Speaking at the Chase Manhattan International Financial Forums in London, Brussels, Montreal, and Paris, Rockefeller proposed the creation of an International Commission of Peace and Prosperity in early 1972 (which would later become the Trilateral Commission). At the 1972 Bilderberg meeting, the idea was widely accepted, but elsewhere, it got a cold reception. According to Rockefeller, the organization could "be of help to government by providing measured judgment."
Zbigniew Brzezinski, a professor at Columbia University and a Rockefeller advisor who was a specialist on international affairs, left his post to organize the group along with:
Henry D. Owen (a Foreign Policy Studies Director with the Brookings Institution)
George S. Franklin
Robert R. Bowie (of the Foreign Policy Association and Director of the Harvard Center for International Affairs)
Gerard C. Smith (Salt I negotiator, Rockefeller in-law, and its first North American Chairman)
Marshall Hornblower (former partner at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering)
In July 1972, Rockefeller called his first meeting, which was held at Rockefeller's Pocantico compound in New York's Hudson Valley. It was attended by about 250 individuals who were carefully selected and screened by Rockefeller and represented the very elite of finance and industry.
Its first executive committee meeting was held in Tokyo in October 1973. The Trilateral Commission was officially initiated, holding biannual meetings.
A Trilateral Commission Task Force Report, presented at the 1975 meeting in Kyoto, Japan, called An Outline for Remaking World Trade and Finance, said: "Close Trilateral cooperation in keeping the peace, in managing the world economy, and in fostering economic development and in alleviating world poverty, will improve the chances of a smooth and peaceful evolution of the global system." Another Commission document read:
"The overriding goal is to make the world safe for interdependence by protecting the benefits which it provides for each country against external and internal threats which will constantly emerge from those willing to pay a price for more national autonomy. This may sometimes require slowing the pace at which interdependence proceeds, and checking some aspects of it. More frequently however, it will call for checking the intrusion of national government into the international exchange of both economic and non-economic goods."
In May 1976, the first plenary meeting of all of the Commission's regional groups took place in Kyoto, attended by Jimmy Carter. Today it consists of approximately 300–350 private citizens from Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, and North America, and exists to promote closer political and economic cooperation between these areas, which are the primary industrial regions in the world. Its official journal from its founding is a magazine called Trialogue.
Membership is divided into numbers proportionate to each of its three regional areas. These members include corporate CEOs, politicians of all major parties, distinguished academics, university presidents, labor union leaders and not-for-profits involved in overseas philanthropy. Members who gain a position in their respective country's government must resign from the Commission. The North American continent is represented by 107 members (15 Canadian, seven Mexican and 85 U.S. citizens). The European group has reached its limit of 150 members, including citizens from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
In his book Radical Priorities, Noam Chomsky said this:
“
Perhaps the most striking feature of the new Administration is the role played in it by the Trilateral Commission. The mass media had little to say about this matter during the Presidential campaign -- in fact, the connection of the Carter group to the Commission was recently selected as "the best censored news story of 1976" -- and it has not received the attention that it might have since the Administration took office. All of the top positions in the government -- the office of President, Vice-President, Secretary of State, Defense and Treasury -- are held by members of the Trilateral Commission, and the National Security Advisor was its director. Many lesser officials also came from this group. It is rare for such an easily identified private group to play such a prominent role in an American Administration.
”
—The Carter Administration: Myth and Reality, Excerpted from Radical Priorities, 1981 Noam Chomsky
Conspiracy theories
The John Birch Society believes that the Trilateral Commission is dedicated to the formation of one world government. Conservative Democratic congressman from Georgia and second head of the John Birch Society, Larry McDonald, introduced American Legion National Convention Resolution 773 to the House of Representatives calling for a congressional investigation into the Trilateral Commission.
Certain critics, such as Alex Jones, an American paleoconservative of "The Obama Deception" documentary, claim the "Commission constitutes a conspiracy seeking to gain control of the U.S. Government to create a new world order." Mike Thompson, Chairman of the Florida Conservative Union, said: "It puts emphasis on interdependence, which is a nice euphemism for one-world government."
Senator Barry Goldwater wrote in his book With No Apologies: "In my view, the Trilateral Commission represents a skillful, coordinated effort to seize control and consolidate the four centers of power: political, monetary, intellectual, and ecclesiastical. All this is to be done in the interest of creating a more peaceful, more productive world community. What the Trilateralists truly intend is the creation of a worldwide economic power superior to the political governments of the nation-states involved. They believe the abundant materialism they propose to create will overwhelm existing differences. As managers and creators of the system they will rule the future."
In his 2008 book "Making Government Work," former South Carolina Senator Ernest Hollings cited the Trilateral Commission as a negative influence on President Carter in his pro free trade and U.S. textile policies.
Membership
Trilateral Commission statutes exclude persons holding public office from membership. [3]
"Several of whom had been involved with the Trilateral Commission, but then that's almost everybody at one time or another." This comment was made during an exit interview by the White House Adviser on Domestic and Foreign Policy, Hedley Donovan, under President Jimmy Carter, in reference to when he was gathering a group of foreign policy figures to convene during the Soviet brigade in Cuba. [4] [5] Although initially opposed to Trilateral, “President Reagan ultimately came to understand Trilateral’s value and invited the entire membership to a reception at the White House in April 1984”, noted David Rockefeller in his memoirs.
Current Chairmen
North America:Joseph S. Nye, Jr., University Distinguished Service Professor and former Dean, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA; former Chair, National Intelligence Council and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs.
Herve de Carmoy, Chairman, Almatis, Frankfurt-am-Main; former Partner, Rhône Group, New York & Paris; Honorary Chairman, Banque Industrielle et Mobilière Privée, Paris; former Chief Executive, Société Générale de Belgique
Andrzej Olechowski, Founder, Civic Platform; former Chairman, Bank Handlowy; former Minister of Foreign Affairs and of Finance, Warsaw
Pacific Asia:
Han Sung-Joo, President, Korea University [6], Seoul; former Korean Minister for Foreign Affairs; former Korean Ambassador to the United States
Shijuro Ogata, Former Deputy Governor, Japan Development Bank; former Deputy Governor for International Relations, Bank of Japan[7]
Paul A. Volcker (1991–2001) Honorary and former North American Chairman; Chairman of President Obama's Economic Recovery Advisory Board; former Chairman, Board of Governors, U.S. Federal Reserve System [8] from 1979 to 1987; Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Group of Thirty; former Chairman, Wolfensohn & Co., Inc., New York; Frederick H. Schultz Professor Emeritus, International Economic Policy, Princeton University;
Georges Berthoin, International Honorary Chairman, European Movement [10]; Honorary Chairman, The Jean Monnet Association; Honorary European Chairman, The Trilateral Commission
Jorge Braga de Macedo, President, Tropical Research Institute, Lisbon; Professor of Economics, Nova University at Lisbon [11]; Chairman, Forum Portugal Global; former Minister of Finance
François Bujon de l'Estang, Ambassadeur de France; Chairman, Citigroup France, Paris; former Ambassador to the United States
Richard Conroy, Chairman, Conroy Diamonds & Gold [12], Dublin; Member of Senate, Republic of Ireland
Vladimir Dlouhy, Senior Advisor, ABB Group[13]; International Advisor, Goldman Sachs; former Czechoslovak Minister of Economy; former Czech Minister of Industry & Trade, Prague
Nemesio Fernandez-Cuesta, Executive Director of Upstream, Repsol-YPF; former Chairman, Prensa Española, Madrid
Michael Fuchs, Member of the German Bundestag; former President, National Federation of German Wholesale & Foreign Trade, Berlin
Antonio Garrigues Walker, Chairman, Garrigues Abogados y Asesores Tributarios [14], Madrid
Toyoo Gyohten, President, The Institute for International Monetary Affairs [15]; Senior Advisor, The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, UFJ, Ltd., Tokyo
Stuart Harris, Professor of International Relations, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies [16], Australian National University; former Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Canberra
Baron Daniel Janssen, Honorary Chairman, Solvay, Brussels
Béla Kadar, Member of the Hungarian Academy [23], Budapest; Member of the Monetary Council of the National Bank [24]; President of the Hungarian Economic Association; former Ambassador of Hungary to the O.E.C.D., Paris; former Hungarian Minister of International Economic Relations and Member of Parliament
Lee Hong-Koo, Chairman, Seoul Forum for International Affairs; former Prime Minister of Korea; former Korean Ambassador to the United Kingdom and the United States
Yoshio Okawara, President, Institute for International Policy Studies, Tokyo; former Japanese Ambassador to the United States
Susan Rice, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations in the Obama administration; Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy Studies and Global Economy and Development Programs, Brookings Institution, Washington, DC; former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs; former Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for African Affairs, National Security Council; foreign policy advisor to President Barack Obama.
Luis Rubio, President, Center of Research for Development (CIDAC), Mexico City, DF
Silvio Scaglia, Founder, Chairman and Financial Backer of Babelgum, London; Chairman, S.M.S. Finance S.A., Luxembourg
Carlo Secchi, Professor of European Economic Policy and former Rector, Bocconi University; Vice President, ISPI, Milan; former Member of the Italian Senate and of the European Parliament [31]
Harri Tiido, Undersecretary for Political Affairs, Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tallinn; former Ambassador of Estonia and Head of the Estonian Mission to NATO[32], Brussels
George Vassiliou, former Head of the Negotiating Team for the Accession of Cyprus to the European Union; former President of the Republic of Cyprus, former Member of Parliament and Leader of United Democrats; Nicosia
Marko Voljc, Chief Executive Officer, K & H Bank, Budapest; former General Manager of Central Europe Directorate, KBC Bank Insurance Holding, Brussels; former Chief Executive Officer, Nova Ljubljanska Banka, Ljubljana
Jusuf Wanandi, Vice Chairman, Board of Trustees; Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Jakarta
Serge Weinberg, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Accor; Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Weinberg Capital Partners; former Chairman Management Board, Pinault-Printemps-Redoute (PPR); former President, Institute of International and Strategic Studies (IRIS), Paris
Heinrich Weiss [33], Chairman, SMS, [34] [35] Düsseldorf; former Chairman, Federation of German Industries, Berlin
Ritt Bjerregaard: Mayor of Copenhagen, Denmark. Danish Social Democrat MP, former Secretary of Education, member of various cabinets; European Commissioner for Environment, Nuclear Safety and Civil Protection in the Santer Commission from 1995 to 1999. (Attendee 1992,1998,2002). Also a Bilderberg attendee.
André Desmarais: President and Co-Chief Executive Officer, Power Corporation of Canada, Montréal, QC; Deputy Chairman, Power Financial Corporation
Hedley Donovan: (deceased) former editor-in-chief of Time magazine, White House Advisor on Domestic and Foreign Policy under Carter, Trilateral Commission founding member
Lykke Friis: Pro-Rector University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Former Head of European Department, Federation of Danish Industries. (Attendee 2005)
Ross Garnaut: Head, Department of Economics, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University, Canberra.
David Gergen: (personal website) Political consultant and presidential advisor during the Republican administrations of Nixon, Ford and Reagan; also served as advisor to Bill Clinton.
Allan Gotlieb: Canadian Ambassador to Washington from 1981 to 1989, chairman of the Canada Council from 1989 to 1994.
Bill Graham: former Canadian Minister of National Defence and Minister of Foreign Affairs under Paul Martin; for most of 2006, interim parliamentary leader of the Liberal Party.
Mugur Isărescu: Governor of the National Bank of Romania since 1990 and Prime Minister from December 1999 to November 2000; he worked for the Minister of Foreign Affairs then for the Romanian Embassy in the U.S. after the 1989 Romanian revolution.
Max Jakobson: former Finnish ambassador to the United States
Henry Kissinger: U.S. diplomat, National Security Advisor and Secretary of State in the Nixon and Ford administrations; former Chairman of the International Advisory Committee of JP Morgan Chase.
Francis Maude: MP for Horsham, the only British MP currently a member of the Trilateral Commission, former Conservative Party Chairman, son of the late Sir Angus Maude MP
Kiichi Miyazawa: Japanese Prime Minister in 1991–1993; Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1974 to 1976, Chief Cabinet Secretary from 1984 to 1986, Minister of Finance in 1987 and again from 1999 to 2002.
Walter Mondale: former Vice President of the U.S. under Carter
Andrzej Olechowski: Polish director of Euronet, USA; on the supervisory boards of Citibank Handlowy and Europejski Fundusz Hipoteczny; president of the Central European Forum; Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Poland from 1989 to 1991; Minister of Foreign Economic Relations from 1991 to 1992; Minister of Finance in 1992 and of Foreign Affairs from 1993 to 1995; economic advisor to President Lech Wałęsa from 1992 to 1993 and in 1995, etc.
Mary Robinson: President of Ireland from 1990 to 1997 as a candidate for the Labour Party; United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 1997 to 2002.
Karel Schwarzenberg: former chancellor of Czech President and Minister of Foreign Affairs, currently a leader of a political party elected to the Czech parliament
This article's citation style may be unclear. The references used may be made clearer with a different or consistent style of citation, footnoting, or external linking. (September 2009)
^ abBerkman, Gene (1993). "The Trilateral Commission and the New World Order". antiwar.com. http://www.antiwar.com/berkman/trilat.html. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
^ Brzezinski was the author of the book Between Two Ages, which was published in 1970, in which he called for a new international monetary system, and it was considered to be the 'Bible' of the Trilateralists. On page 72, he said: "Marxism is simultaneously a victory of the external, active man over the inner, passive man and a victory of reason over belief." He called for "deliberate management of the American future" (pg. 260), a "community of nations" (pg. 296), and a "world government" (pg. 308). He became its first Director (1973-76), drafted its Charter, and became its driving force.
^ abcShoup, Laurence H. (1980). "Trilateralism Jimmy Carter and the Trilateralists (except from)". Trilateralism. South End Press. http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Trilateralism/JimmyCarter_Trilat.html.
^Noam Chomsky (2009). "The Carter Administration: Myth and Reality". [1]. http://www.chomsky.info/books/priorities01.htm.
^ Barry, Dan "Holding Firm Against Plots by Evildoers" New York Times June 25, 2009 [2]
^Williams, Emily (August 14, 1980). "Hedley Donovan Exit Interview" (PDF). The White House: Presidential Papers Staff. p. 6. http://www.jimmycarterlibrary.org/library/exitInt/exitDonovan.pdf. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
^"CSIS Trustees and Counselors - Zbigniew Brzezinski - Center for Strategic and International Studies". http://www.csis.org/component/option,com_csis_experts/task,view/type,34/id,108/. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
^"Ted Turner and Carla A. Hills to Step Down from Time Warner's Board of Directors". February 24, 2006. http://www.timewarner.com/corp/newsroom/pr/0,20812,1167201,00.html. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
^"IIE Board of Directors". http://www.iie.com/institute/board.cfm#51. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
^"Carla A. Hills - Council on Foreign Relations". http://www.cfr.org/bios/3373/carla_a_hills.html. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
^"Susan E. Rice - Brookings Institution". http://www.brookings.edu/experts/rices.aspx. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
^ abcdefghiRothbard, Murray N. (1984). "Wall Street, Banks, and American Foreign Policy" (republished by LewRockwell.com). World Market Perspective. http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard66.html.
^ abc"Frequently Asked Questions About the Trilateral Commission". http://www.trilateral.org/moreinfo/faqs.htm. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
^ abWilliams, Emily (August 14, 1980). "Hedley Donovan Exit Interview" (PDF). The White House: Presidential Papers Staff. p. 1. http://www.jimmycarterlibrary.org/library/exitInt/exitDonovan.pdf. Retrieved 2009-02-07. ""We [Donovan and Jimmy Carter] were both members of the notorious Trilateral Commission; I saw him at two or three of those meetings.""
^ Power Financial Corporation - Board of Directors at www.powerfinancial.com
^[|Jones, Alex S.] (August 14, 1990). "Hedley Donovan Is Dead at 76; Retired Chief Editor of Time Inc.". The New York Times (New York, NY). http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE7DC1630F937A2575BC0A966958260.
Brzezinski, Zbigniew (October 1970). "America and Europe". Foreign Affairs49 (1): 11–30. (Includes Brzezinski's proposal for the establishment of a body like the Trilateral Commission.)
Brzezinski, Zbigniew (1970). Between two ages; America's role in the technetronic era. New York: Viking Press. OCLC 88066.
Crozier, Michel; Huntington, Samuel; Watanuki, Joji (1975). The Crisis of Democracy: Report on the Governability of Democracies to the Trilateral Commission. New York: New York University Press. ISBN0814713653.
Geuens, Geoffrey (15 March 2003) (in French). Tous pouvoirs confondus : État, capital et médias à l'ère de la mondialisation. EPO. ISBN2-87262-193-8.
Gill, Stephen (1991). American Hegemony and the Trilateral Commission. Cambridge Studies in International Relations. Cambridge University Press. ISBN0-521-42433-X. OCLC 246854587.
Rockefeller, David (2002). Memoirs. New York: Random House. (Contains a brief history of the Commission's founding, composition of members and overall influence.)
Ross, Robert Gaylon (2000). Who's who of the elite: members of the Bilderbergs, Council on Foreign Relations, Trilateral Commission, and Skull & Bones Society (2nd revision ed.). San Marcos, TX: RIE. ISBN0-9649888-0-1. OCLC 176877863.
Sklar, Holly (November 1, 1980). Trilateralism: The Trilateral Commission and Elite Planning for World Management. South End Press. ISBN0-89608-103-6.
Wilkerson, Bill (1980). The Rockefeller triangle: A country editor's documented report on the Trilateral Commission plan for world government. Idalou Beacon. OCLC 7273912.
External links
Official website
The "Proud Internationalist": The Globalist Vision of David Rockefeller, a research paper by Will Banyan (pdf, 88 pages, 2006) with a detailed analysis of the Trilateral Commission
Noam Chomsky: The Carter Administration: Myth and Reality (commentary on The Crisis of Democracy, Crozier et al. (see Further reading))
The Political Graveyard's (incomplete) list of Trilateral Commission members
Is the Trilateral Commission the secret organization that runs the world? (from The Straight Dope, 1987)
Tentations de la croisade, attraits de la coexistence
Pouvoirs opaques de la Trilatérale
"Le Monde vu de la Trilatérale". L'Expansion. June 4, 1992. http://www.lexpansion.com/art/6.0.113743.0.html.
Hong Kong SAR: Chief Executive's Council of International Advisors Brief biographical profiles of Peter Sutherland, Maurice Greenberg and Gerald M. Levin, mentioning Commission membership.
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