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Bilderberg Group

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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

The Bilderberg Group, Bilderberg conference, or Bilderberg Club is an annual, unofficial, invitation-only conference of around 130 guests, most of whom are persons of influence in the fields of politics, banking, business, the military, and media. Each conference is held under intense security and secrecy.

Origin

The original 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 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 atlanticism – better understanding between the cultures of the United States and Western Europe in order to foster cooperation on political, economic, and defense issues.[1] 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, Dutchman Paul Rijkens. Bernhard in turn contacted Walter Bedell Smith, then head of the CIA, who asked Eisenhower adviser Charles Douglas Jacksonto deal with the suggestion.[2] 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.[1] Fifty delegates from 11 countries in Western Europe attended the first conference along with 11 Americans.[3]

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.[2]

[edit]Organizational structure

Meetings are organized by a steering committee with two members from each of around eighteen nations.[4] Official posts, in addition to a chairman, include an Honorary Secretary General.[5] 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".[6] In addition to the committee, there also exists a separate advisory group, though membership overlaps.[7]

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 of Georgetown's Institute for the Study of Diplomacy.[8]

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.[9] The Bilderberg group unofficial headquarters is the University of Leiden in the Netherlands.[10]

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".[9]

[edit]Chairmen

[edit]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.[13]

Heads of state, including Juan Carlos I of Spain and Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, have attended meetings.[5][14] Prominent politicians fromNorth 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.[5]

The 2009 meeting participants in Greece included: Greek prime minister Kostas Karamanlis; Finnish prime minister Matti Vanhanen;[15] Sweden foreign minister Carl Bildt; U.S. State Department number two James Steinberg; U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner; World Bankpresident Robert Zoellick; European Commission head José Manuel Barroso; Queen Sofia of Spain; and Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.[16]

[edit]European Union

In a European Parliament session in Brussels, Mario Borghezio, an Italian member of the European Parliament, questioned the nominations of Bilderberg and Trilateral attendees for the posts of EU President and EU foreign minister.[17][18]

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.[19][20]

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.

Contents

 [hide]

[edit]Royalty

[edit]Politics

[edit]United States

Map of countries by the number of politicians, which have attended one or more conferences organized by the Bilderberg Group

[edit]Presidents

[edit]Senators

[edit]Governors

[edit]United Kingdom

[edit]Prime Ministers

[edit]Belgium

[edit]Netherlands

[edit]France

[edit]Portugal

[edit]Finland

[edit]Iceland

[edit]Germany

[edit]Poland

[edit]Canada

[edit]Sweden

[edit]EU Commissioners

European Union Commissioners who have attended include:

[edit]UN, WTO, NATO and other International Organizations

[edit]Military

[edit]Financial institutions

[edit]Major corporations

[edit]University, institute and other academic

[edit]Media

[edit]References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Bilderberg Meeting of 1997 Assembles". PR Newswire. 13 June 1997.
  2. ^ Video showing DSK, Queen Beatrix and James Wolfensohn among others at Bilderberg 2000
  3. ^ a b c d Welcome to ActivePaper
  4. ^ a b "Obituary - Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands". The Times. December 3, 2004. "Bernhard’s visits abroad provided the background for an enterprise which interested him greatly, the Bilderberg conferences at which, from 1954 onwards, statesmen, businessmen and intellectuals from Europe and America had private discussions once or twice a year. The idea of the conferences originated with Dr Joseph H. Retinger as a counter to the anti-Americanism in Western Europe."
  5. ^ Jon Ronson (March 28, 2001). "Exposed: The Secret Club Of Powermongers Who Really Rule The World". The Mirror. "Prince Charles and Bill Clinton have been to sessions."
  6. ^ Jean Stead (April 28, 1986). "Prince Charles attends meeting on South Africa". The Guardian (London). "The 34th Bilderberg conference ended at Gleneagles Hotel, Perthshire, yesterday after a debate on the South African crisis attended by Prince Charles. He arrived for the economic debate on Saturday and stayed overnight at the hotel."
  7. ^ Mark Oliver (June 4, 2004). "The Bilderberg group". The Guardian.
  8. ^ a b "'High Priests Of Globalization' In Istanbul". Turkish Daily News. May 31, 2007. "The Turkish state minister and chief negotiator, Ali Babacan, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Kemal Dervis, the Association of Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen (Tusiad) Chairwoman Arzuhan Dogan Yalcindag, Koc Holding Executive Board President Mustafa Koc and the Bogazici University rector, Prof Dr Ayse Soysal, will attend the meeting on behalf of Turkey. Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, Queen Sofia of Spain, Crown Prince Philippe of Belgium, Greek National Economy and Finance Minister Yeoryios Alogoskoufis, former Prime Minister Francisco Pinto Balsemao of Portugal, former Foreign Minister Michel Barnier of France, Foreign Minister Carl Bildt of Sweden, Finance Minister Anders Borg of Sweden, Foreign Trade Minister Frank Heemskerk of the Netherlands, Finance Minister Jyrki Katainen of Finland, former US secretary of state, Henry Kissinger, Agriculture Minister Christine Lagarde of France, Justice Minister Michael McDowell of Ireland, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Rodrigo de Rato, the EU commissioner for enlargement, Olli Rehn, and the US ambassador to Turkey, Ross Wilson, are among foreign guests of the meeting. Meanwhile, tight security measures were taken in and around the Ritz Carlton Hotel, the venue of the meeting."
  9. ^ "Duke Of Edinburgh In Como Talks". The Times. April 03, 1965. p. 7. "The Duke of Edinburgh took part today in the opening session of the Bilderberg meeting at the Villa d'Este on Lake Como."
  10. ^ "Court Circular". The Times. April 03, 1967. p. 12.
  11. ^ Official List of Participants for the 2009 Bilderberg Meeting
  12. ^ a b c "World Leaders Attended Secret Bilderberg Meeting, The Spotlight Reports". PR Newswire. July 16, 1991. "Michael Boskin, chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisors, is listed as sharing one session with Karl Otto Pohl, president of the Deutsche Bundesbank. (Boskin refused to answer The Spotlight's inquiries about what he said). Jack F. Matlock, U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union, was also listed on a panel exploring developments in the USSR. Robert B. Zoellick, under-secretary of state designate for economic affairs was listed on still another panel, as was Thomas W. Simons, U.S. ambassador to Poland. David Rockefeller, former chairman of the Chase-Manhattan Bank and a leading Bilderberger, was reported as pushing for expanded free trade through both the Mexico and GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) negotiations now under way. John S. Reed, chairman of Citibank's parent corporation, was also on the list. Two U.S. governors, Douglas Wilder of Virginia and Bill Clinton of Arkansas are on the list with Diane Feinstein, the ex-mayor of San Francisco who lost a 1990 bid for governor of California. Sens. John Chafee (R-R.I.) and Bennett Johnston (D-La.) are on the list of the American delegation, by far the largest at Baden-Baden. Top industrialists, lawyers, and diplomats dominate the list. The only U.S. labor leader was Lynn Williams, president of the United Steelworkers of America. Arthur Dunkel, director general of GATT, which is currently shaping a completely free trade world in Geneva, and Etienne Davignon, former vice chairman of the European Community, were listed. Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and Queen Sophia of Spain were also on the list with the prime ministers of Belgium, Luxemburg and Netherlands and the federal chancellor of Austria. The press lords listed included Conrad Black, the Canadian publisher who recently purchased London's Daily Telegraph and the Jerusalem Post. George Ball, former undersecretary of state, was said to cause an "uproar" when he warned that a Mideast peace conference, if held, would "explode" in the present volatile political climate in that region. Harlan Cleveland, another former high State Department official, was reported to have privately urged the overthrow of the Persian Gulf monarchies as the first step toward a Mideast peace."
  13. ^ "George W. Ball Papers, 1880s-1994" (PDF). Princeton University Library. Archived from the original on 2007-06-24.
  14. ^ "Text Of Remarks By National Security Advisor Samuel R. Berger To The Bilderberg Steering Committee; "Strengthening The Bipartisan Center: An Internationalist Agenda For America"". Federal News Service. November 4, 1999.
  15. ^ a b c Are the people who 'really run the world' meeting this weekend?
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h i Bilderbergers celebrate half a century of intrigue, secrecy. 20. The New American. June 28, 2004. ISSN 08856540. "Attendees from the U.S. this year reportedly included: Senators Jon Corzine (D-N.J.) and John Edwards (D-N.C.); Melinda Gates, wife of Microsoft founder Bill Gates; Donald Graham, chairman and CEO of the Washington Post Company; Richard N. Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations; Timothy Geithner, president of the Federal ReserveBank of New York; Douglas Feith, U.S. Undersecretary of Defense; Walter Isaacson, president and CEO of the Aspen Institute; Jessica T. Mathews, president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; Indra K. Nooyi, president and CEO of Pepsico; Peter Weinberg, CEO of Goldman Sachs International; and James Wolfensohn, president of the World Bank.".
  17. ^ a b c Bilderberger Conspiracy
  18. ^ a b Kenneth Maxwell (2004). "The Case of the Missing Letter in Foreign Affairs:: Kissinger, Pinochet and Operation Condor". David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies. Archived from the original on 2007-03-11.
  19. ^ "Herter, Christian Archibald, 1895-1966. Papers: Guide.". Houghton Library, Harvard.
  20. ^ Aubourg, Valerie (2003). "Organizing Atlanticism: the Bilderberg group and the Atlantic institute, 1952- 1963". Intelligence and National Security 18:2: 92–105.
  21. ^ a b Alden Hatch (1962). H.R.H.Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands: An authorized biography. London: Harrap. ISBN B0000CLLN4.
  22. ^ a b c "Western Issues Aired". The Washington Post. April 24, 1978. "The three-day 26th Bilderberg Meeting concluded at a secluded cluster of shingled buildings in what was once a farmer's field. Zbigniew Brzezinski, President Carter's national security adviser, Swedish Prime Minister Thorbjorrn Falldin, former secretary of state Henry Kissinger and NATO Commander Alexander M. Haig Jr. were among 104 North American and European leaders at the conference."
  23. ^ a b c Bill Hayton (29 September 2005). "Inside the secretive Bilderberg Group". BBC.
  24. ^ a b "Clinton; Tony and Gordon just have to work this out; The former president, who is expected to play a starring role at the Labour conference, talks to Toby Harnden about the party; its future and its leadership contest". The Spectator. September 16, 2006. p. 14. "In fact, Clinton, then governor of Arkansas and considered a rank outsider for the 1992 presidential race, first met Brown in June 1991 at the Bilderberg conference in the Black Forest resort of Baden-Baden. By all accounts, the two clicked."
  25. ^ Mark Rich (2008). Hidden Evil. ISBN 9781435750104.
  26. ^ U.S. Sen. John Edwards at Bilderberg. (06-JUN-04) UPI NewsTrack
  27. ^ The Nation: Conspiracy Theorists Unite; A Secret Conference Thought to Rule the World
  28. ^ Jackie Kucinich (May 12, 2005). "World leaders attend meeting that they won't talk about". The Hill. p. 4. "Several members of Congress have been said to be on the guest list in the past, including Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), Jon Corzine (D-N.J.), Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) and Evan Bayh (D-Ind.). Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C) took a break from the campaign trail to attend the meeting last year. Hagel's office confirmed that he had attended the conference in 1999 and 2000."
  29. ^ Christy Hoppe (Thursday, May 31, 2007), Perry off to secret forum in Turkey, The Dallas Morning News, retrieved 2009-07-21
  30. ^ a b "Why is our governor visiting this group". The Augusta Chronicle. June 19, 2008. p. 8. "Some of the names on the list are intriguing. Some of the well-known names include:Ben Bernanke - chairman, Board of Governors, Federal Reserve System; Condoleezza Rice - U.S. secretary of state; James A. Johnson - tasked with choosing U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's running mate; Paul Wolfowitz - with the Institute for Public Policy Research. The one name that stands out in my opinion this year is South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford."
  31. ^ Ian Aitken (May 26, 1989). The Guardian (London). "Mr Paddy Ashdown is not yet wholly at ease with the trappings of office, even if the office in question is only that of leader of the Social and Liberal Democrats. Attending the Bilderberg Conference of European political leaders in Spain last week, he was deeply impressed by the splendour of the official cars and the intensity of the security precautions laid on for his arrival. Reaching the conference headquarters at last, he sank into a chair and said to his neighbour: 'Hello, I'm Paddy Ashdown.' The neighbour smiled diffidently, put out his hand, and said: 'Hello, I'm the King of Spain.'"
  32. ^ Telegraph.co.uk Taxpayers foot bill for Ed Balls 'junket'. Daily Telegraph
  33. ^ a b c "Who pulls the strings?". The Guardian. 10 March 2001.
  34. ^ a b "Memorandum submitted by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards - Complaint against Mr Kenneth Clarke". United Kingdom Parliament. 11 July 1997. "Mr Clarke subsequently explained that he and Mr Blair considered that they were attending the conference as representatives of the Government and the Opposition respectively, and stated that 'I was quite confident that I was at the time meeting the rules applying to Ministers, and it did not occur to me that the new rules concerning registration could apply to this visit'."
  35. ^ House of Commons - Register of Members' Interests, Commons Publications, 2 December 1998, retrieved 2009-07-21
  36. ^ "Register of Members' Interests". 9 June 1999. "3-6 June 1999, to Portugal, to attend Bilderberg meetings. I paid for my own air fare; the hotel accommodation for three nights was paid for by the organisers."
  37. ^ "Register of Members' Interests". 21 May 2003. "15-18 May 2003, to Versailles, France, to attend a Bilderberg Conference. I paid for my own air fare; the hotel accommodation for three nights was paid for by the organisers."
  38. ^ "Register of Members' Interests". 8 June 2004. "3-6 June 2004, to Stresa, Italy, to attend Bilderberg Conference. I paid for my own air fare; the hotel accommodation for three nights was paid for by the organisers.",
  39. ^ House of Commons - Register of Members' Interests
  40. ^ Kenneth Clarke MP, Rushcliffe (TheyWorkForYou.com)
  41. ^ "Register of Members' Interests - Kenneth Clarke". United Kingdom Parliament. 16 June 2008.
  42. ^ "Kenneth Clarke:Full register of members' interests". The Guardian. "5-8 June 2008, to Chantilly, Virginia, USA, to attend Bilderberg Conference. Hotel accommodation paid for by the conference sponsors. (I paid my travel costs.) (Registered 12 June 2008)"
  43. ^ "'Atlantic world' theme for Bilderberg conference". The Times. April 19, 1974. p. 6.
  44. ^ a b [[British House of Commons - Register of Journalists' Interests
  45. ^ a b c "Our man at Bilderberg". The Guardian. 19 May 2009. "Mandelson's office has confirmed his attendance at this year's meeting: "Yes, Lord Mandelson attended Bilberberg. He found it a valuable conference.""
  46. ^ a b c d e f g h John Deverell (May 31, 1996). "Vast array of international VIPs talk things over at secretive Bilderberg '96 in King City". The Toronto Star. "Lord Carrington, Conference chairman; former NATO secretary-general; Francisco Pinto Balsemao, Former prime minister of Portugal; Queen Beatrix, Netherlands; Lloyd Bentsen, Former treasury secretary, U.S.; Carl Bildt, The High Representative Sweden; Conrad Black, Chairman, Hollinger, Canada; Frits Bolkestein, Liberal party leader, Netherlands; Jean Chretien, Prime minister of Canada; Etienne Davignon, Executive chairman, Societe Generale de Belgique, Belgium; Stanley Fischer, International Monetary Fund; Charles Freeman, Former assistant secretary of defence, U.S.; Mike Harris, Premier of Ontario; Richard Holbrooke, Former assistant secretary of state, U.S.; Peter Job, Chief executive, Reuters Holding, Britain; Lionel Jospin, Socialist party leader, France; Henry Kissinger, Former U.S. secretary of state; Andrew Knight, News Corp., Britain; Winston Lord, Assistant secretary of state, U.S.; Paul Martin, Finance minister, Canada; Philippe Maystadt, Finance minister, Belgium; John Monks, Union leader, Britain; Mario Monti, European commissioner; Sam Nunn, U.S. senator; William Perry, Defence secretary, U.S.; Jan Petersen, Conservative party leader, Norway; Malcolm Rifkind, Foreign secretary, Britain; Renato Ruggiero, Director-general, World Trade Organization; Mona Sahlin, Member of parliament, Sweden; Klaus Schwab, President, World Economic Forum; Queen Sofia, Spain; George Soros, President, Soros Fund Management, U.S.; George Stephanopoulos, Senior adviser to the president, U.S.; Peter Sutherland, Former director-general, GATT and WTO, Ireland; J. Martin Taylor, Chief executive, Barclays Bank, Britain; Alex Trotman, Chairman, Ford Motor, U.S.; John Whitehead, Former deputy secretary of state, U.S.; James Wolfensohn, World Bank president."
  47. ^ a b "Register of Members' Interests - George Osborne". United Kingdom Parliament. 3 July 2007.
  48. ^ "Register of Members' Interests - George Osborne". United Kingdom Parliament. 16 June 2008.
  49. ^ "Register of Member' Interests - George Osborne". United Kingdom Parliament. 27 May 2009.
  50. ^ Ronson, Jon (10 March 2001). "Who pulls the strings? (part 3)". The Guardian. Retrieved 2009-07-04. ""During the Falklands war, the British government's request for international sanctions against Argentina fell on stony ground. But at a Bilderberg meeting in, I think, Denmark, David Owen stood up and gave the most fiery speech in favour of imposing them. Well, the speech changed a lot of minds. I'm sure that various foreign ministers went back to their respective countries and told their leaders what David Owen had said. And you know what? Sanctions were imposed.""
  51. ^ "Heath asks nation to be calm, fair, responsible, constructive". The Times. April 29, 1968. p. 2. "The outstretched hand of Mr. Powell was rejected by the leader of a coloured delegation which tried to present a petition to him today at the ski lodge at Mont Tremblanc Quebec, where Mr. Powell was attending the seventeenth annual Bilderberg conference."
  52. ^ "Register of Lords Interests - Lord Roll of Ipsden". United Kingdom Parliament. 1 October 2004. Archived from the original on 2008-02-07.
  53. ^ Paddy Ashdown (November 2000). The Ashdown Diaries: 1988-1997. Allen Lane. ISBN 0713995106.
  54. ^ "Twenty-fifth Bilderberg meeting held". Facts on File World News Digest. May 14, 1977. "Alec Douglas-Home, the former prime minister of Great Britain, chaired the conference, replacing Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, who had previously headed the Bilderberg invitation committee. (Prince Bernhard had resigned all public positions after the 1976 Lockheed scandal.)"
  55. ^ "News in Brief". The Times. April 26, 1975. p. 5. "Mrs Thatcher, the Conservative leader and Mr Healey, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, were among participants in the twenty second Bilderberg Conference."
  56. ^ a b "Secret Meeting Held in Cannes". The Washington Post. March 30, 1963.
  57. ^ a b c d e f g Geschiedenis: Bilderberg-conferentie 1954
  58. ^ "American Trip By M. Defferre Hope Of Meeting The President". The Times. Friday, Mar 20, 1964. p. 13. "The main purpose of M. Defferre's visit however, is to attend the annual Bilderberg Colloquy at which leaders of western thought are invited to speak their minds in the strictest secrecy."
  59. ^ Valtiovarainministeriö: Heinäluoma Bilderberg-kokouksessa Ottawassa
  60. ^ Valtiovarainministeriö: Katainen Bilderberg-kokoukseen Istanbuliin
  61. ^ a b Tiedote
  62. ^ a b c d e f g "Alþýðuflokksmaður boðinn í fyrsta sinn á Bilderbergfund". Morgunblaðið (The Morning Paper). 24 April 1993.
  63. ^ Vefur Reykjavíkurborgar - Vefur Bjarna Benediktssonar
  64. ^ a b Björn Bjarnason 13.9.2001
  65. ^ Samtíðarmenn 2003
  66. ^ Alþingi - 112. löggjafarþing, 277. fundur, fyrirspurn: greiðsla kostnaðar á fundaferðum ráðherra (Icelandic)
  67. ^ Alþingi - 100. löggjafarþing, 88. fundur, 357. mál, utanríkismál (Icelandic)
  68. ^ Wikileaks - Bilderberg meeting report Aachen, 1980
  69. ^ Alþingi - Æviágrip: Jón Sigurðsson (Icelandic)
  70. ^ Westerwelle traf Gül - EU-Beitritt im Zentrum der Gespräche (German) Free Democratic Party of Germany. 30 May 2007.
  71. ^ Sir Edward Beddington-Behrens (June 13, 1960). "Obituary - Mr. Joseph Retinger". The Times. p. 12.
  72. ^ a b c Glen Mcgregor (May 24, 2006). "Ottawa to host top-secret meeting -- or maybe not: Rumours run rampant that ultra-influential Bilderberg to come here". Ottawa Citizen. "Several Canadian political figures have spoken at Bilderbergs, including prime ministers Pierre Trudeau and Jean Chretien, New Brunswick premiers Bernard Lord and Frank McKenna, and former Ontario premier Mike Harris. Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office would not say yesterday whether he has been invited to attend the rumoured Ottawa meetings. Mr. Harper attended the 2003 conference in Versailles, France."
  73. ^ Robert Benzie (June 12, 2006). "Ontario to build nuclear reactors". The Toronto Star.
  74. ^ Svenska Dagbladet Näringsliv 2009-11-12
  75. ^ Svenska Dagbladet Näringsliv 2009-11-12
  76. ^ Svenska Dagbladet Näringsliv 2009-11-12
  77. ^ Svenska Dagbladet Näringsliv 2009-11-12
  78. ^ Svenska Dagbladet Näringsliv 2009-11-12
  79. ^ a b "Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission". European Parliament. 15 May 2003.
  80. ^ Valerie Aubourg (June 2003). Organizing Atlanticism: the Bilderberg Group and the Atlantic Institute 1952-63.
  81. ^ a b Caroline Moorehead (18 April 1977). "An exclusive club, perhaps without power, but certainly with influence: The Bilderberg group". The Times.
  82. ^ Charlie Skelton (May 18, 2009). "Our man at Bilderberg: I should be ashamed". Guardian. "He shows me another: a long-range shot of two happy globalists in an inflatable doughnut ring and Speedos, skidding about behind a powerboat. If only the image was sharper we might see Peter Mandelson snatching a chat with Jean-Claude Trichet, the president of the European Central Bank. "So how do we sell ... splooosh! ... wooo! ... the abolition of the pound to the ... sploosh! ... electorate? Again! Again! Once more round the bay!""
  83. ^ a b c d Bruno Fay's blog on Le Monde
  84. ^ Bilderberg-Mirror.org.uk
  85. ^ STLtoday - St. Louis Post-Dispatch Archives
  86. ^ Svenska Dagbladet Näringsliv 2009-11-12
  87. ^ Svenska Dagbladet Näringsliv 2009-11-12
  88. ^ "Prufrock: Rulers of the world prepare to expel Black". The Sunday Times. February 15, 2004. "The final straw came this month when Black said he would sue Henry Kissinger and Richard Perle, both directors of Hollinger and fellow Bilderbergers. Now he is going to be pressed to leave the group."
  89. ^ "Leaders' meeting exclusive, secret: Chance for relaxed discussions". Hamilton Spectator (Ontario, Canada). June 1, 1996.

Conspiracy theories

Because of its secrecy and refusal to issue news releases, the group is frequently accused of secretive and nefarious plots. Critics include the John Birch Society, a producerist advocacy group in the United States,[21] Canadian writer Daniel Estulin, British writer David Icke, American writer Jim Tucker, politician Jesse Ventura and radio host Alex Jones. The Bilderberg Group was the topic of a 2009 episode of the TruTV series Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura.[22]

Bilderberg founding member and, for 30 years, a steering committee member, Denis Healey has said:[23]

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.

In 2005 the then chairman Etienne Davignon discussed these accusations with the BBC.

It is unavoidable and it doesn't matter. There will always be people who believe in conspiracies but things happen in a much more incoherent fashion...When people say this is a secret government of the world I say that if we were a secret government of the world we should be bloody ashamed of ourselves.[24]

G. William Domhoff, a research professor in psychology and sociology who studies theories of power, sees the role of social clubs such as Bilderberg as being nothing more than a means to create social cohesion within a power elite. He adds that those understandings of the clubs such as the Bilderberg fit with the perceptions of the members of the elite. In a 2004 interview with New Internationalist magazine, Domhoff warns progressives against getting distracted by conspiracy theories which demonize and scapegoat such clubs. He argues that the opponents of progressivism are Social class in the United States#Corporate elite, the Republican Party, and conservative Democrats. It is the same people more or less, but it puts them in their most important roles, as capitalists and political leaders, which are visible.[25]

[edit]Origins of conspiracy theories

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.[26]

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.[27]

Investigative journalist Chip Berlet, notes the existence of Bilderberger conspiracy theories as early as 1964 in the writings of conservative political activist Phyllis Schlafly. In Berlet's 1994 report Right 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.[28]

[edit]Recent meetings

Main article: List of Bilderberg meetings

Recent meetings:

[edit]See also

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