Trilateral Commission facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
The Trilateral Commission

Founded	1973 (1973)
Founders	David Rockefeller, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Jimmy Carter
Type	Annual conference
Headquarters	Tokyo (Asia Pacific Group) Paris (European Group) Washington, D.C. (North American Group)
Members	More than 390
Chairman	Akihiko Tanaka (Asia Pacific chairman) Jean-Claude Trichet (European chairman) Meghan O'Sullivan (North American chairman)

The Trilateral Commission is an important international group. It is not run by any government. Its main goal is to help Japan, Western Europe, and North America work together more closely.

It was started in July 1973 by David Rockefeller, a banker from America. He wanted to solve problems that came from countries depending on each other more and more. These countries included the U.S., its friends in North America, Western Europe, and Japan.

The Trilateral Commission has leaders from three main areas: Europe, North America, and the Asia-Pacific region. They have offices in Paris, Washington, D.C., and Tokyo. The group holds big meetings once a year. These meetings move around to different locations in the three regions. Smaller meetings happen throughout the year. At these meetings, members talk about reports and plan how to reach the group's goals.

The Trilateral Commission includes many important people. These are leaders in politics, business, news, and education. In 2021, there were about 400 members. Each country gets a certain number of members. This number depends on how strong the country is in politics and economics.

History of the Commission

How the Commission Started

The Trilateral Commission began in 1973. It was created by private citizens from Japan, North America (the U.S. and Canada), and Western Europe. Their aim was to encourage important talks about politics and money around the world. The idea for the group came about in the early 1970s. This was a time when the United States and its allies were having many disagreements.

The group's first statement said:

• "Countries depending on each other is a fact of life today."
• "Japan, Western Europe, and North America have a special duty to work together. This is because they are very important in the world economy."
• "To solve common problems, these regions need to talk and work together more closely. They should not act alone in ways that hurt others."
• "The Commission hopes to help share ideas with other countries and regions. Helping developing countries and improving relations with Eastern countries will be a main focus."

Zbigniew Brzezinski, an expert on world affairs, helped set up the group. He later became a top advisor to Jimmy Carter, who was President of the U.S. Other important people who helped start the group included:

• Edwin O. Reischauer, a professor and former U.S. Ambassador to Japan.
• George S. Franklin, who led the Council on Foreign Relations.
• Gerard C. Smith, who was a key negotiator for arms control.
• Alan Greenspan and Paul Volcker, who later led the U.S. central bank, the Federal Reserve System.

The official papers of the organization are kept at the Rockefeller Archive Center.

Meetings and Discussions

The Trilateral Commission started holding meetings in October 1973 in Tokyo, Japan. In May 1976, all the regional groups met together for the first time in Kyoto, Japan. Since 1978, these big meetings have happened every year.

Besides the annual meetings, regional meetings also take place. These are held by the Asia Pacific Group, the European Group, and the North American Group. The group also publishes an official magazine called Trialogue.

Who Can Join?

The number of members is split up based on the size of each of the three regions. North America has 120 members: 20 from Canada, 13 from Mexico, and 87 from the U.S. The European group has 170 members from almost every country in Europe. Germany can have up to 20 members, while France, Italy, and the United Kingdom can have 18 each. Spain can have 12, and other countries have 1 to 6 members.

At first, only Japan was part of the Asia and Oceania group. But in 2000, the Japanese group grew into the Pacific Asia group. This group now has 117 members. These include 75 from Japan, 11 from South Korea, 7 from Australia and New Zealand, and 15 from Southeast Asian nations. The group also includes 9 members from China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The Commission now says it has "more than 100" Pacific Asian members.

The rules of the Trilateral Commission usually do not allow government officials to be members. Members come from politics, business, and universities. There are three chairpersons, one from each region. The current chairs are Meghan O'Sullivan for North America, Jean-Claude Trichet for Europe, and Akihiko Tanaka for Asia Pacific.

Current Leadership

As of September 2021, the leaders are:

Well-Known Members

Many famous people have been members of the Trilateral Commission. These include:

• Antony Blinken, the current U.S. Secretary of State.
• Michael Bloomberg, a businessman and former mayor of New York City.
• George H. W. Bush, a former President of the United States.
• Jimmy Carter, another former President of the United States.
• Henry Kissinger, a former U.S. Secretary of State.
• Walter Mondale, a former Vice President of the United States.
• Mario Monti, a former prime minister of Italy.
• Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google.
• Keir Starmer, the leader of the Labour Party in the UK.
• Jake Sullivan, the current U.S. National Security Advisor.

What People Say About the Commission

Criticisms

Some people have criticized the Trilateral Commission. Noam Chomsky, a social critic, said the group is not democratic. He pointed to one of their books, The Crisis of Democracy. This book said that people being very interested in politics in the 1970s was "too much democracy." Chomsky believes the book shows that modern democracy is controlled by powerful people. These people want to keep the public from truly taking part in democracy.

Critics also say the Commission tries to create a global agreement among powerful people. They believe this is to manage world affairs in the interest of rich business and industry leaders.

In 1980, Senator Barry Goldwater wrote a book. He suggested that the group was trying to take control of four main areas: politics, money, ideas, and religion. He thought they wanted to create a worldwide economic power that would be stronger than national governments.

Conspiracy Theories

Some people who believe in conspiracy theories think the Trilateral Commission is secretly planning a world government. For example, in 2007, a person named Luke Rudkowski interrupted a talk by Zbigniew Brzezinski. He accused the Commission of planning the 9/11 attacks to start a new world order.

See also

In Spanish: Comisión Trilateral para niños