#3. Tony Blair: I don't know as much about him as I would like but that is more my fault and the fact that I live in the US, not in the UK. If I didn't read the Economist and watch the BBC every day, I'd know next to nothing about him save for the occasional article in the New York Times. But it is obvious that he is presiding over both a political and social mini-revolution every bit as much as Thatcher did, and his ideology and style are influencing other leaders from Germany's Schroeder to Israel's Barak, both in remaking political parties and in fine-tuning a center way in social-democracies involving real change (albeit incremental) that people on both the left and right find comfortable (unlike Thatcher and Reagan whose rhetoric was meteoric but never really accepted by the majority or adhered to in the leaders' own private lives, threatening to opponents and whose changes once implemented were not all that they were cracked up to be). The UK is moving forward and he is politically strong and very much leading the way. He may be around for a long time. 

#2. Yossi Beillin: This man may need some introduction. He is currently shunted to the justice ministry in Israel where prime minister Barak hopes he will do the least harm (ie: interference in his foreign policy) but in his past he has been a protoge of Shimon Peres and a tinkerer in the relationship between Israel and the Palestinians. For over a decade, Beillin has been a wide-ranging thinker and author and his ideas have generally been to the Left of the mainstream. He is not much of a personality in political terms and is unlikely to ever be elected to an office. But significantly his ideas over time have gained mainstream acceptance and ultimately became Israeli policy. Examples: Deal with the PLO; Get out of Gaza; Get out of Lebanon; Refine the relationship between Israel and Diaspora Jewry to reflect new realities; and what will be the final settlement will closely track the agreement made between Beillin and Abu Mazen signed a few years ago. He is admired because he has been a free and creative thinker who has stuck with his positions, seen them accepted while he himself remains in the perpetual doghouse, a fate which he has accepted with dignity unlike his mentor Peres who fathoms political death to be worse than mortal death. But because he has not managed to put himself in a position to implement what he thinks, he cannot be in the #1 slot. 

#1. King Abdullah II of Jordan: The first two guys above have been scheming since they were kids to be running the show. Abdullah, a few months before he became king, would have been seen with his wife and kids in Amman restaurants, seeming to be without a care in the world. Probably happiest racing fast cars or jeeps with his Beduin officers in the middle of the desert. Know anyone else in the world age 37 who had to step into such big shoes so fast with so much of the world both pitying and underestimating him? 

Abdullah, through various "populist gimmicks" which appear and probably are quite genuine (ie: going undercover as a journalist to expose corruption and inefficiency and following up on these matters to show he is serious; waving the colors at soccer games; high-fiving well-wishers at his coronation parade), has moved quickly to win the favor of the people of Jordan and has shown a recognition that fundamental changes need to be made in the political, economic and social spheres in order for the country to succeed for the next generation. He is focused on economic development and it is too bad he is not getting the help he needs from donors abroad but the world is cruel and there are more expedient causes than a currently stable Jordan. He took advantage of the lack of baggage his father collected to restore relations with Syria, Gulf and Maghreb countries via many of the secondary leaders of his generation who in time will be running those countries. His willingness not to stand on ceremony and indeed to relinquish his rights over the al-aksa mosque in Jerusalem (which his father was highly emotionally and financially invested in and whose position concerning the mosque was diametrically opposed to that of the PA) will be a big help toward taking Jordan out of what will now become a deal strictly between Israel and the PA over Jerusalem's holiest site to Moslems, meaning it more likely that a deal on this issue will be reached now that only 2 parties need to be satisfied and there is not much to disagree over at this point since Israel is no longer bound to protect Jordan's interest. Not to mention that he is quite charming both in person and on CNN. Considering that he is, after all, a King not much more than 5 years older than I, and will probably be one for a good while, making a difference both for his people and potentially people abroad, who is also a real person more thrust into his position than manipulating it (ie: George Bush or Al Gore), he is my #1 Most Admired Person Alive Today.