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.
德国总理安吉拉·默克尔的丈夫尤沃钦·萨奥尔是个颇为低调的人，可在即将召开的八国集团首脑峰会上，他却有一个艰巨的任务。
在默克尔接待世界上最富裕的八个国家的领导人的同时，她的身为量子化学教授的丈夫将成为各位领导人配偶中的唯一男性。
今年58岁的萨奥尔生性羞涩，他甚至没有参加2005年底默克尔的总理就职仪式。
根据安排，在几位首脑举行有关气候变化等重要全球性问题的会谈期间，萨奥尔得率领劳拉·布什等几位第一夫人游览海利根达姆的风光，不过，萨奥尔可能对此并不期待。
可这位柏林洪堡德大学的教授不得不完成这个任务。为了“锻炼”自己，他还主动承担了3月份欧盟50周年纪念庆典接待各国首脑配偶的任务。
周四，他将率领七位第一夫人前往位于波罗的海海港城市罗斯托克附近的施里茨 城堡，参加一个有关人口发展的研讨会。
午餐后，萨奥尔一行将在城堡四周“漫步”，参观（雕刻大师）沃尔特·肖特1903年的作品--德国“青年派”风格女神雕像喷泉。
之后，萨奥尔一行将前往距海利根达姆45公里的维斯玛，来自八国的74位青年代表将在此讨论目前世界所面临的主要问题，与主会场遥相呼应。
八国集团峰会的成员国包括英国、加拿大、法国、德国、意大利、日本、俄罗斯和美国。
