German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt (2nd from right) and French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing (2nd from left) called the first World Economic Summit in Rambouillet in 1975
The heads of state and government of France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the USA hold a fireplace meeting against the backdrop of the oil and financial crisis
Canada joined the group of the most important industrialised nations at the summit in Puerto Rico in 1976
The Group of Seven met for the first time under palm trees
Queen Elizabeth II (left) welcomed the G7 to London in 1977. First meetings with the European Community were held during the summit
German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt welcomed the G7 to Germany for the first time in 1978
The heads of state and government of the G7 together in the park in front of Palais Schaumburg in Bonn
Since the summit in Ottawa in 1981 the European Community has regularly taken part in G7 meetings
Helmut Kohl hosted the G7 meeting for the first time in Bonn in 1985
After the fall of the Berlin Wall first meetings were held with Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev (2nd from left) on the margins of the summit in London in 1991
The World Economic Summit in Munich in 1992 dealt with economic assistance for Russia. Helmut Kohl met Russian President Boris Jelzin in the margins of the summit
The G8 was finally constituted at the summit meeting held in Birmingham in 1998, with Russia its newest member
German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder hosted the G8 Summit in Cologne in 1999. The conference venue was Museum Ludwig
German Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed the G8 to the next German summit meeting, which was held in Heiligendamm in 2007
Meetings were held in what is probably the world's longest roofed wicker beach chair
In 2013 the heads of state and government met for a G8 summit in Northern Ireland. In 2014 the G7 did not take part in the summit chaired by Russia on account of the conflict in Ukraine
In 2014 the G7 met in Brussels without Russia. Germany assumed the Presidency of the G7