The Global Elders or The Elders is a group of public figures noted as elder statesmen, peace activists, and human rights advocates. The goal of the group is to solve global problems, using "almost 1,000 years of collective experience" to work on solutions for seemingly insurmountable problems like climate change, HIV/AIDS, and poverty, and "use their political independence to help resolve some of the world's most intractable conflicts."

The group is chaired by former Archbishop Desmond Tutu and currently consists of 12 leaders. The Elders' first mission was to travel to Sudan in September-October 2007 to foster peace in the Darfur crisis.

The group was initiated by Sir Richard Branson and musician and human rights activist Peter Gabriel together with anti-apartheid activist and former South African President Nelson Mandela. The Elders are sponsored by a group of founders who helped raise US$18 million for the group over the last three years. Nelson Mandela announced the formation of the group on his 89th birthday on 18 July 2007 in Johannesburg, South Africa.