLaughlin
American Sydney McLaughlin, the first runner to break the 51-second barrier in the 400-metre hurdles, is expected to sparkle at the upcoming World Athletics Championships in Budapest in August. The 23-year-old champion, who has already smashed the world record four times (50’68) in her favorite discipline, hinted that she could try the 400-meter singles or the 100-meter hurdles.
Margot Robbie
She will embody Barbie alongside Ryan Gosling, in the highly anticipated film of the same name by feminist director Greta Gerwig, then find Brad Pitt in Damien Chazelle’s Babylon: Australian star Margot Robbie continues her prodigious rise in Hollywood next year.
Peter Obi
Will he create a surprise in the February presidential election in Nigeria? Labor Peter Obi wants to embody the change expected by the youth of Africa’s most populous country, succeeding President Muhammadu Buhari. This 61-year-old Catholic, who claims to have had the same watch for 17 years and wears shoes worth less than 60 euros, appears to be the incorruptible candidate against his opponents from the two main Nigerian parties.
Tsai Ing-wen
President of Taiwan since 2016, Tsai Ing-wen will have to face growing pressure from China in the coming months, which has multiplied incursions into the airspace of the island, detached from the mainland since 1949. Last August, tensions reached an unprecedented level after the visit to Taiwan of the leader of the American deputies Nancy Pelosi, to which Beijing responded with major military maneuvers.
Victor Wembanyama
The “extraterrestrial” Victor Wembanyama is highly anticipated to become next June the number one basketball player in the next NBA draft (pool in which the teams of the American championship draw). The skinny 2.21m prodigy, just of age but already closely followed by the American public, currently plays for the Metropolitans 92 (Paris region) whose matches are broadcast in the United States, unheard of for a player and a non-American championship.