Bilderberg 2014 attendees

[David Guyatt]

Nice to see dear old Georgy Porgy present along with his opposite number Ed Balls.

Never let it be said that British politics is stitched up.

From Vigilant Citizen:

Bilderberg 2014 : Full List of Official Attendees

May 31st, 2014 |


The 2014 Bilderberg meeting is taking place at the Marriott Hotel in Copenhagen. As usual, the meeting gathers some of the world's most powerful people from the financial, political and business worlds, not to mention representatives of mass media and elite think tanks. As usual, the result of the discussions are completely secret.
Official items on the agenda include "The future of democracy and the middle-class trap", "The new architecture of the Middle East" and the major geopolitical crisis of the moment: "Ukraine". Several topics that are less PR-friendly will evidently be discussed such as the evolution of a globalized world order.
As David Rockefeller, a Bilderberg veteran stated in his memoirs:

"Some even believe we are part of a secret cabal working against the best interests of the United States, characterizing my family and me as internationalists' and of conspiring with others around the world to build a more integrated global political and economic structure one world, if you will. If that is the charge, I stand guilty, and I am proud of it."
- David Rockefeller, "Memoirs"

Here's the list of guests ranked by country.

AUSTRIA
Bronner, Oscar Publisher, Der STANDARD Verlagsgesellschaft m.b.H.
Rudolf Scholten CEO, Oesterreichische Kontrollbank AG

BELGIUM
Etienne Davignon Minister of State
Thomas Leysen Chairman of the Board of Directors, KBC Group

CANADA
W. Edmund Clark Group President and CEO, TD Bank Group
Brian Ferguson President and CEO, Cenovus Energy Inc.
Heather Munroe-Blum Professor of Medicine and Principal (President) Emerita, McGill University
Jason T. Kenney Minister of Employment and Social Development
Stephen S. Poloz Governor, Bank of Canada
Heather M. Reisman Chair and CEO, Indigo Books & Music Inc.

CHINA
CHN Huang, Yiping Professor of Economics, National School of Development, Peking University
CHN Liu, He Minister, Office of the Central Leading Group on Financial and Economic Affairs

DENMARK
Flemming Besenbacher Chairman, The Carlsberg Group
Søren-Peter Olesen Professor; Member of the Board of Directors, The Carlsberg Foundation
Henrik Topsøe Chairman, Haldor Topsøe A/S
Steffen Kragh President and CEO, Egmont
Jørgen Huno Rasmussen Chairman of the Board of Trustees, The Lundbeck Foundation
Ulrik Federspiel Executive Vice President, Haldor Topsøe A/S

FINLAND
Matti Alahuhta Member of the Board, KONE; Chairman, Aalto University Foundation
Matti Apunen Director, Finnish Business and Policy Forum EVA
Henrik Ehrnrooth Chairman, Caverion Corporation, Otava and Pöyry PLC
Jorma Ollila Chairman, Royal Dutch Shell, plc; Chairman, Outokumpu Plc
Risto K. Siilasmaa Chairman of the Board of Directors and Interim CEO, Nokia Corporation
Kari Stadigh President and CEO, Sampo plc
Björn Wahlroos Chairman, Sampo plc

FRANCE
Castries, Henri de Chairman and CEO, AXA Group
François Baroin Member of Parliament (UMP); Mayor of Troyes
Nicolas Baverez Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Pierre-André de Chalendar Chairman and CEO, Saint-Gobain
Fleur Pellerin State Secretary for Foreign Trade
Natalie Nougayrède Director and Executive Editor, Le Monde
Emmanuel Macron -Deputy Secretary General of the Presidency

GERMANY
Paul M. Achleitner Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Deutsche Bank AG
Josef Ackermann Former CEO, Deutsche Bank AG
Jörg Asmussen State Secretary of Labour and Social Affairs
Mathias Döpfner CEO, Axel Springer SE
Thomas Enders CEO, Airbus Group
Norbert Röttgen Chairman, Foreign Affairs Committee, German Bundestag

GREECE
George Zanias Chairman of the Board, National Bank of Greece
Alexandra Mitsotaki Chair, ActionAid Hellas
Loukas Tsoukalis President, Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy

HUNGARY
Gordon Bajnai Former Prime Minister; Party Leader, Together 2014

ITALY
Franco Bernabè Chairman, FB Group SRL
John Elkann Chairman, Fiat S.p.A.
Mario Monti Senator-for-life; President, Bocconi University
Monica Maggioni Editor-in-Chief, Rainews24, RAI TV

INTERNATIONAL
Philip M. Breedlove Supreme Allied Commander Europe
Benoît Coeuré Member of the Executive Board, European Central Bank
Christine Lagarde Managing Director, International Monetary Fund
Anders Fogh Rasmussen Secretary General, NATO
Ahmet Üzümcü Director-General, Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
Viviane Reding Vice President and Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, European Commission

IRELAND
Simon Coveney Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Peter D. Sutherland Chairman, Goldman Sachs International; UN Special Representative for Migration

NETHERLANDS
Victor Halberstadt Professor of Economics, Leiden University
Ben van Beurden CEO, Royal Dutch Shell plc
Paul J. Scheffer Author; Professor of European Studies, Tilburg University
Edith Schippers Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport
Gerrit Zalm Chairman of the Managing Board, ABN-AMRO Bank N.V.
H.R.H. Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands

NORWAY
Svein Richard Brandtzæg President and CEO, Norsk Hydro ASA
Leif O. Høegh Chairman, Höegh Autoliners AS
Westye Høegh Senior Advisor, Höegh Autoliners AS
Eivind Reiten Chairman, Klaveness Marine Holding AS
Christian Rynning-Tønnesen President and CEO, Statkraft AS
Jens Ulltveit-Moe Founder and CEO, Umoe AS

PORTUGAL
Francisco Pinto Balsemão Chairman, Impresa SGPS
Paulo Macedo Minister of Health
Inês de Medeiros Member of Parliament, Socialist Party

SPAIN
García-Margallo, José Manuel Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation
Juan María Nin Génova Deputy Chairman and CEO, CaixaBank
H.M. the Queen of Spain
Juan Luis Cebrián Executive Chairman, Grupo PRISA
SWEDEN
Carl Bildt Minister for Foreign Affairs
Buskhe, HÃ¥kan President and CEO, Saab AB
Wallenberg, Jacob Chairman, Investor AB
Wallenberg, Marcus Chairman of the Board of Directors, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB
Lifvendahl, Tove Political Editor in Chief, Svenska Dagbladet
Svanberg, Carl-Henric Chairman, Volvo AB and BP plc

SWITZERLAND
Kudelski, André Chairman and CEO, Kudelski Group
Vasella, Daniel L. Honorary Chairman, Novartis International

TURKEY
Göle, Nilüfer Professor of Sociology, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales
Koç, Mustafa Chairman, Koç Holding A.S.
Çandar, Cengiz Senior Columnist, Al Monitor and Radikal
Oran, Umut Deputy Chairman, Republican People's Party (CHP)
Taftalı, A. Ümit Member of the Board, Suna and Inan Kiraç Foundation

UNITED KINGDOM
Marcus Agius Non-Executive Chairman, PA Consulting Group
Helen Alexander Chairman, UBM plc
Edward M. Balls Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
Cowper-Coles, Sherard Senior Adviser to the Group Chairman and Group CEO, HSBC Holdings plc
Dudley, Robert Group Chief Executive, BP plc
Mandelson, Peter Chairman, Global Counsel LLP
Micklethwait, John Editor-in-Chief, The Economist
Kerr, John Deputy Chairman, Scottish Power
Greening, Justine Secretary of State for International Development
Flint, Douglas J. Group Chairman, HSBC Holdings plcNLD Samsom, Diederik M. Parliamentary Leader PvdA (Labour Party)
Sawers, John Chief, Secret Intelligence Service
Osborne, George Chancellor of the Exchequer
Wolf, Martin H. Chief Economics Commentator, The Financial Times

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Keith B. Alexander Former Commander, U.S. Cyber Command; Former Director, National Security Agency
Roger C. Altman Executive Chairman, Evercore
Nicolas Berggruen Chairman, Berggruen Institute on Governance
Robert B. Zoellick Chairman, Board of International Advisors, The Goldman Sachs Group
Li, Cheng Director, John L.Thornton China Center,The Brookings Institution
Greenberg, Evan G. Chairman and CEO, ACE Group
Feldstein, Martin S. Professor of Economics, Harvard University; President Emeritus, NBER
Jackson, Shirley Ann President, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Jacobs, Kenneth M. Chairman and CEO, Lazard
Johnson, James A. Chairman, Johnson Capital Partners
Karp, Alex CEO, Palantir Technologies
Katz, Bruce J. Vice President and Co-Director, Metropolitan Policy Program, The Brookings Institution
Kravis, Henry R. Co-Chairman and Co-CEO, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.
Kravis, Marie-Josée Senior Fellow and Vice Chair, Hudson Institute
Schmidt, Eric E. Executive Chairman, Google Inc.
Shih, Clara CEO and Founder, Hearsay Social
Kissinger, Henry A. Chairman, Kissinger Associates, Inc.
Kleinfeld, Klaus Chairman and CEO, Alcoa
Donilon, Thomas E. Senior Partner, O'Melveny and Myers; Former U.S. National Security Advisor
Gfoeller, Michael Independent Consultant
Rubin, Robert E. Co-Chair, Council on Foreign Relations; Former Secretary of the Treasury
Rumer, Eugene Senior Associate and Director, Russia and Eurasia Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
McAfee, Andrew Principal Research Scientist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mundie, Craig J. Senior Advisor to the CEO, Microsoft Corporation
Murray, Charles A. W.H. Brady Scholar, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Hockfield, Susan President Emerita, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Hoffman, Reid Co-Founder and Executive Chairman, LinkedIn
Perle, Richard N. Resident Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
Petraeus, David H. Chairman, KKR Global Institute
Reed, Kasim Mayor of Atlanta
Thiel, Peter A. President, Thiel Capital
Summers, Lawrence H. Charles W. Eliot University Professor, Harvard University
Spence, A. Michael Professor of Economics, New York University
Warsh, Kevin M. Distinguished Visiting Fellow and Lecturer, Stanford University
Wolfensohn, James D. Chairman and CEO, Wolfensohn and Company
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[Kenneth Kapel]

Even a "so-called liberal" such asRachal Maddow, poo-poos the possibility,that a mutli day meeting of the worlds elite can have any influence on what goes on. I think see needs a reality check. Believing that "Bilderberg" is influence, if not much more, does not make one an Alex Jones android.

[Drew Phipps]

An interesting list. You got the AEI, where all the PNAC folks fled to after 9/11. You got Evercore, who had a corporate director convicted of insider trading. You got Palantir Tech, partly funded by and staffed by the CIA. You got folks from LinkedIn, Google, and Enterprise 2.0. You got Keith Alexander, formerly USA Cyber Commander.

In what economic sector do you suppose the Bilderburgers will be working their total lack of influence this year?

[Lauren Johnson]

An interesting list. You got the AEI, where all the PNAC folks fled to after 9/11. You got Evercore, who had a corporate director convicted of insider trading. You got Palantir Tech, partly funded by and staffed by the CIA. You got folks from LinkedIn, Google, and Enterprise 2.0. You got Keith Alexander, formerly USA Cyber Commander.

In what economic sector do you suppose the Bilderburgers will be working their total lack of influence this year?

This is a tough one. I'm thinkin'. Give me some time. ::

[David Guyatt]

Bilderberg conference 2014: eating our politicians for breakfast

George Osborne, Lord Mandelson, Ed Balls and Eric Schmidt arrive for day two of the conference in Copenhagen

• Charlie Skelton
  
• theguardian.com, Friday 30 May 2014 23.44 BST
  
• Jump to comments (225)
  

George Osborne and John Micklethwait. All photos: Hannah Borno

So here he is, our esteemed chancellor of the exchequer, George Osborne, arriving at the 2014 Bilderberg in Copenhagen. In a snappy suit, and with a new razor-sharp hairdo, Osborne looks ready for business. You could skin a goat with that fringe. He probably got a trim and a shoe polish at the airport, wanting to look his best for the conference.
Osborne rolled up to the hotel with John Micklethwait, the editor-in-chief of the Economist and board member of the Economist Group. This year, in all, there are three members of the Economist board at Bilderberg: Micklethwait, John Elkann (the billionaire Agnelli heir) and Eric Schmidt (the executive chairman of Google).
During his stay in Copenhagen, Osborne will also have the chance to hammer out economic policy with three senior members of Goldman Sachs, three board members of Shell Oil, and two people whose nickname is "the Prince of Darkness" Richard Perle and Peter Mandelson.
Peter MandelsonHere's Mandy or should I say, the chairman of Lazard International arriving now. Mandelson perfectly embodies the ghastly, muddy fudge of public and private that so typifies the atmosphere at Bilderberg. Throw a rock and hit a public servant turned investment banker. Actually, don't throw a rock, because this guy will have your brains on the pavement before you can say "revolving door".
Security guardMandelson's boss at Lazard is also here in Copenhagen: Kenneth M Jacobs.
He's the chairman and CEO of the investment bank, and also sits on the board of trustees of the Brookings Institution. This year's Bilderberg seems quite Brookings-heavy. Jacob's has two fellow trustees in Copenhagen: Klaus Kleinfeld (the CEO of Alcoa) and Paul Achleitner (the head of Deutsche Bank) both of whom also happen to on the board of Bayer, the multinational pharmaceutical company. Cosy.
There are so many interwoven corporate, think-tank and advisory board relationships at Bilderberg it fries your brain to try and unpick them. Take John Elkann for example the board member of the Economist and part-time knitwear catalogue model.
John ElkannElkann is another Brookings connection: he sits on Brookings' International Advisory Council alongside Marcus Wallenberg (one of the two Wallenberg billionaires here this year) and the always dapper Nicolas Berggruen seen here having a 'moment' with one of the conference staff. Berggruen Holdings has a net equity in excess of $2bn. No wonder he's laughing. Also, to be fair, it always gives him a cheery glow to have someone fired for leaving a bottle of Windolene in the back of his limo.
Nicholas BerggruenBillionaire Berggruen runs the Institute on Good Governance, a think tank aimed at promoting "globalization 2.0", which sounds like a sequel so terrible that Nicholas Berggruen will probably find himself being played by Adam Sandler.
One of the main projects of The Institute for Good Governance is the '21st Century Council', which features three of this year's Bilderbergers: the ubiquitous Eric Schmidt, Reid Hoffman of LinkedIn, and the publisher Juan Luis Cebrián.
Everyone here's so profoundly interrelated you expect them all to have seven toes, three knees and drink champagne through their ears. It's like one gigantic, pulsing amoeboid corporation, held together by a sticky mesh of board memberships and advisory councils. It gloops hungrily along, oozing cash like a snail trail, digesting every politician and policymaker in its path.
Which makes me feel kind of sorry for Ed Balls. Particularly after he made what has to be the worst entrance to a conference in conference-entering history. Balls arrived at the gate without his security pass, spent ages trying to find it amongst the great armful of files he was huffing along with him, and ended up flapping some ID at a policeman, saying: "That's my name, I'm on the list". Sadly for Balls, his frustration was caught on camera by an Infowars reporter, and the resulting footage makes painful viewing. And by painful I mean hilarious. And by hilarious I mean poignant.
A flustered Balls was escorted around to another entrance, carefully scrutinized, and finally allowed in. Once he'd got through security his assurance returned and a triumphant Ed strode magnificently into the lobby.
Ed BallsHe looks like the cat who got the cream. And then went back for more cream. And then found half a chicken at the back of the fridge and had that as well.
Perhaps Balls will be persuaded by some of his fellow conference goers to join them on their daily jogs. Here's Facebook board member Peter Thiel, setting off for trot along the waterfront.
Peter ThielYou've never seen anyone take his jogging more seriously than Thiel. The frown doesn't leave his face for a second. In fact, his face has been locked in a granite frown since he arrived at the hotel.
Peter ThielSomeone should warn him he's going to get crow's feet. Or maybe he thinks that by the time he's due for wrinkles he'll already have melded with AI and be sharing a kind of ageless cyberternity with Eric Schmidt.
Here's Schmidt himself, enjoying a cosy patio chat during the lunch break with his fellow tech-head Alex Karp, CEO of Palantir Technologies, the data analysis and surveillance software company (which was co-funded by Thiel and the CIA).
Eric Schmidt, Alex Karp and Viviane RedingKarp and Schmidt are deep in conversation with Viviane Reding, the EU commissioner who said recently that the British public were unable to make an "informed decision" about Europe.
Far better that decisions about Europe are taken by wiser heads, like those hobnobbing at Bilderberg. Heads belonging to people like "EU doyen" Viscount Davignon, seen here (on the right) enjoying a smoke with former World Bank boss (now private equity investor) James Wolfensohn.
James Wolfensohn and Viscount DavignonWolfensohn looks like he's glad to be out of that heavy morning session on "What next for Europe?" Wolfensohn arrived at this year's conference with another megarich investor, Roger C. Altman, the executive chairman of Evercore, the "premier independent investment banking advisory firm".
Altman followed Thiel's example, and popped out for a jog after he arrived at the hotel, although he found it tricky to snake his way out through the heavy security.
Roger C AltmanAll this patio chit-chat and ostentatious jogging about Copenhagen seems like a new venture for Bilderberg: as if they're doing their level best to look normal and relaxed. At lunchtime, the delegates were led out on the patio by the conference organisers, who spent the whole time beadily watching the cameras. If I were a suspicious person by nature, which I am, I'd suspect this of being a bit of a PR experiment for the group.
People-watching on the patioOver the last few years they've found themselves under so much more media scrutiny than usual that they've decided to show off a new "informal" front. I slightly admire them for trying. Although I'd admire them a hell of a lot more if they stopped behaving like children and held a press conference and released the minutes of the meetings.
Either that or they could give us our politicians back. Ideally before they've digested their backbones and spat them back out on into the carpark. Actually, you know what, they can keep Ed Balls as part of the deal.
Keep Balls and release the minutes. Have we got a deal?

.