Bilderberg

The Bilderberg meetings are a series of elite, off-the-record, European-American conferences named after the Bilderberg Hotel in the Netherlands, which hosted the first meeting in 1954.Home, Bilderberg Meetings, 17 June 2010.
In a report on the 2003 meeting, the BBC's Emma Jane Kirby described Bilderberg as "an extremely influential lobbying group with a good deal of political clout on both sides of the Atlantic", noting that "meetings are cloaked in secrecy and participants rarely reveal their attendance". According to Will Hutton, 'the consensus established is the backdrop against which policy is made worldwide'.Will Hutton, Kinder Capitalists in Armani Specs, The Observer, 1 February, 1998. In recent years the conference has begun to publish its attendees and agenda, but remains steadfastly silent on the proceedings and its outcomes.
==Origins==
According to Richard Aldrich, "the same small band of senior officials, many of them from the Western intelligence community, were central in supporting the three most important 'insider groups' emerging in the 1950s: the European Movement, the Bilderberg Group and Jean Monnet's Action Committee for a United States of Europe."Richard J. Aldrich, The Hidden Hand: Britain, America and Cold War Secret Intelligence, Overlook Press, 2002, p.344. Many of these relationships had roots in World War Two special operations and resistance networks.Richard J. Aldrich, The Hidden Hand: Britain, America and Cold War Secret Intelligence, Overlook Press, 2002, p.369.
Among those who had previously been involved in the European Movement was the prime mover in the creation of the Bilderberg Group, Joseph Retinger. By 1952, Retinger's focus had moved from European unity to the Atlantic alliance and the growing mutual distrust between the United States and Europe.Hugh Wilford, The Mighty Wulitzer: How the CIA played America, Harvard, 2008, p.242.
Following conversations with his friend Paul Rykens, Retinger approached Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands with a proposal. A group of eminent Europeans would assemble a report on the causes of European anti-Americanism, to be submitted to a counterpart group of Americans. who would respond at a private meeting. This, it was hoped, would inaugurate a dialogue that would lead to a new level of transatlantic understanding.Hugh Wilford, The CIA, the British Left and the Cold War: Calling the Tune? Frank Cass, 2003, p.242. Paul Van Zeeland was also involved in the initial conversations, according to Retinger:
::Acting on the advice of my three friends, I approached about a dozen other people, viz.: Mr. Hugh Gaitskell, Major General Sir Colin Gubbins, Mr. Ole Bjorn Kraft, M. Guy Mollet, Dr. Rudolf Mueller, M. Antoine Pinay, M. P. Pipinelis, M. Max Brauer, Marshal of the R.A.F. Lord Portal of Hungerford, Ambassador Quaroni, and Signor de Gasperi.Dr. J.H. Retinger, THE BILDERBERG GROUP, August 1956, archived at the website of Jan Chciuk-Celt.
On the basis of reports from these figures, Retinger produced a paper summarising European objections to American policy, which was discussed at a meeting at the home of Baron Francois De Nervo.Hugh Wilford, The CIA, the British Left and the Cold War: Calling the Tune? Frank Cass, 2003, p.243. Retinger described the event as follows:
:: A first meeting was held in Paris on 25 September 1952 and was attended by all the original members of the group: Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, Mr. Hugh Gaitskell, Sir Colin Gubbins, M. Guy Mollet, Dr. Rudolf Mueller, M. Antoine Pinay, M.P. Pipinelis, Dr. J.H. Retinger, Mr. Paul Rykens, and M. Paul van Zeeland. The only two who could not attend were Lord Portal and Signor de Gasperi. At this meeting we discussed what could be done to improve American-European relations and on the initiative or M. van Zeeland we decided to set up a corresponding group in the United States.Dr. J.H. Retinger, THE BILDERBERG GROUP, August 1956.
Bernhard contacted Walter Bedell Smith, then head of the CIA, who asked Eisenhower adviser Charles Douglas Jackson to deal with the suggestion.
==Organisation==
The group meets annually bringing together "some of the West's chief political movers, business leaders, bankers, industrialists and strategic thinkers to talk about global issues".Jonathon Duffy, Bilderberg: The ultimate conspiracy theory, BBC News Online Magazine, 3 June, 2004.
The group does not have formal membership; instead a secret steering committee extends invitations to powerful figures in the fields of business and politics.Emma Jane Kirby, Elite power brokers meet in secret, BBC News, 15 May, 2003. 
The steering committee includes two members from each of approximately 18 nations. Official posts, in addition to a chairman, include an Honorary Secretary General. 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". In addition to the committee, there also exists a separate advisory group, though membership overlaps.Entry for Conrad Black, 
Dutch economist Ernst van der Beugel became 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 of Georgetown's Institute for the Study of Diplomacy.
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.
 The Bilderberg group's unofficial headquarters is the University of Leiden in the Netherlands.
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".
=== Chairmen of the Steering Committee ===
* Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands (1954–1975)
* Walter Scheel (1975–1977)
* Alec Douglas-Home (1977–1980)
* Eric Roll (1986–1989)
* Peter Carrington, 6th Baron Carrington (1990–1998)
* Étienne Davignon (since 1998)
==Actions==
Proponents argue that it was formed in the 'spirit of post-war trans-Atlantic co-operation' to prevent future wars by 'bringing power-brokers together in an informal setting away from prying eyes' with 'the confidentiality enabl[ing] people to speak honestly without fear of repercussions'. They further argue "It's not an executive body; no decisions are taken there."Emma Jane Kirby, Elite power brokers meet in secret, BBC News, 15 May, 2003.
==Analyses of Bilderberg==
Richard Aldrich says of the group:
::Although Bilderberg and ACUE-European Movement shared broadly the same founders, members and objectives, arguably Bilderberg constituted the more effective mechanism of transatlantic dialogue, developing into what some have regarded as the most significant of the discreet fora for Western elites.Richard J. Aldrich, The Hidden Hand: Britain, America and Cold War Secret Intelligence, Overlook Press, 2002, p.369.
Kees van der Pjil writes of networks like Bilderberg:
::They function not as single-minded conspiracies, but as flexible, open structures in which the conflicting lines of development can be identified and synthesised. Ruling class strategists rely on these networks to elaborate a hegemonic strategy aimed at winning over intermediate strata; they can thus establish a bloc of forces committed to a comprehensive, broadly accepted concept of control. This presumes a keen appreciation of the real balance of forces, both in the geopolitical arena and in class terms. Disagreement and discussion are therefore ultimately as vital as a measure of compromise and consensus.Kees van der Pjil, Global Rivalries from the Cold War to Iraq, Pluto Press, 2006, pp.68-69.
Hugh Wilford agrees with Van der Pjil that Bilderberg emerged as a fundamentally transnational phenomenon:
::One does not have to accept all the Marxist assumptions inherent in the Dutch scholar's analysis to agree that there were striking correspondences between the Group and earlier attempts to construct a bourgeois transnational network or 'imagined community' through such élitist, secretive, male-only organisations as the Freemasons or the Rhodes/Milner 'Round Table'. That said, there is considerable explanatory force in his argument that the early Cold War witnessed the emergence of a new 'Atlantic ruling class' whose power was based on the liberal corporate order of New Deal America but which also incorporated fractions of European élites who shared its modernising internationalist outlook.Hugh Wilford, The CIA, the British Left and the Cold War: Calling the Tune? Frank Cass, 2003, pp.254-255.
==List of Bilderberg conferences==
*29-31 May 1954 Oosterbeek, Netherlands
*18-20 March 1955 Barbizon, France
*23-25 September 1955 Garmisch-Partenkirchen, F.R.G.
*11-13 May 1956 Fredensborg, Denmark
*15-17 February 1957 St. Simons Island, Georgia, U.S.A.
*4-6 October 1957 Fiuggi, Italy
*13-15 September 1958 Buxton, England
*18-20 September 1959 Yesilkoy, TurkeyConferences 2009-1954 - 50's, bilderbergmeetings.org, accessed 6 July 2010.
*28-29 May 1960 Bürgenstock, Switzerland
*21-23 April 1961 St. Castin, Canada
*18-20 May 1962 Saltsjöbaden, Sweden
*29-31 May 1963 Cannes, France
*20-22 March 1964 Williamsburg, Virginia, U.S.A.
*2-4 April 1965 Villa D'Este, Italy
*25-27 March 1966 Wiesbaden, F.R.G.
*31 March-2 April 1967 Cambridge, England
*26-28 April 1968 Mont Tremblant, Canada
*9-11 May 1969 Marienlyst, DenmarkConferences 2009-1954 - 60's, bilderbergmeetings.org, accessed 6 July 2010.
*17-19 April 1970 Bad Ragaz, Switzerland 
*23-25 April 1971 Woodstock, Vermont, U.S.A.
*21-23 April 1972 Knokke, Belgium
*11-13 May 1973 Saltsjöbaden, Sweden
*19-21 April 1974 Megève, France
*25-27 April 1975 Çesme, Turkey
*In 1976 no conference was held
*22-24 April 1977 Torquay, England
*21-23 April 1978 Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.A.
*27-29 April 1979 Baden, AustriaConferences 2009-1954 - 70's, bilderbergmeetings.org, accessed 6 July 2010.
*18-20 April 1980 Aachen, F.R.G.
*15-17 May 1981 Bürgenstock, Switzerland
*14-16 May 1982 Sandefjord, Norway
*13-15 May 1983 Montebello, Canada
*11-13 May 1984 Saltsjöbaden, Sweden
*10-12 May 1985 Rye Brook, New York, U.S.A.
*25-27 April 1986 Gleneagles, Scotland
*24-26 April 1987 Villa D'Este, Italy
*3-5 June 1988 Telfs-Buchen, Austria
*12-14 May 1989 La Toja, SpainConferences 2009-1954 - 80's, bilderbergmeetings.org, accessed 6 July 2010. 
*11-13 May 1990 Glen Cove, New York, U.S.A.
*6-9 June 1991 Baden-Baden, Germany
*21-24 May 1992 Evian-Les-Bains, France
*22-25 April 1993 Vouliagmeni, Greece
*2-5 June 1994 Helsinki, Finland
*8-11 June 1995 Bürgenstock, Switzerland
*30 May - 2 June 1996 Toronto, Canada
*12-15 June 1997 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.
*14-17 May 1998 Turnberry, Scotland
*3-6 June 1999 Sintra, PortugalConferences 2009-1954 - 90's, bilderbergmeetings.org, accessed 6 July 2010. 
*1-3 June 2000 Brussels, Belgium
*24-27 May 2001 Stenungsund, Sweden
*30 May-2 June 2002 Chantilly, Virginia, USA
*15-18 May 2003 Versailles, France
*3-6 June 2004 Stresa, Italy
*5-8 May 2005 Rottach-Egern, Germany
*8-11 June 2006 Ottawa, Canada
*31 May-3 June 2007 Istanbul, Turkey
*5-8 June 2008 Chantilly, Virginia, U.S.A.
*14-17 May 2009 Vouliagmeni, GreeceConferences 2009-1954 - 00's, bilderbergmeetings.org, accessed 6 July 2010. 
*3-6 June 2010 Sitges, SpainBildergerg Metings, bilderbergmeetings.org, accessed 6 July 2010.
*St. Moritz, Switzerland 9-12 June 2011Bilderberg Meetings St. Moritz, Switzerland 9-12 June 2011, bilderbergmeetings.org, accessed 15 June 2011.
* 31 May-3 June 2012 Chantilly, Virginia, USA,[http://www.bilderbergmeetings.org/participants2012.html Bilderberg Meetings
Chantilly, Virginia, USA, 31 May-3 June 2012], bilderbergmeetings.org, accessed 2 June 2012.
*6-9 June 2013, Watford, Hertfordshire, UK.Rowena Mason, British taxpayers to pay 'millions' towards secretive Bilderberg meeting security, telegraph.co.uk, 30 May 2013.
*29 May-1 June 2014, Copenhagen, Denmark62nd Bilderberg conference to take place from 29 May - 1 June 2014 in Copenhagen, Denmark. bilderbergmeetings, accessed 2 June 104.
==People==
===2010 Steering Committee===
*Chairman Etienne Davignon, Former Vice Chairman of EU Commission, Minister of State
*Josef Ackermann, Chairman of the Management Board and the Group Executive, Deutsche Bank AG
*Roger C. Altman, Chairman, Evercore Partners Inc.
*Francisco Pinto Balsemão, Chairman, IMPRESA, S.G.P.S.; former Prime Minister
*Franco Bernabè, CEO, Telecom Italia S.p.A.
*Henri de Castries, Chairman of the Management Board and CEO, AXA
*Juan Luis Cebrián	CEO, PRISA
*Edmund Clark, President and CEO, TD Bank Financial Group
*Kenneth Clarke, Member of Parliament
*George A. David Chairman, Coca-Cola H.B.C. S.A.
*Anders Eldrup, President, DONG Energy A/S
*Thomas Enders, CEO, Airbus SAS
*Victor Halberstadt, Professor of Public Economics, Leiden University
*James A. Johnson, Vice Chairman, Perseus, LLC
*Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., Senior Managing Director, Lazard Frères & Co. LLC
*John Kerr, Deputy Chairman, Royal Dutch Shell plc; Member of the House of Lords
*Henry A. Kissinger, Chairman, Kissinger Associates, Inc.
*Mustafa V. Koç, Chairman, Koç Holding A.S.
*Marie-Josée Kravis, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute
*Jessica Mathews, President, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
*Thierry de Montbrial, President, French Institute for International Relations (IFRI)
*Mario Monti, Presidente del Consiglio della Repubblica Italiana (Italian Prime Minister), President, Universita Commerciale Luigi Bocconi
*Egil Myklebust, Former Chairman of the Board of Directors, SAS
*Matthias Nass, Deputy Editor, Die Zeit
*Jorma Ollila, Chairman, Royal Dutch Shell plc
*Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, President, Notre Europe
*Richard N. Perle, Resident Fellow, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
*Heather Reisman, Chair and CEO, Indigo Books & Music Inc.
*Rudolf Scholten, Member of the Board of Executive Directors, Oesterreichische Kontrollbank AG
*Peter D. Sutherland Chairman, BP plc and Chairman, Goldman Sachs International
*Martin J. Taylor, Chairman, Syngenta International AG
*Peter A. Thiel, President, Clarium Capital Management, LLC
*Daniel L. Vasella, Chairman, Novartis AG
*Jacob Wallenberg, Chairman, Investor AB
*James D. Wolfensohn, Chairman, Wolfensohn & Company, LLCGovernance, Bilderberg Meetings, 18 June 2010. 
====Member Advisory Group====
*David RockefellerGovernance, Bilderberg Meetings, 18 June 2010.
==Contact==
*Website http://www.bilderbergmeetings.org
==External links==
*Guardian, Bilderberg
*Rowena Mason, British taxpayers to pay 'millions' towards secretive Bilderberg meeting security, The Telegraph, 30 May 2013
*Ian Richardson, Bilderberg, Elite Consensus and the Media, Huffington Post UK, 13 July 2011.
*Jon Ronson 'The Secret Rulers of the World' Extract from Them, Adventures with Extremists, London: Picador, 2002.
==Notes==
Category:Conferences