NATO chief, former US intelligence director among Bilderberg elite
Some 140 participants representing 22 countries will be attending the 62nd annual Bilderberg meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark. The newly released list is a who’s who of business, academia, and the political world.
As is usually the case with the renowned summit, this year’s Bilderberg – which will take place May 29 to June 1 – has attracted a cadre of influential experts, including notable attendees such as NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, former director of the US National Security Agency Keith Alexander, and former US national security advisor to the White House Thomas E. Donilon.
The Bilderberg meeting, often thought of as one of the most influential networks in the world, first began in 1954, has over the years attracted a considerable amount of media attention, both for its formidable attendee lists as well as the perceived aura as an opportunity for the world’s elite to mingle. In addition to the yearly attendees, the Bilderberg Steering Committee is likewise a list of powerful financiers, which includes Peter D. Sutherland, Chairman of Goldman Sachs International, as well as Peter Thiel, president of Thiel Capital.
Bilderberg operates under the “Chatham House Rule,” which stipulates that neither the identity nor affiliation of a speaker’s quotes may be revealed by other participants, including any media in attendance. Though it may be intended to promote the free exchange of ideas among the well-heeled, such rules have fed directly into what detractors say is an unnecessary cloud of secrecy, as well as a range of conspiracy theories that liken the summit to a shadowy gathering for architects of the “New World Order.”
Already fueling such wild speculation ahead of this year's summit were the arrests of independent reporters Luke Rudkowski and Dan Dicks, who attempted to confront staff at the Copenhagen hotel where Bilderberg is set to take place. Video of the encounter quickly spread online.
According to an official press release, this year’s summit will be focusing on a variety of topics, including the future of democracy and the “middle class trap,” China’s political and economic outlook, and the ongoing situation in Ukraine. Interestingly, the agenda also includes the topic of privacy, as well as “the relationship in intelligence sharing,” which suggests the meeting may be used to address last year’s onslaught of NSA leaks by former intelligence contractor turned whistleblower Edward Snowden.
Below is a list of participants as released by Bilderberg:
FRA
Castries, Henri de
Chairman and CEO, AXA Group
DEU
Achleitner, Paul M.
Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Deutsche Bank AG
DEU
Ackermann, Josef
Former CEO, Deutsche Bank AG
GBR
Agius, Marcus
Non-Executive Chairman, PA Consulting Group
FIN
Alahuhta, Matti
Member of the Board, KONE; Chairman, Aalto University Foundation
GBR
Alexander, Helen
Chairman, UBM plc
USA
Alexander, Keith B.
Former Commander, U.S. Cyber Command; Former Director, National Security Agency
USA
Altman, Roger C.
Executive Chairman, Evercore
FIN
Apunen, Matti
Director, Finnish Business and Policy Forum EVA
DEU
Asmussen, Jörg
State Secretary of Labour and Social Affairs
HUN
Bajnai, Gordon
Former Prime Minister; Party Leader, Together 2014
GBR
Balls, Edward M.
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
PRT
Balsemão, Francisco Pinto
Chairman, Impresa SGPS
FRA
Baroin, François
Member of Parliament (UMP); Mayor of Troyes
FRA
Baverez, Nicolas
Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
USA
Berggruen, Nicolas
Chairman, Berggruen Institute on Governance
ITA
Bernabè, Franco
Chairman, FB Group SRL
DNK
Besenbacher, Flemming
Chairman, The Carlsberg Group
NLD
Beurden, Ben van
CEO, Royal Dutch Shell plc
SWE
Bildt, Carl
Minister for Foreign Affairs
NOR
Brandtzæg, Svein Richard
President and CEO, Norsk Hydro ASA
INT
Breedlove, Philip M.
Supreme Allied Commander Europe
AUT
Bronner, Oscar
Publisher, Der STANDARD Verlagsgesellschaft m.b.H.
SWE
Buskhe, Håkan
President and CEO, Saab AB
TUR
Çandar, Cengiz
Senior Columnist, Al Monitor and Radikal
ESP
Cebrián, Juan Luis
Executive Chairman, Grupo PRISA
FRA
Chalendar, Pierre-André de
Chairman and CEO, Saint-Gobain
CAN
Clark, W. Edmund
Group President and CEO, TD Bank Group
INT
Coeuré, Benoît
Member of the Executive Board, European Central Bank
IRL
Coveney, Simon
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine
GBR
Cowper-Coles, Sherard
Senior Adviser to the Group Chairman and Group CEO, HSBC Holdings plc
BEL
Davignon, Etienne
Minister of State
USA
Donilon, Thomas E.
Senior Partner, O'Melveny and Myers; Former U.S. National Security Advisor
DEU
Döpfner, Mathias
CEO, Axel Springer SE
GBR
Dudley, Robert
Group Chief Executive, BP plc
FIN
Ehrnrooth, Henrik
Chairman, Caverion Corporation, Otava and Pöyry PLC
ITA
Elkann, John
Chairman, Fiat S.p.A.
DEU
Enders, Thomas
CEO, Airbus Group
DNK
Federspiel, Ulrik
Executive Vice President, Haldor Topsøe A/S
USA
Feldstein, Martin S.
Professor of Economics, Harvard University; President Emeritus, NBER
CAN
Ferguson, Brian
President and CEO, Cenovus Energy Inc.
GBR
Flint, Douglas J.
Group Chairman, HSBC Holdings plc
ESP
García-Margallo, José Manuel
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation
USA
Gfoeller, Michael
Independent Consultant
TUR
Göle, Nilüfer
Professor of Sociology, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales
USA
Greenberg, Evan G.
Chairman and CEO, ACE Group
GBR
Greening, Justine
Secretary of State for International Development
NLD
Halberstadt, Victor
Professor of Economics, Leiden University
USA
Hockfield, Susan
President Emerita, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
NOR
Høegh, Leif O.
Chairman, Höegh Autoliners AS
NOR
Høegh, Westye
Senior Advisor, Höegh Autoliners AS
USA
Hoffman, Reid
Co-Founder and Executive Chairman, LinkedIn
CHN
Huang, Yiping
Professor of Economics, National School of Development, Peking University
USA
Jackson, Shirley Ann
President, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
USA
Jacobs, Kenneth M.
Chairman and CEO, Lazard
USA
Johnson, James A.
Chairman, Johnson Capital Partners
USA
Karp, Alex
CEO, Palantir Technologies
USA
Katz, Bruce J.
Vice President and Co-Director, Metropolitan Policy Program, The Brookings Institution
CAN
Kenney, Jason T.
Minister of Employment and Social Development
GBR
Kerr, John
Deputy Chairman, Scottish Power
USA
Kissinger, Henry A.
Chairman, Kissinger Associates, Inc.
USA
Kleinfeld, Klaus
Chairman and CEO, Alcoa
TUR
Koç, Mustafa
Chairman, Koç Holding A.S.
DNK
Kragh, Steffen
President and CEO, Egmont
USA
Kravis, Henry R.
Co-Chairman and Co-CEO, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.
USA
Kravis, Marie-Josée
Senior Fellow and Vice Chair, Hudson Institute
CHE
Kudelski, André
Chairman and CEO, Kudelski Group
INT
Lagarde, Christine
Managing Director, International Monetary Fund
BEL
Leysen, Thomas
Chairman of the Board of Directors, KBC Group
USA
Li, Cheng
Director, John L.Thornton China Center,The Brookings Institution
SWE
Lifvendahl, Tove
Political Editor in Chief, Svenska Dagbladet
CHN
Liu, He
Minister, Office of the Central Leading Group on Financial and Economic Affairs
PRT
Macedo, Paulo
Minister of Health
FRA
Macron, Emmanuel
Deputy Secretary General of the Presidency
ITA
Maggioni, Monica
Editor-in-Chief, Rainews24, RAI TV
GBR
Mandelson, Peter
Chairman, Global Counsel LLP
USA
McAfee, Andrew
Principal Research Scientist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
PRT
Medeiros, Inês de
Member of Parliament, Socialist Party
GBR
Micklethwait, John
Editor-in-Chief, The Economist
GRC
Mitsotaki, Alexandra
Chair, ActionAid Hellas
ITA
Monti, Mario
Senator-for-life; President, Bocconi University
USA
Mundie, Craig J.
Senior Advisor to the CEO, Microsoft Corporation
CAN
Munroe-Blum, Heather
Professor of Medicine and Principal (President) Emerita, McGill University
USA
Murray, Charles A.
W.H. Brady Scholar, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
NLD
Netherlands, H.R.H. Princess Beatrix of the
ESP
Nin Génova, Juan María
Deputy Chairman and CEO, CaixaBank
FRA
Nougayrède, Natalie
Director and Executive Editor, Le Monde
DNK
Olesen, Søren-Peter
Professor; Member of the Board of Directors, The Carlsberg Foundation
FIN
Ollila, Jorma
Chairman, Royal Dutch Shell, plc; Chairman, Outokumpu Plc
TUR
Oran, Umut
Deputy Chairman, Republican People’s Party (CHP)
GBR
Osborne, George
Chancellor of the Exchequer
FRA
Pellerin, Fleur
State Secretary for Foreign Trade
USA
Perle, Richard N.
Resident Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
USA
Petraeus, David H.
Chairman, KKR Global Institute
CAN
Poloz, Stephen S.
Governor, Bank of Canada
INT
Rasmussen, Anders Fogh
Secretary General, NATO
DNK
Rasmussen, Jørgen Huno
Chairman of the Board of Trustees, The Lundbeck Foundation
INT
Reding, Viviane
Vice President and Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, European Commission
USA
Reed, Kasim
Mayor of Atlanta
CAN
Reisman, Heather M.
Chair and CEO, Indigo Books & Music Inc.
NOR
Reiten, Eivind
Chairman, Klaveness Marine Holding AS
DEU
Röttgen, Norbert
Chairman, Foreign Affairs Committee, German Bundestag
USA
Rubin, Robert E.
Co-Chair, Council on Foreign Relations; Former Secretary of the Treasury
USA
Rumer, Eugene
Senior Associate and Director, Russia and Eurasia Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
NOR
Rynning-Tønnesen, Christian
President and CEO, Statkraft AS
NLD
Samsom, Diederik M.
Parliamentary Leader PvdA (Labour Party)
GBR
Sawers, John
Chief, Secret Intelligence Service
NLD
Scheffer, Paul J.
Author; Professor of European Studies, Tilburg University
NLD
Schippers, Edith
Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport
USA
Schmidt, Eric E.
Executive Chairman, Google Inc.
AUT
Scholten, Rudolf
CEO, Oesterreichische Kontrollbank AG
USA
Shih, Clara
CEO and Founder, Hearsay Social
FIN
Siilasmaa, Risto K.
Chairman of the Board of Directors and Interim CEO, Nokia Corporation
ESP
Spain, H.M. the Queen of
USA
Spence, A. Michael
Professor of Economics, New York University
FIN
Stadigh, Kari
President and CEO, Sampo plc
USA
Summers, Lawrence H.
Charles W. Eliot University Professor, Harvard University
IRL
Sutherland, Peter D.
Chairman, Goldman Sachs International; UN Special Representative for Migration
SWE
Svanberg, Carl-Henric
Chairman, Volvo AB and BP plc
TUR
Taftalı, A. Ümit
Member of the Board, Suna and Inan Kiraç Foundation
USA
Thiel, Peter A.
President, Thiel Capital
DNK
Topsøe, Henrik
Chairman, Haldor Topsøe A/S
GRC
Tsoukalis, Loukas
President, Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy
NOR
Ulltveit-Moe, Jens
Founder and CEO, Umoe AS
INT
Üzümcü, Ahmet
Director-General, Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
CHE
Vasella, Daniel L.
Honorary Chairman, Novartis International
FIN
Wahlroos, Björn
Chairman, Sampo plc
SWE
Wallenberg, Jacob
Chairman, Investor AB
SWE
Wallenberg, Marcus
Chairman of the Board of Directors, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB
USA
Warsh, Kevin M.
Distinguished Visiting Fellow and Lecturer, Stanford University
GBR
Wolf, Martin H.
Chief Economics Commentator, The Financial Times
USA
Wolfensohn, James D.
Chairman and CEO, Wolfensohn and Company
NLD
Zalm, Gerrit
Chairman of the Managing Board, ABN-AMRO Bank N.V.
GRC
Zanias, George
Chairman of the Board, National Bank of Greece
USA
Zoellick, Robert B.
Chairman, Board of International Advisors, The Goldman Sachs Group
