Bilderberg Group

 

Hotel de Bilderberg, Oosterbeek, the Netherlands - scene of the first Bilderberg Conference in 1954.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke leaving the 2008 Bilderberg Conference

 

The Bilderberg Group, Bilderberg conference, or Bilderberg Club is an unofficial, annual, invitation-only conference of around 130 guests, most of whom are persons of great influence in the fields of politics, business, banking, and media. Each conference is under intense secrecy and security, with the last meeting guarded by police, security services, military helicopters and even fighter jets.^[1][2]

The group meets annually at hotels or resorts throughout the world—for two consecutive years in Europe followed by a year in theUnited States or Canada. This tradition appeared to be broken in 2008 when the meeting was held in Chantilly, Virginia, so as to give easier access to those associated with the US elections. The 2009 Bilderberg meeting took place from 14-16 May in Athens, Greece.^[3]

Origin

The original Bilderberg conference was held at the Hotel de Bilderberg, near Arnhem in The Netherlands, from 29 May to 31 May 1954. It was initiated by several people, including Denis Healey and Józef Retinger, concerned about the growth of anti-Americanism in Western Europe, who proposed an international conference at which leaders from European countries and the United States would be brought together with the aim of promoting understanding between the cultures of the United States and Western Europe.^[4] Retinger approached Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, who agreed to promote the idea, together with Belgian Prime Minister Paul Van Zeeland, and the head of Unilever at that time, the Dutchman Paul Rijkens. Bernhard in turn contacted Walter Bedell Smith, then head of the CIA, who askedEisenhower adviser Charles Douglas Jackson to deal with the suggestion.^[5] The guest list was to be drawn up by inviting two attendees from each nation, one of each to represent conservative and liberal points of view.^[4] Fifty delegates from 11 countries in Western Europe attended the first conference along with 11 Americans.^[6]

The success of the meeting led the organizers to arrange an annual conference. A permanent Steering Committee was established, with Retinger appointed as permanent secretary. As well as organizing the conference, the steering committee also maintained a register of attendee names and contact details, with the aim of creating an informal network of individuals who could call upon one another in a private capacity. Conferences were held in France, Germany, and Denmark over the following three years. In 1957, the first US conference was held in St. Simons, Georgia, with $30,000 from the Ford Foundation. The foundation supplied further funding for the 1959 and 1963 conferences.^[5]

Organizational structure

 

Meetings are organized by a steering committee with two members from each of around eighteen nations.^[7] Official posts, in addition to a chairman, include an Honorary Secretary General.^[8] There is no such category in the group's rules as a "member of the group". The only category that exists is "member of the Steering Committee".^[9] In addition to the committee, there also exists a separate advisory group, though membership overlaps.^[10]

Dutch economist Ernst van der Beugel took over as permanent secretary in 1960, upon Retinger's death. Prince Bernhard continued to serve as the meeting's chairman until 1976, the year of his involvement in the Lockheed affair. The position of Honorary American Secretary General has been held successively by Joseph E. Johnson of the Carnegie Endowment, William Bundy of Princeton, Theodore L. Eliot, Jr., former U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan, and Casimir A. Yost ofGeorgetown's Institute for the Study of Diplomacy.^[11]

A 2008 press release from the American Friends of Bilderberg stated that "Bilderberg's only activity is its annual Conference. At the meetings, no resolutions are proposed, no votes taken, and no policy statements issued" and noted that the names of attendees were available to the press.^[12] The Bilderberg group unofficial headquarters is the University of Leiden in the Netherlands.^[13]

Chairmen

• Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands (1954–1975)^[14]
• Alec Douglas-Home (1977–1980)^[14]
• Walter Scheel^[6]
• Eric Roll (1986–1989)^[15]
• Lord Carrington (1990–1998)^[6]
• Étienne Davignon^[7]

 

 

Participants

The steering committee does not publish a list of attendees, though some participants have publicly discussed their attendance. Historically, attendee lists have been weighted towards politicians, bankers, and directors of large businesses.^[16]

Heads of state, including Juan Carlos I of Spain and Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, have attended meetings.^[8][17] Prominent politicians from North America and Europe are past attendees. In past years, board members from many large publicly-traded corporations have attended, including IBM, Xerox, Royal Dutch Shell, Nokia and Daimler.^[8]

The 2009 meeting participants in Greece included: Greek prime minister, Kostas Karamanlis; Finnish prime minister, Matti Vanhanen^[18]; Sweden foreign minister, Carl Bildt; U.S. State Department number two, James Steinberg; U.S. Treasury Secretary,Timothy Geithner; World Bank president, Robert Zoellick; European Commission head, José Manuel Barroso; Queen Sofia of Spain; and Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.^[19]

European Union

In a European Parliament session in Brussels, Mario Borghezio, an Italian member of European Parliament, questioned the nominations of Bilderberg and Trilateralattendees for the posts of EU President and EU foreign minister.^[20][21]

In 2009 the group had a dinner meeting at Castle of the Valley of the Duchess in Brussels, in the 12th of November, with the participation of Herman Van Rompuy, who later became the President of the European Council. The newspaper De Tijd (and several others afterwards) reported that, at this meeting, Van Rompuy showed support for a European green tax: "Van Rompuy told the elite club that the European government leaders are increasingly becoming proponents of Europe tapping off green income, so that the contributions of member states to the EU can be decreased." ^{[22] [23] [24]}

Conspiracy theories

Because of its secrecy and refusal to issue news releases, the group is frequently accused of secretive and nefarious world plots.^[25] Critics include the John Birch Society,^[26] the Canadian writer Daniel Estulin, British writer David Icke, American writer Jim Tucker and radio host Alex Jones.

Bilderberg founding member and, for 30 years, a steering committee member, Denis Healey has said:^[27]

“

To say we were striving for a one-world government is exaggerated, but not wholly unfair. Those of us in Bilderberg felt we couldn't go on forever fighting one another for nothing and killing people and rendering millions homeless. So we felt that a single community throughout the world would be a good thing.

”

According to the American Friends of Bilderberg, the 2008 agenda dealt "mainly with a nuclear free world, cyber terrorism, Africa, Russia, finance, protectionism, US-EU relations, Afghanistan and Pakistan, Islam and Iran".^[12]

Origins of conspiracy theories

Jonathan Duffy, writing in BBC News Online Magazine states:

“

No reporters are invited in and while confidential minutes of meetings are taken, names are not noted... In the void created by such aloofness, an extraordinary conspiracy theory has grown up around the group that alleges the fate of the world is largely decided by Bilderberg.[28]

”

According to the investigative journalist Chip Berlet, the origins of Bilderberger conspiracy theories can be traced to activist Phyllis Schlafly. In Berlet's 1994 reportRight Woos Left, published by Political Research Associates, he writes:

“

The views on intractable godless communism expressed by Schwarz were central themes in three other bestselling books which were used to mobilize support for the 1964 Barry Goldwater campaign. The best known was Phyllis Schlafly's A Choice, Not an Echo, which suggested a conspiracy theory in which the Republican Party was secretly controlled by elitist intellectuals dominated by members of the Bilderberger group, whose policies would pave the way for global communist conquest.[29]

”

Before the 2001 meeting, a report in the Guardian stated:

“

...the press have never been allowed access and all discussions are under Chatham House rules (no quoting). Not surprisingly, such ground rules, while attracting publicity-shy financiers, have also fuelled the fantasies of conspiracy theorists. The truth is probably more mundane: powerful people like meeting each other, but they argue that they need privacy if there is to be serious, honest discussions: the G8 summits are a graphic example of how all the meaningful exchanges are kept well away from the pre-prepared final communiques drawn up by civil servants.[30]

”

Recent meetings

Main article: List of Bilderberg meetings

Recent meetings:

• 2005 (5–8 May) at the Dorint Sofitel Seehotel Überfahrt in Rottach-Egern, Germany^[31]
• 2006 (8–11 June) at the Brookstreet Hotel in Kanata, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada^[32]
• 2007 (31 May – 3 June) at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel,^[33] in Sisli, Istanbul, Turkey.
• 2008 (5–8 June) at the Westfields Marriott in Chantilly, Virginia, United States^[12][34]
• 2009 (14–16 May) at the Astir Palace resort in Athens, Greece^[3][1]

Further reading

• Jon Ronson (2001). Them: Adventures with Extremists. London: Picador. ISBN 0-330-37546-6.
• Eringer, Robert (1980). The Global Manipulators. Bristol, England: Pentacle Books. ISBN 0906850046.
• Estulin, Daniel (2007). The True Story of the Bilderberg Group. Oregon, United States of America: Trine Day. ISBN 0977795349.

See also

• Trilateral Commission, established by David Rockefeller in 1972 after the Bilderberg Group refused to incorporate Japan.^[35]

 

 

 

 

 

List of Bilderberg participants From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The following is a list of prominent persons who have attended one or more conferences organized by the Bilderberg Group. 

The list is currently organized by category. It is not a complete list and it includes both living and deceased people.

 Where known, the year(s) they attended are denoted in brackets.

Royalty

• Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands (1997, 2000)^[1][2]
• Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands (1954, 1975)^[3][4]
• Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, United Kingdom (1986)^[5][6]
• Juan Carlos I of Spain, King of Spain (2004)^[7]
• Prince Philippe, Prince of Belgium (2007)^[8]
• Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh, United Kingdom (1965, 1967)^[9][10]
• Queen Sofía of Spain^[11]

Politics

United Statee

• George W. Ball (1954, 1993),^[12][13] Under Secretary of State 1961-1968, Ambassador to U.N. 1968
• Sandy Berger (1999),^[14] National Security Advisor, 1997-2001
• Hillary Rodham Clinton,^[15] 67th United States Secretary of State
• Douglas Feith (2004),^[16] U.S. Under-secretary of Defense
• Timothy Geithner,^[17] Treasury Secretary
• Richard N. Haass (1991, 2003, 2004),^[16][18] president, Council on Foreign Relations
• Lee H. Hamilton (1997),^[1] former US Congressman
• Christian Herter,^[19] (1961, 1963, 1964, 1966), 53rd United States Secretary of State
• Charles Douglas Jackson (1957, 1958, 1960),^[20] Special Assistant to the President
• Joseph E. Johnson^[21] (1954), President Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
• Henry Kissinger^[18] (1957, 1964, 1966, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1977, 2008),^[22] 56th United States Secretary of State
• Jessica T. Mathews (2004),^[16] president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
• Colin Powell (1997),^[1] 65th United States Secretary of State
• Condoleezza Rice,^[15] 66th United States Secretary of State
• Walter Bedell Smith (1954-1957),^[23][24] former White House Chief of Staff, Director of the CIA, U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union
• Lawrence Summers,^[17] Director of the National Economic Council
• Paul Volcker,^[17] Chair of the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board

Presidents

• Bill Clinton (1991),^[25][26] President 1993-2001
• Gerald Ford (1964, 1966),^[3][27] President 1974-1977

Senators

• Tom Daschle,^[15] Senator from South Dakota 1987-2005
• John Edwards (2004),^[16][28][29] Senator from North Carolina 1999-2005
• Dianne Feinstein (1991),^[12] Senator 1992-current, Mayor of San Francisco 1978-1988
• Chuck Hagel (1999, 2000),^[30] Senator from Nebraska 1997-2009
• Sam Nunn (1996, 1997),^[1] Senator from Georgia 1972-1997

Governors

• Jon Corzine (1995 - 1997,^[1] 1999, 2003, 2004),^[16] Senator 2001-2006, Governor of New Jersey 2006-current
• Rick Perry (2007),^[31] Governor of Texas 2000-current
• Mark Sanford (2008),^[32] Governor of South Carolina
• Douglas Wilder (1991),^[12] Governor of Virginia

United Kingdom

• Paddy Ashdown (1989),^[33] former leader of Liberal Democrats, High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Ed Balls (2006),^[34] former Economic Secretary to the Treasury and advisor to British Prime MinisterGordon Brown and is currently Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (2007-present)
• Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington (Steering Committee member) ,^[35] former Foreign Secretary
• Kenneth Clarke (1993,^[36] 1998,^[37] 1999,^[38] 2003,^[39] 2004,^[40] 2006,^[41] 2007,^[42] 2008),^[43][44]Chancellor of the Exchequer 1993-1997, Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform 2008-current
• Robert Gascoyne-Cecil (Viscount Cranborne) (1997),^[1] Leader of the House of Lords 94-97
• Denis Arthur Greenhill, Lord Greenhill of Harrow (deceased) (1974),^[45]) former Head of Foreign and Commonwealth Office
• Denis Healey (founder and Steering Committee member),^[35] former Chancellor of the Exchequer
• Peter Mandelson (1999,,^[46] 2009^[47] Business Secretary (2008-present)
• John Monks (1996),^[48] former TUC General Secretary
• George Osborne (2006,^[49] 2007,^[49] 2008^[50] 2009^[51]) Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer (2004-Present)
• David Owen (1982),^[52] former British Foreign Secretary and leader of the Social Democratic Party
• Enoch Powell, (deceased) (1968),^[53] MP and Ulster Unionist
• Malcolm Rifkind (1996),^[48] former Foreign Secretary
• Eric Roll (1964, 1966, 1967, 1973-1975, 1977-1999) (Bilderberg Steering Committee),^[54] Department of Economic Affairs, 1964, later Bilderberg Group Chairman

Prime Ministers

• Tony Blair (1993),^[25][36] Prime Minister 1997-2007
• Gordon Brown (1991),^[26] Prime Minister 2007-current
• Edward Heath,^[3] Prime Minister 1970-1974
• Alec Douglas-Home (1977-1980),^[55] Chairman of the Bilderberg Group, Prime Minister 1963-1964
• Margaret Thatcher (1975),^[56] Prime Minister 1979-1990

Belgium

• Paul-Henri Spaak, Former Prime Minister^[57] (1963)

Netherlands

• Ruud Lubbers, Former Prime Minister^[58]
• Wim Kok, Former Prime Minister^[58]
• Jan-Peter Balkenende, Prime Minister ^[58]
• Paul Freeman, Director of Direction ^[58]

France

• Gaston Defferre (1964),^[59] member of National Assembly and mayor of Marseille (at the time)
• Georges Pompidou, Former Prime Minister of France, Former President of the French Republic ^[58]

Portugal

• Francisco Pinto Balsemão (1981, 1983-1985, 1987-2008),^[8] former Prime Minister of Portugal, 1981-1983 and CEO of Impresa media group
• Jorge Braga de Macedo (Portuguese) (1991-2008), former Finance Minister, 1991-1993; Professor of Economics and Director of the Center for Globalization and Governance in New University of Lisbon^{[citation needed]}

Finland

• Eero Heinäluoma (2006),^[60] former Chairman of the Finnish Social Democratic Party and he was theMinister of Finance between 2005 and 2007
• Jyrki Katainen (2007, 2009),^[61][62] chairman of Finnish National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) and the current Minister of Finance
• Sauli Niinistö (1997),^[1] former Minister of Finance (Finland), Speaker of Parliament
• Matti Vanhanen (2009),^[62] Prime Minister chairman of (Suomen Keskusta)

Iceland

• Bjarni Benediktsson ^[63] (1965, 1970 etc.),^[64] Mayor of Reykjavík 1940-47, Foreign Minister 1947-55, editor of The Morning Paper 1956-59, Minister of Justice and Ecclesiastical Affairs 1959-63, Prime Minister 1963-70
• Björn Bjarnason ^[63] (1974, 1977),^[65] Assistant editor of The Morning Paper 1984-1991, Minister of Education 1995-2002, Minister of Justice and Ecclesiastical Affairs 2003, 2009
• Davíð Oddsson ^[63] (ca. 1991-1999), Mayor of Reykjavík 1982-1991, Prime Minister 1991-2004, Foreign Minister 2004-2005, Central Bank governor 2005-2009, editor of The Morning Paper as of september 2009
• Einar Benediktsson ^[63] (ca. 1970), ambassador: OECD 1956-60, UK 1982-1986, European Union et al.1986-1991, NATO 1986-1990, United States et al. 1993-1997, etc.^[66]
• Geir Haarde,^[67] Central Bank economist 1977-1983, member and chairman of the Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee 1991-1998, Minister of Finance 1998-2005, Foreign Minister 2005-2006, Prime Minister 2006-2009
• Geir Hallgrímsson ^[63] (ca. 1974-1977^[65],^[68] 1980^[69]), Mayor of Reykjavík 1959-72, Prime Minister1974-78, Foreign Minister 1983-1986, Central Bank governor 1986-1990
• Hörður Sigurgestsson,^[63] former CEO of shipping line Eimskipafélag Íslands
• Jón Sigurðsson ^[63] (1993), IMF Board of Directors 1974-1987, Minister of Justice and Ecclesiastical Affairs 1987-88, Industry and Commerce 1988-93, Central Bank governor 1993-94, Nordic Investment Bank governor 1994-2005 ^[70]

Germany

• Guido Westerwelle (2007),^[71] Chairman of the Free Democratic Party of Germany and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany.
• Helmut Schmidt, West German Chancellor ^[3]

Poland

• Józef Retinger (1954 to 1960), Founder and secretary of Bilderberg Group^[4][72]

Canada

• Jean Chretien (1996),^[48] Prime Minister of Canada, 1993-2003
• Stephen Harper (2003),^[73] Prime Minister of Canada, 2006-current
• Mike Harris,^[73] Premier of Ontario 1995-2002
• Bernard Lord,^[73] Premier of New Brunswick 1999-2006
• Paul Martin (1996),^[48] Prime Minister of Canada, 2003-2006
• Frank McKenna (2006),^[74] Canadian Ambassador to the United States 2005-2006, Premier of New Brunswick 1987-1997

Sweden

• Carl Bildt (2006),^[75] (2008),^[76] (2009), Minister of Foreign Affairs 2006-
• Anders Borg (2007),^[77] Minister of Finance 2006-
• Thorbjörn Fälldin (1978),^[22] Prime Minister 1976-1978
• Maud Olofsson [2008),^[78] Minister of Industry 2006-
• Fredrik Reinfeldt (2006),^[79] Prime Minister 2006-

Norway

• Siv Jensen (2009) - Seen in Alex Jones' Blueprint movie.

EU Commissioners

European Union Commissioners who have attended include:

• Frederik Bolkestein (1996, 2003),^[80] former European Commissioner
• Pascal Lamy (2003)^[80]
• Peter Mandelson (1999),^[46] (2009),^[47] former European Commissioner for Trade 2004-2008

UN, WTO, NATO and other International Organizations

• Alexander Haig (1978),^[22] NATO Commander 1974-1979 (US Secretary of State 1981-1982)
• Lyman Lemnitzer (1963),^[57] Supreme Allied Commander NATO 1963-1969

Military

• Colin Gubbins^[81] (1955, 1957, 1958, 1963, 1964, 1966), head of the British SOE

Financial institutions

• Ben Bernanke (2008,^[32] 2009),^[47]Chairman of the Board of Governors of the United States Federal Reserve
• Jamie Dimon, CEO and chairman of JPMorgan Chase & Co^[82]
• Wim Duisenberg, former European Central Bank President ^[58]
• Timothy Geithner, (2004),^[16]) president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York
• Gordon Richardson,^[83](1966, 1975) former Governor of the Bank of England
• William J McDonough (1997),^[1] former President, Federal Reserve Bank of New York
• Jean-Claude Trichet (2009),^[84] President of the European Central Bank 2003-current
• Paul Volcker (1982, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1992, 1997),^[1] former Chairman of the Federal Reserve
• Siegmund Warburg (1977)^[83]
• Peter Weinberg (2004),^[16] CEO of Goldman Sachs International
• James Wolfensohn (2004),^[16] president of the World Bank

Major corporations

• Percy Barnevik (1992-1996, 1997,^[1] 2001), former CEO of ASEA
• Michel Bon,^[85] former CEO of France Telecom
• Anders Bjoergerd,^[86] former deputy CEO of Sydkraft AB
• Lord Browne of Madingley (1995, 1997,^[1] 2004), Chief Executive BP
• Louis V. Gerstner, Jr.,^[87] IBM Chairman
• H. J. Heinz II (1954),^[21] CEO of H. J. Heinz Company
• André Lévy-Lang, (French)^[85] former CEO of Paribas
• Indra K. Nooyi (2004),^[16] CEO of PepsiCo
• Jorma Ollila (1997,^[1] 2005, 2008), Chairman of Royal Dutch Shell and Nokia Corporation
• Paul Rijkens (Dutch) Former Chairman of Unilever ^[58]
• Jürgen E. Schrempp (1994-1996, 1997),^[1] 1998, 1999, 2001-2005, 2006, 2007), former CEO ofDaimlerChrysler
• Hans Stråberg (2006),^[88] CEO of Electrolux
• Peter Sutherland (1989-1996, 1997,^[1] 2005), former Chairman of BP
• Martin Taylor^[1] (1993-1996,^[48] 1997), former CEO, Barclays
• Hinesh C. Parmar, (2008, 2009) President of ParmarCorp.
• Otto Wolff von Amerongen,^[1] Chairman Otto Wolff GmbH.
• Jacob Wallenberg (2006),^[89] Chairman of Investor AB

University, institute and other academic

• C. Fred Bergsten (1971, 1974, 1984, 1997),^[1] President, Peterson Institute
• Thierry de Montbrial,^[85] Director of the Institut Français des Relations Internationales

Media

• Nicolas Beytout, (French)^[85] Editor of Le Figaro (France)
• Conrad Black (1981, 1983, 1985-1996)^[48](1997),^[90] columnist and publisher, now in prison
• William F. Buckley, Jr. (1996),^[91] columnist and founder of National Review
• Will Hutton^[25] (1997), former CEO of The Work Foundation and editor-in-chief for The Observer
• Andrew Knight (1996),^[35][48] journalist, editor, and media baron
• George Stephanopoulos (1996, 1997),^[48] Former Communications Director of the Clinton Administration (1993-1996), now ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent

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