Bilderberg Group

The Bilderberg Group is an informal, secretive and international association of powerful people, meeting every year. Its name is that of the hotel in the Netherlands where the group first met in 1954. Its founder members were Denis Healey, Joseph Retinger, David Rockefeller and Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands.

It has an office in Leiden, in the Netherlands.

Contents

Declared purpose

The original intention of the Bilderberg group was to further the understanding between Western Europe and North America through informal meetings between powerful individuals. Each year, a "steering committee" devises a selected invitation list with a maximum of 100 names; invitations are only extended to residents of Europe or North America. The location of their annual meeting is not secret, and the agenda and list of participants are openly available to the public, but the topics of the meetings are kept secret (they are not published, and attendees pledge not to divulge what was discussed). The official stance of the Bilderberg Group is that their secrecy prevents these individuals' discussions from media manipulation. However, social class-related exclusivity is considered by many to be the primary motive. Security is managed by military intelligence.

Views on the Nature of the Group

The stated reason the group's secrecy is to enable people to speak freely without need to carefully consider how each word might be interpreted by the mass media. However, as many of the attendants have gained their power through democratic process, it is disputable if it is morally desirable for them to practice their power off the record. This secrecy has made conspiracy researchers claim that the meetings have a sinister purpose. This feeling is enhanced by the fact that some say that they are merely a front for the Round table groups, or even a semi-public front for the Illuminati or assorted other secret societies.

The Bilderberg Group has been described as:

  • a "discussion group" of politicians, media moguls, academics and business leaders
  • an exclusive international lobby of the power elite of Europe and North America, capable of influencing international policy
  • a capitalist secret society operating entirely through self-interest.
  • an underground neo-Nazi group hoping to establish a 21st century fascist world government.

Attendees

Attendees of Bilderberg include central bankers, defense experts, press barons, government ministers, prime ministers, royalty, international financiers and political leaders from Europe and America. Guests in 2003 included US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, neoconservative Richard Perle, banker David Rockefeller as well as various other members of the Rockefeller family, Henry Kissinger, Queen Beatrix, Bill Gates, King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia, and high officials of assorted governments.

Some of the Western world's leading financiers and foreign policy strategists attend Bilderberg. Rumsfeld is an active Bilderberger; so is Peter Sutherland from Ireland, a former European Union commissioner and chairman of Goldman Sachs and of BP. Rumsfeld and Sutherland served together in 2000 on the board of the Swedish/Swiss energy company ABB. Former US Deputy Defense Secretary and current World Bank head Paul Wolfowitz is also a member. The group's current chairman is Étienne Davignon, the Belgian politician and businessman.

2004

In the 2004 meeting from June 3 to June 6, held in Stresa, Italy, reported attendees included many of the people attending in 2003, British Petroleum chief John Browne, US Senator John Edwards, World Bank president James Wolfensohn, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, President George W. Bush, and Melinda Gates, wife of Bill Gates.

2005

In the 2005 meeting from May 5 to May 8, held in German Bavaria, prepared by the group's steering committee including Josef Ackermann of Deutsche Bank, Jorma Ollila of Nokia, Richard Perle, Vernon Jordan, Jürgen Schrempp of DaimlerChrysler, Peter Sutherland of Goldman Sachs International, Daniel Vasella of Novartis and James Wolfensohn of the Worldbank, among others there were expected to be present Henry Kissinger, Natan Sharansky and Bernard Kouchner, according to the Financial Times of May 2.

EU Commissioners

European Union's Commissioners who have attended include:

Refer to links to discussion at European Parliament for proof.

External links

Books

Magazines

de:Bilderberg-Konferenz nl:Bilderberg-conferentie fi:Bilderberg-ryhmä

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