The Bilderberg Conference in Stockholm, Sweden, is intended to improve coordination within the NATO bloc, just a few years before the expected world war against Russia and China. In recent decades, however, the organizations represented at Bilderberg repeatedly supported the Eastern Bloc in its development.
Military/Intelligence
Rutte, Mark (INT), Secretary General, NATO
He was Prime Minister of the Netherlands. His ancestors imported goods from the Dutch Indies and were apparently privileged figures. He studied at Leiden University, founded by William I of Nassau-Orange. Rutte initially worked at Unilever and then had a meteoric career in politics. Throughout his career, he had to coordinate everything with Queen Beatrix. He holds the Belgian Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown.
He has largely shielded himself from the public eye. Rutte’s image is carefully cultivated, says Wilma Borgman, a Dutch journalist who has covered him for decades and recently co-authored a book called The Rutte Mystery.
“He doesn’t let anyone get close to him,”
Borgman said.
“Of all the people we’ve interviewed, no one has ever come to his home. That’s unusual by Dutch standards.”
His father Izaäk Rutte worked for a trading company; initially as an importer in the colony of the Dutch East Indies, later as a director in the Netherlands. The high nobility has been recruiting people and their descendants for over 1000 years. Loyalty is tested across generations.
After completing his studies, Mark Rutte entered the business world and worked as a manager for Unilever, a British corporate giant with a turnover of 50 billion per year. In April 2011, the European Commission fined Unilever, along with Procter & Gamble and Henkel, a total of 315.2 million euros for forming a cartel.
The Dutch royal family consists essentially of the Orange-Nassau, Mecklenburg and Lippe dynasties. Orange-Nassau played a key role in ousting the Stewarts from the British throne and paving the way for the Hanoverian Guelphs.
The Dutch royal family is probably one of the major shareholders in the (Royal Dutch) Shell corporation. The father of the late Queen Beatrix, Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld, worked for IG Farben and the SS. In 1954, Prince Bernhard initiated the Bilderberg Conference.
Leeuwen, Geoffrey van (INT), Director, Private Office of the Secretary General, NATO
Attended the University of Cambridge, where he received his Master of Philosophy in International Affairs in 1995. After completing his military service as an officer in the Royal Netherlands Army, he held positions in several embassies and the Foreign Ministry. Van Leeuwen became Advisor to Prime Minister Mark Rutte for Foreign Affairs and Defense Affairs in his Ministry of General Affairs in October 2020. On December 4, 2023, he was sworn in by King Willem-Alexander as Minister of Foreign Trade and International Development.
Baker, James H. (USA), Former Director, Office of Net Assessment, Department of Defense
James “Jim” Baker is an American foreign policy advisor who formerly served as the director of the Office of Net Assessment in the United States Department of Defense. In 2006, he returned to school at the National War College to earn a master’s in national security studies. He later completed certificate programs at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard Business School. On May 14, 2015 Baker was selected to be the director of the Office of Net Assessment. He is responsible for providing the United States Secretary of Defense with comparative assessments of the prospects of the military capabilities of the United States relative to other actors, as well as the political, economic and regional implications of those assessments. He previously served as strategist and advisor to two chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Donahue, Christopher (USA), Commander, US Army Europe and Africa
Donahue’s assignments include Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, New Dawn, Freedom Sentinel, and Inherent Resolve. He met with senior Ukrainian military commanders to begin the partnership with the United States during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This included providing Ukraine with intelligence and weapons. According to the New York Times, Donahue’s collaboration with Ukrainian General Mykhailo Zabrodskyi was critical to the military support provided to Ukraine by the United States and other NATO countries. This was done from the U.S. Army Europe and Africa headquarters in Wiesbaden, where U.S. and other NATO military and intelligence officers established facilities to direct the operation in support of Ukraine. In November 2024, Donahue was nominated for promotion to general and appointment as commanding general of the United States Army Europe-Africa and Allied Land Command.
Harrington, Kevin (USA), Senior Director for Strategic Planning, NSC
Was with Thiel Capital; an investment firm founded by Peter Thiel.
Paparo, Samuel (USA), Commander, US Indo-Pacific Command
He assumed command on May 3, 2024, becoming the 27th commander of the Indo-Pacific Command, the US military’s largest geographic command. In November 2024, he stated that the supply of air-to-air missile systems to Ukraine and Israel since the beginning of the conflicts there had significantly reduced the stockpiles available in the Indo-Pacific Command area and jeopardized its ability to counter China.
Sawers, John (GBR), Executive Chair, Newbridge Advisory Ltd.
Image: MI6, Laurie Nevay/CC BY-SA 2.0
A British diplomat and aristocrat. From November 2009 to November 1, 2014, he headed the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6). In 1996, he joined the Foreign Service at the British Embassy in Washington, where he led a team dealing with foreign affairs and defense issues until 1998. From January 1999 to the summer of 2001, during the Kosovo conflict, he was foreign policy advisor to Tony Blair. He was also involved in the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement during the Northern Ireland conflict. From 2001 to 2003, Sawers was Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Egypt (under Muhammad Hosni Mubarak), and subsequently he was the British government’s special representative in Iraq in support of the coalition interim administration after the fall of Saddam Hussein. From August 2003 to 2007, Sawers was Director General of Policy at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Sawers worked on UK policy in Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Balkans. From August 2007 to November 2009, he was the UK government’s permanent representative to the United Nations. Sawers led the UK team for the EU-3 negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program. He is one of the 89 people from the European Union banned from entering the country by Russia in May 2015.
Roche, Nicolas (FRA), Secretary General, General Secretariat for Defence and National Security
French diplomat and current Director General for Defence andNational Security. A graduate of Sciences Po and former student of the ENA, he began his career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2001 to 2006 before moving to the French embassies in the United States and Israel as a counselor. From 2016 to 2019, he served as Director of Strategic Affairs, Security, and Disarmament at the Quai d’Orsay. From 2012 to 2025, he served as French Ambassador to Iran. On March 5, 2025, he was appointed Secretary General for Defense and National Security (SGDSN).
Politics
Klöckner, Julia (DEU), President of the Bundestag
German politician (CDU). She has been President of the German Bundestag since March 25, 2025. In 2009/2010, Klöckner completed the Young Leader Program of the American Council on Germany, a partner project of the German think tank Atlantik-Brücke and the American Council on Germany.
Sikorski, Radoslaw (POL), Minister of Foreign Affairs
Polish journalist and politician of the liberal-conservative Civic Platform (PO). From October 2005 to February 2007, he served as the non-partisan Minister of Defense and from November 2007 to September 2014 as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Polish government. Sikorski attended high school in his hometown and led an internal school strike committee during the Solidarity movement. After graduating from high school in 1981, he left the People’s Republic of Poland and studied Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Pembroke College, Oxford University, under Leszek Kołakowski, among others. During his studies, he was a member of the highly exclusive and notorious student organization, the Bullingdon Club. From 1986 to 1989, Sikorski worked as a foreign correspondent for the Spectator and the Observer in Afghanistan, Angola, and Yugoslavia. He was awarded the World Press Photo Award in 1987 for one of his photographs. From 1990 to 1991, he was the Sunday Telegraph’s Poland correspondent and Poland advisor to publisher Rupert Murdoch. Sikorski is married to the American historian and Pulitzer Prize winner Anne Applebaum (also a Bilderberg participant) and has two children with her. Anne is an expert on the Soviet era, the gulags, the Holodomor, etc.
Wilmès, Sophie (INT), Vice-President, European Parliament
A Belgian politician of the Mouvement Réformateur (MR) and a Member of the European Parliament since July 2024, and one of its Vice-Presidents. She served as acting Prime Minister of Belgium from October 27, 2019, and as full Prime Minister from March 17, 2020, to October 1, 2020. Her father was a member of the Board of Directors of the National Bank of Belgium. Her mother is Jewish and lost several family members in the Holocaust. She was her party’s lead candidate in the 2024 European elections and was elected to the European Parliament. She has served as Vice President of the European Parliament since July 2024.
Kratsios, Michael (USA), Director, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
An American businessman and government official who has served as the 13th Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and Scientific Advisor to the President since 2025. Kratsios was a principal at Thiel Capital and chief of staff to entrepreneur and venture capitalist Peter Thiel. Kratsios led the administration’s efforts in artificial intelligence and quantum information science. Kratsios is the architect of the American AI Initiative, the national strategy to advance American leadership in AI. On July 13, 2020, the U.S. Department of Defense announced that Kratsios would become the acting Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Development. Kratsios also headed the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Missile Defense Agency, the Defense Innovation Unit, the Space Development Agency, and the DOD Laboratory Enterprise. Kratsios managed a research and development budget of $106 billion—the largest in the world. In February 2024, he announced his engagement to Alissa Davies, the eldest daughter of Sir David Davies.
Stubb, Alexander (FIN), President of the Republic
President of the Republic of Finland since March 1, 2024.
Smith, Jason (USA), Member of Congress
Jason Thomas Smith (born June 16, 1980) is an American businessman and politician.
In April 2025, Smith traveled to El Salvador and was given a tour of the Center for Terrorism Confinement (CECOT), a maximum security detention center established by the Trump administration to hold US immigrants forcibly removed from the United States, including immigrants like Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who were illegally kidnapped and brought to the detention center. In the detention center, Smith took a photo in front of the prisoners crammed into a cell behind him. After his visit to the CECOT detention center, Smith did not call for Abrego Garcia’s return, but instead announced without evidence that the detention center “now houses illegal immigrants who have entered our country and are committing violencecommitted acts against Americans.”
Schmidt, Wolfgang (DEU), Former Federal Minister for Special Tasks, Head of the Chancellery
Former head of the German Federal Chancellery. Federal Minister for Special Tasks. He is considered Olaf Scholz’s closest confidant. From 2000 to 2001, he was a member of the executive board of the European Community Organisation of Socialist Youth (ECOSY), the European association of social democratic and socialist youth organizations. From 2001 to 2004, he was a member of the federal executive board of the Jusos (Young Socialists) and was vice president of the International Union of Socialist Youth (IUSY), the youth organization of the Socialist International (SI).
Valentini, Valentino (ITA), Deputy Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy
Since November 2, 2022, he has been Deputy Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy in the Meloni government. In 2001, Valentini was appointed Head of the Prime Minister’s Office, Special Advisor for Foreign Relations, and Mentor of Italian Companies Abroad (particularly in Russia). In this role, he began Accompanying Berlusconi on all his trips abroad, preparing his speeches, and acting as his personal interpreter. During this time, Berlusconi also began sending him to Moscow to follow negotiations between Eni and Gazprom outside of official diplomatic channels. He was in contact with Antonio Fallico of ZAO Banca Intesa, a Gazprom advisor. In 2005, he was awarded the Order of Lomonosov by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
According to a document published by Wikileaks, on January 26, 2009, Ronald Spogli, US Ambassador to Rome, described him as “Berlusconi’s key figure in Russia, traveling several times a month without staff or a secretariat. It is unclear what he does in Moscow, but there are strong rumors that he is protecting Berlusconi’s interests in Russia.” In Alan Friedman’s 2015 book on Berlusconi, Valentini responds that “this memo is completely absurd.”
Šefčovič, Maroš (INT), European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security; Interinstitutional Relations and Transparency
Maroš Šefčovič is a Slovak diplomat and politician (now non-partisan, Communist Party of Slovakia until its dissolution after the fall of communism). He has been a member of the European Commission since 2009. In 2009, he succeeded Ján Figeľ as a member of the Barroso I Commission. From February 10, 2010, to October 31, 2014, he served as Vice-President of the Barroso II Commission and Commissioner for Institutional Relations and Administration. From November 1, 2014, Šefčovič served as Vice-President of the Juncker Commission and Commissioner for Energy Union. Since December 1, 2019, he has been Vice-President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight in the von der Leyen I Commission. Since December 1, 2024, Šefčovič has been Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security and Commissioner for Institutional Relations and Transparency.
Weel, David van (NLD), Minister of Justice and Security
A Dutch diplomat, civil servant, and veteran, he has been Minister of Justice and Security in the Schoof Cabinet since July 2, 2024. Van Weel began his career in the Royal Netherlands Navy, where, after graduating from the Naval Academy (1994–1999), he served on various frigates, including as an exchange officer with the British Royal Navy. Van Weel holds a degree in history. He worked as a staff officer for Central and Eastern European countries in the Defence Staff. Van Weel joined the Dutch Ministry of Defence in 2004, where he served as Senior Policy Advisor for operations in Afghanistan and Libya, coordinating policy in the areas of NATO, nuclear policy and disarmament, special operations, and the preparation of the Dutch defence budget. He later served as Chief of Cabinet to the Minister of Defence and the State Secretary (2012–2014) and as Director of International Affairs and Operations/Policy (2014–2016). From 2016, Van Weel served as Foreign and Defence Policy Advisor to Prime Minister Mark Rutte. In 2020, he became NATO’s Assistant Secretary General for Innovation, Cyber Defence and Hybrid Threats under Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Broadcasting company NOS noted that Van Weel appeared more frequently in public following the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Philippe, Édouard (FRA), Mayor, Le Havre
He was Prime Minister of France from May 15, 2017, to July 3, 2020. He has been the leader of the Horizons party since October 2021.
Hoekstra, Wopke (INT), European Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth
Wopke Bastiaan Hoekstra is a Dutch politician (CDA). He has been the EU Commissioner for Climate Action since October 2023. Previously, he served as Minister of Finance from 2017 to 2022 and as Minister of Finance from January 2022 toHe was appointed Foreign Minister of the Netherlands in September 2023. After completing his law studies at Leiden University in 2001, Hoekstra initially held commercial positions at Royal Dutch Shell in Berlin, Hamburg, and Rotterdam. On October 4, 2021, his name appeared on a Pandora Papers list of known owners of shell companies in tax havens.
Hunt, Jeremy (GBR), Member of Parliament
Sir Jeremy Richard Streynsham Hunt is a British politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2022 to 2024 and Foreign Secretary from 2018 to 2019, having previously served as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care from 2012 to 2018 and as Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport from 2010 to 2012. A member of the Conservative Party. The son of an Admiral of the Royal Navy, Hunt was born in Kennington and studied philosophy, politics and economics at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he was President of the Oxford University Conservative Association. Through a paternal great-grandmother, Hunt is a descendant of Sir Streynsham Master, a pioneer of the East India Company. He is also a distant relative of Queen Elizabeth II and of British Union of Fascists leader Sir Oswald Mosley. His father worked in NHS management after retiring from the navy, and his mother was a nurse in the 1950s and 1960s. Hunt was appointed Foreign Secretary in July 2018 following the resignation of Boris Johnson. As Foreign Secretary, Hunt was critical of Russia and Iran. On August 23, 2018, Hunt met United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to discuss the ‘threat’ from both countries. Hunt’s wife, Lucia Guo, comes from China.
Monti, Mario (ITA), Senator for Life
Until his inauguration as Prime Minister of Italy in 2011, he was European Chairman of the Trilateral Commission and a member of the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Conference. In 2009, he was an international consultant to Goldman Sachs and Coca-Cola.
Mitsotakis, Kyriakos (GRC), Prime Minister
Kyriakos Mitsotakis is a Greek politician and has served as Prime Minister of Greece since July 8, 2019 (with a brief interruption from May 25, 2023, to June 26, 2023). He studied at Harvard and Stanford. From 1990 to 1991, he worked as an economic analyst at Chase Manhattan Bank.
McGrath, Michael (INT), European Commissioner for Democracy, Justice and the Rule of Law
Michael McGrath is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician and EU Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection. He served as Minister of Finance from December 2022 to June 2024.
Reiche, Katherina (DEU), Minister of Economic Affairs and Energy
Katherina Birgitt Reiche is a German politician (CDU), lobbyist, and manager. She has been Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy of the Federal Republic of Germany in the Merz Cabinet since May 6, 2025.
Şimşek, Mehmet (TUR), Minister of Finance
Mehmet Şimşek is a British-Turkish economist and politician (AKP). He has served as Turkish Finance Minister in the Erdogan V Cabinet since 2023. He received a government scholarship to study at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, where he earned his master’s degree in Finance and Investments in 1993.
Şimşek worked for seven years as Chief Economist and Strategist for Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa at Merrill Lynch in London. During this time, he had extensive contacts with the Turkish authorities and the Central Bank and was involved in shaping economic policy in cooperation with the AKP government. He also worked as a senior economist and banking analyst at Deutsche-Bender Securities, later a subsidiary of Deutsche Bank, from 1998 to 2000.
Streeting, Wes (GBR), Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Wesley Paul William Streeting is a British politician and has served as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party, he has been the Member of Parliament for Ilford North since 2015. He studied history at the University of Cambridge and was President of the Cambridge Students’ Union from 2004 to 2005. Following Keir Starmer’s election as Labour leader in the party leadership election, he moved to the front row of the Treasury as Shadow Chancellor in April 2020. Streeting came out as gay in his second year of university. Streeting was sworn into the Privy Council on July 10, 2024.
Albuquerque, Maria Luís (INT), European Commissioner for Financial Services and the Savings and Investments Union
Maria Luís Casanova Morgado Días de Albuquerque is a Portuguese economist and politician (PSD). Since 2024, she has been the European Commissioner for Financial Services and the Savings and Investments Union in the von der Leyen II Commission. From 2013 to 2015, she served as Portugal’s Minister of Finance.
Andersson, Magdalena (SWE), Leader, Social Democratic Party
Eva Magdalena Andersson is a Swedish politician (SAP). She served as Prime Minister of Sweden from December 2021 to October 18, 2022.
On May 16, 2022, eleven weeks after Russian forces began their invasion of Ukraine on the orders of President Putin, Andersson advocated for Sweden’s immediate accession to NATO. The Swedish Parliament voted in favor of NATO membership by a majority, with only the Left Party and the Greens voting against.
Attal, Gabriel (FRA), Former Prime Minister
Gabriel Nissim Attal is a French politician from the Renaissance Party. He served as Prime Minister of France from January 2024 to September 2024. Previously, he served as government spokesperson from July 2020 to May 2022, then Minister of Public Accounts in the Ministry of Finance and Economy, and from July 2023 to January 2024 as Minister of Education in the Borne cabinet. Since July 2024, he has been the leader of the Renaissance parliamentary group in the National Assembly. His mother, Marie de Couriss (* 1964 in Paris), works for a film production company and works in the real estate business. On her father’s side, she has noble ancestors, partly from Ukraine and partly from Baltic Germany; her mother is of Angevin descent. Her grandmother was Marie von Meyendorff (1904–1978), granddaughter of the Russian Tsarist Major General Fedor von Meyendorff (1842–1911). De Couriss and her children are baptized Orthodox.
Busch, Ebba (SWE), Minister for Energy, Business and Industry
Ebba Busch is a Swedish Christian Democratic politician. Since October 18, 2022, she has served as Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden and Minister of Energy and Economic Affairs in the Kristersson government. She has been the leader of the Christian Democrats since April 25, 2015. Since 2022, Ebba has also been Minister for Energy, Business, and Industry. Busch also supports an initiative to lift the ban on uranium exploration and nuclear fuel production (see also uranium industry) in Sweden. The ban has been in effect since 2018. Experts estimate that Sweden has enough uranium (triuranium octoxide) to cover its own needs for the next 300 years.
Chambers, Jack (IRL), Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Reform, and Digitalisation
Jack Chambers is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician and has been Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform, and Digitalisation since January 2025. Previously, he served as Minister of Finance from 2024 to 2025, Minister of State in the Cabinet from July 2020 to June 2024, and Chief Whip of the government from July 2020 to December 2022. He has been Deputy Leader of Fianna Fáil since 2024. Since the 2016 general election, he has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin West constituency.
On November 17, 2020, Chambers was also appointed Minister of State at the Department of Defence.
Champagne, François-Philippe (CAN), Minister of Finance and National Revenue
François-Philippe Champagne is a Canadian lawyer, business executive, and politician with the Liberal Party. He has been Canada’s Minister of Finance since March 14, 2025. In June 2020, it was reported that Champagne had two additional mortgages with the state-owned Bank of China, raising questions about his potential vulnerability to foreign influence. Member of the Privy Council.
Donohoe, Paschal (INT), President, Eurogroup; Minister of Finance
From Trinity College, Donohoe was selected by the multinational company Procter & Gamble in the UK for its fast-track graduate training program. He worked in the UK for six years, becoming a sales and marketing executive. In 2003, he returned to Ireland to pursue a career in politics.
Freeland, Chrystia (CAN), Minister of Transport and Internal Trade
Christina Alexandra Freeland is a Canadian politician and journalist and has been a Member of Parliament since 2015. She has served as Minister of Transport and Minister of Internal Trade since 2025. She also served as Canada’s tenth Deputy Prime Minister from 2019 to 2024. She is the author of “Sale of the Century: Russia’s Wild Ride from Communism to Capitalism” (2000) and “Plutocrats: The Rise of the New Global Super Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else” (2012). She played a pivotal role in Canada’s response to the Russo-Ukrainian War, including imposing sanctions against Russia and providing aid to Ukraine following its invasion in 2022. Her Ukrainian mother, Halyna Chomiak (1946–2007), was also a lawyer and ran for the New Democratic Party (NDP) in Edmonton Strathcona in the 1988 federal election.
Freeland studied Russian history and literature at Harvard University. From 1988 to 1989, she was an exchange student at Taras Shevchenko Kyiv State University in Soviet Ukraine, where she studied Ukrainian, which she speaks fluently. During her stay There, she and New York Times journalist Bill Keller documented the Bykivnia Graves, an unmarked mass grave where the Soviet secret service, the NKVD, murdered tens of thousands of dissidents.
During her stay, she attracted the attention of the KGB, which gave her the codename “Frida,” and Soviet newspapers, which attacked her as a foreigner interfering in Ukrainian internal affairs because of her contacts with Ukrainian activists. The KGB monitored Freeland, tapped her phone calls, and documented how the young Canadian activist delivered money, video and audio recording equipment, and a personal computer to contacts in Ukraine. She used a diplomat at the Canadian Embassy in Moscow to send material abroad in a secret diplomatic bag, collaborated with foreign journalists on reports on life in the Soviet Union, and organized marches and rallies to gain attention and support from Western countries. After returning from a trip to London in March 1989, Freeland was denied re-entry into the Soviet Union. By the time her activism in Ukraine ended, Freeland had become the subject of a high-profile KGB case study on how much damage a single determined individual could inflict on the Soviet Union.
Her son’s godfather is Mark Carney, who ran against her in the 2025 election for Liberal Party leader.
Stoltenberg, Jens (NOR), Minister of Finance
He is an economist, journalist, and Norwegian politician who served as Secretary General of NATO from 2014. Norway can provide significant funding for Europe’s armaments. A member of the Norwegian Labour Party, he previously served as Prime Minister of Norway from 2000 to 2001 and again from 2005 to 2013. Stoltenberg attended the Waldorf School in Oslo and took his first steps into politics in his early youth, influenced by his sister Camilla, who was a member of the Marxist-Leninist Red Youth group at the time. Resistance to the Vietnam War was his initial motivation. After heavy bombing of the North Vietnamese port city of Hai Phong at the end of the Vietnam War, he participated in protests against the US Embassy in Oslo. On at least one occasion, embassy windows were smashed by demonstrators throwing stones. Several of Stoltenberg’s friends were arrested by police after these events. In 2011, Stoltenberg said:
“We sang the refrain: Singing Norway, Norway out of NATO. It was a hit.”
Recall what Soviet defector Jan Zejna declared, namely that the USSR wanted to attack Scandinavia with millions of troops. From 1985 to 1989, Stoltenberg was chairman of the Labor Movement Youth League. Until 1990, he had regular contact with a Soviet diplomat. He ended this relationship after the Norwegian Police Security Service informed him that his contact was a KGB agent and warned him against further contact. The internal code name the KGB gave Stoltenberg was “Steklov.” On July 22, 2011, a bomb exploded in front of the government building that houses the Prime Minister’s Office in Oslo, killing eight people and injuring others. About an hour later, a shooting spree was reported on Utøya, an island 45 minutes away where the ruling Labour Party held its annual youth camp, killing 69 people. Stoltenberg was Prime Minister at the time. The terrorist Anders Behring Breivik praised the idea of an alliance with Russia in his manifesto and is said to have visited Eastern Europe and had contacts there. He wanted to ignite a civil war.
Fatih Birol (INT), Executive Director, International Energy Agency
Fatih Birol is a Turkish economist and energy expert who has served as Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) since September 1, 2015.
Universities & think tanks
Alcázar Benjumea, Diego del (ESP), CEO, IE University
Gabuev, Alexander (INT), Director, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center
Eberstadt, Nicholas N. (USA), Henry Wendt Scholar in Political Economy, AEI
Heinrichs, Rebeccah (USA), Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute
Kotkin, Stephen (USA), Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
Vassy, Luis (FRA), Director, Sciences Po
Neither di Mauro, Beatrice (CHE), President, Center for Economic Policy Research
Summers, Lawrence (USA), Charles W. Eliot University Professor, Harvard University
Crawford, Kate (USA), Professor and Senior Principal Researcher, USC and Microsoft Research
Letta, Enrico (ITA), Dean, IE School of Politics, Economics & Global Affairs
Marin, Sanna (FIN), Strategic Counselor, Tony Blair Institute for Global Change
Kuleba, Dmytro (UKR), Adjunct Professor, Sciences Po
Dmytro Kuleba is a consequentialHe is a supporter of Ukraine’s accession to the European Union and NATO. He advocates the development of an action program for Ukraine towards NATO membership. In his opinion, Ukraine will join NATO before the EU.
Prokopenko, Alexandra (INT), Fellow, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center
Ollongren, Kajsa (NLD), Fellow, Chatham House; Senior Fellow, GLOBSEC
Beleza, Leonor (PRT), President, Champalimaud Foundation
Castries, Henri de (FRA), President, Institut Montaigne
Hedegaard, Connie (DNK), Chair, KR Foundation
Toulemon, Laurent (FRA), Senior Researcher, INED
Liikanen, Erkki (FIN), Chair, IFRS Foundation Trustees
Finnish politician (SDP). He was Governor of the Central Bank of Finland from July 2004 to July 2018 and thus a member of the ECB Governing Council.
Industry
Lighthizer, Robert (USA), Chair, Center for American Trade
Mensch, Arthur (FRA), Co-Founder and CEO, Mistral AI
French engineer and entrepreneur. He is the Managing Director and co-founder of Mistral AI.
Papalexopoulos, Dimitri (GRC), Chair, TITAN S.A.
Formerly a consultant for McKinsey & Company, he is now the CEO of a cement company. He also advises many industrial organizations.
Auchincloss, Murray (CAN), CEO, BP plc
Canadian manager and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the oil company BP and, since September, its interim Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Bourla, Albert (USA), Chair and CEO, Pfizer Inc.
Bourla held the role of Global Vaccines Chief before being promoted to Group Chairman of Pfizer Innovative Health, effective January 1, 2016. He may be more privy to the biodefense complex.
Hassabis, Demis (GBR), Co-Founder and CEO, Google DeepMind
Hassabis is a member of the British Royal Society. DeepMind, a company that aims to develop artificial intelligence capable of learning, was acquired by Google/Alphabet. Several billionaires had already invested in DeepMind, including Elon Musk and Peter Thiel. The other DeepMind founder, Suleyman Mustafa (GBR), was also a member of Bilderberg. He studied at Oxford and worked for the UN, the Dutch government, and the WWF. In February 2016, Suleyman launched DeepMind Health at the British Royal Society of Medicine. DeepMind is about artificial intelligence.
Johansson, Micael (SWE), President and CEO, Saab AB
Karp, Alex (USA), CEO, Palantir Technologies Inc.
Billionaire, CEO of Palantir, a US software company that develops security and financial software. Since its founding in 2004, its headquarters have been in Palo Alto, California’s Silicon Valley. It became known worldwide through the WikiLeaks controversy. The main users of Palantir’s applications include security agencies such as the American intelligence agency CIA.
Nadella, Satya (USA), CEO, Microsoft Corporation
O’Leary, Michael (IRL), Group CEO, Ryanair Group
Irish businessman and Chairman of the low-cost airline Ryanair. Under his leadership, Ryanair grew from a loss-making regional airline to Europe’s largest low-cost airline and the largest European airline by number of passengers. O’Leary is considered the “enfant terrible” of the aviation industry due to his extravagant appearances and antics.
Isla, Pablo (ESP), Vice-Chair, Nestlé SA
Kostrzewa, Wojciech (POL), President, Polish Business Roundtable
Alverà, Marco (ITA), Co-Founder, zhero.net; CEO of TES
Alverà studied at the London School of Economics. In June 2022, Alverà joined TES (Tree Energy Solutions) as Group Chief Executive Officer and investor. TES is a green hydrogen company. Previously, he was a member of the Board of Directors of Gazprom Neft and also served as Operating Vice President of Eurogas.
Brzoska, Rafal (POL), CEO, InPost SA
Ekholm, Börje (SWE), CEO, Ericsson Group
Eriksen, Øyvind (NOR), President and CEO, Aker ASA
Norwegian lawyer and industry leader. On January 1, 2009, he succeeded Leif-Arne Langøy as CEO and President of Aker ASA, a mega-corporation with a strong focus on energy.
Kudelski, André (CHE), Chair and CEO, Kudelski Group SA
Kudelski makes hardware and software. He sits on the board of Nestlé, the defense manufacturer Dassault, and Credit Suisse, among others. Member of the Bilderberg Steering Committee.
Leysen, Thomas (BEL), Chair, dsm-firmenich AG
Belgian businessman with a degree from the horror university Leuven; has worked for various large corporations. KBC is active in banking and insurance. He also has considerable influence in the media. Member of the Trilateral Commission, the Bilderberg Steering Committee, and the European Round Table of Industrialists. Umicore NV/SA is a Belgian materials technology and recycling group.
Scherf, Gundbert (DEU), Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Helsing GmbH
Ringstad Vartdal, Birgitte (NOR), CEO, Statkraft AS
Özyeğin, Murat (TUR), Chair, Fiba Group
Lundstedt, Martin (SWE), CEO, Volvo Group
Pouyanné, Patrick (FRA), Chair and CEO, TotalEnergies SE
Total is the French oil and gas giant; the fourth-largest oil company and the eighth-largest industrial company in the world.
Sewing, Christian (DEU), CEO, Deutsche Bank AG
He has been a member of the Management Board of Deutsche Bank since January 1, 2015, and Chairman since April 8, 2018. In 2017, Deutsche Bank paid more than $600 million to the authorities in the US and UK as part of a settlement. Mirror trades had come to light at the bank – a system through which billions of dollars from Russia and other former Soviet states were channeled into the Western financial system through share purchases and sales between 2011 and 2015. Ten billion US dollars from dubious transactions flowed into the international financial market. As leaked documents from the US financial regulator show, this included money from Russian oligarchs. Christian Sewing was head of internal audit until 2014 and was responsible for, among other things, business with Russia.
Schmidt, Eric E. (USA), Executive Chair and CEO, Relativity Space Inc.
He served as CEO of Google from 2001 to 2011 and as the company’s Executive Chairman from 2011 to 2015, as Executive Chairman of its parent company, Alphabet Inc., from 2015 to 2017, and as a technical advisor to Alphabet from 2017 to 2020. In 2008, during his tenure as Chairman of Google, Schmidt championed Barack Obama and subsequently became a member of Obama’s President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, along with Eric Lander. Lander later became a science advisor to Joe Biden. In March 2016, it was announced that Eric Schmidt would chair a new advisory board for the Department of Defense, called the Defense Innovation Advisory Board. The advisory board serves as a forum connecting key representatives from the technology sector with those in the Pentagon. From 2019 to 2021, Schmidt chaired the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence with Robert O. Work.
Schimpf, Brian (USA), Co-Founder & CEO, Anduril Industries
Suleyman, Mustafa (USA), CEO, Microsoft AI
DeepMind founder, Suleyman, Mustafa (GBR), has also been at Bilderberg. He studied at Oxford and worked for the UN, the Dutch government, and the WWF. In February 2016, Suleyman launched DeepMind Health at the British Royal Society of Medicine. DeepMind is about artificial intelligence.
Uggla, Robert (DNK), Chair, A.P. Møller-Maersk A/S
Caine, Patrice (FRA), Chair & CEO, Thales Group
Clark, Jack (USA), Co-Founder & Head of Policy, Anthropic PBC
Heraty, Anne (IRL), Chair, Sherry Fitzgerald ana IBEC
Herlin, Jussi (FIN), Vice Chair, KONE Corporation
Jonsson, Conni (SWE), Founder and Chair, EQT Group
Salvi, Diogo (PRT), Co-Founder and CEO, TIMWE
Media/Culture
Döpfner, Mathias (DEU), Chair and CEO, Axel Springer SE
A German manager. He is the CEO of the German media company Axel Springer SE. Döpfner is considered a close confidant of Friede Springer, the major shareholder of the Springer Group and widow of the company’s founder, Axel Springer, who is the godmother of his second son. In August 2012, Springer presented Döpfner with a 2 percent share valued at approximately €73 million on the occasion of her 70th birthday. His non-profit memberships include memberships on the supervisory boards of the European Publishers Council (EPC), the American Academy in Berlin, the American Jewish Committee, and a member of the Global Board of Advisors of the US think tank Council on Foreign Relations. Döpfner is a member of the Atlantik-Brücke association, whose “Young Leader” program he completed. Döpfner was a member of the board of trustees of the Berlin-based Aspen Institute.
Ek, Daniel (SWE), CEO, Spotify SA
Spotify’s founder is Swedish billionaire Daniel Ek, who studied at the Royal Swedish Institute of Technology. His partner is Martin Lorentzon. In 2013, Lorentzon participated in the Prince Daniels Fellowship project. In 2016, he was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences. Lorentzon’s companies, which are affiliated with Spotify and Telia, are located in offshore financial centers. Before privatization, Telia was a state-owned telephone monopoly, dating back to the Swedish Royal Telegraph Authority. In December 2018, Telia, in collaboration with Ericsson, launched Sweden’s first 5G network at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm. On July 20, 2018, Telia Company announced its takeover offer for Bonnier Broadcasting Group from the Bonnier Group for SEK 9.2 billion.
Applebaum, Anne (USA), Staff Writer, The Atlantic
Writes good books about the Soviet era, but omits the important background of Western influences on the Soviet horror. Expert on the Gulags and the Holodomor in Ukraine. Applebaum is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She serves on the board of the National Endowment for Democracy. She is also a member of the advisory board of the Centre for European Policy Analysis.
Friedman, Thomas L. (USA), Foreign Affairs Columnist, The New York Times
Micklethwait, John (USA), Editor-in-Chief, Bloomberg LP
Minton Beddoes, Zanny (GBR), Editor-in-Chief, The Economist
The eldest daughter of a former British army officer and his German-born wife, she is Editor-in-Chief of The Economist and Associate Editor of Die Zeit. She is a member of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and studied at Oxford. Her patron was Jeffrey Sachs.
Rachman, Gideon (GBR), Chief Foreign Affairs Commentator, Financial Times
He studied history at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, and received a First Class Honors degree from Cambridge University in 1984. During his time at Gonville and Caius, he became a friend of future MI6 agent Richard Tomlinson.
Verhoeven, Karel (BEL), Editor-in-Chief, De Standaard
Zeiler, Gerhard (AUT), President, Warner Bros. Discovery International
Abrams, Stacey (USA), CEO, Sage Works Production
An American politician, lawyer, voting rights activist, and author who served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 2007 to 2017 and was Minority Leader from 2011 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She has also spoken at London’s Chatham House, the National Security Action Forum, and a conference of the Yale Kerry Initiative and the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs.
Hammer, Kristina (AUT), President, Salzburg Festival
Zakaria, Fareed (USA), Host, Fareed Zakaria GPS
Banking
Hernández de Cos, Pablo (ESP), General Manager Elect, Bank for International Settlements
Lemierre, Jean (FRA), Chair, BNP Paribas
Wallenberg, Jacob (SWE), Chair, Investor AB
Botín, Ana (ESP), Group Executive Chair, Banco Santander SA
She is a Spanish manager and Chair of the Supervisory Board of Banco Santander. The eldest daughter of Emilio Botín, Chairman of Banco Santander, she studied at Harvard Business School and Bryn Mawr College, USA. She gained her first leadership experience during her seven years at JPMorgan in the USA.
Brende, Børge (NOR), President, World Economic Forum
Calviño, Nadia (INT), President, European Investment Bank
She has been President of the European Investment Bank since January 2024.
Fraser, Jane (USA), CEO, Citigroup
She studied at Girton College, Cambridge, and Harvard Business School and worked for ten years at McKinsey & Company, where she rose to the rank of Partner before joining Citigroup in 2004. In 2019, she was appointed President of Citigroup and CEO of its Private Banking division.
Feltri, Stefano (ITA), Journalist
Rappard, Rolly van (NLD), Co-Founder and Chair, CVC Capital Partners
Thiel, Peter (USA), President, Thiel Capital LLC
US investor of German origin. In 2003, he co-founded Palantir Technologies, a company that develops data analysis software used by the US government for intelligence activities and counterterrorism, among other purposes. He is also the chairman and, since the end of 2014, the largest shareholder of this company. In June 2004, Thiel became Facebook’s first investor, investing $500,000. In 1987, he founded the libertarian, weekly campus newspaper The Stanford Review. During the 2008 election campaign, he supported Ron Paul, a proponent of the Austrian School, for the Republican presidential nomination. In the 2012 presidential campaign, he was Paul’s largest single donor, donating $2.6 million to Paul’s super PAC, and the Tea Party movement also received money from him. Since the beginning of 2015, Thiel has been investing in the growing US cannabis market. Thiel was Donald Trump’s designated delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention. Thiel is a member of the Bilderberg Conference Steering Committee. He finances all sorts of political careers.
Wallenberg, Marcus (SWE), Chair, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB
The long-established Swedish Wallenberg family. Owns stakes in several large Swedish companies. He has worked for firms such as Warburg, Citicorp, and Deutsche Bank. Between 2000 and 2015, Jacob Wallenberg attended the Bilderberg Conference every year. He studied at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He was commissioned a lieutenant at the Royal Swedish Naval Academy.
Barbizet, Patricia (FRA), Chair and CEO, Temaris & Associés SAS
Business manager who has worked at various companies.
Barroso, José Manuel (PRT), Chair of International Advisors, Goldman Sachs International
Barroso, the “left-wing” Portuguese politician. A leading figure in the EU, he has now landed at Goldman Sachs. From 2004 to 2014, Barroso served for two terms as President of the European Commission. From 2002 to 2004, he was Prime Minister of Portugal. On June 17, 2013, Barroso, together with US President Barack Obama, President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy, and UK Prime Minister David Cameron, announced at a press conference on the sidelines of a G8 meeting that negotiations between the EU and the US on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) were a “powerful demonstration of the intention to build a free, open and rules-based world.” His party’s deputy was accused of being involved in the Casa Pia child abuse scandal. Paulo Pedroso, who was accused by several witnesses but ultimately not convicted, was a member of parliament and number two in Portugal’s opposition socialist party. He demanded €600,000 in compensation from the state for the damage to his career. According to the newspaper Expresso, Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues of the Socialist Party was also implicated by witnesses. He later became a delegate to the OECD.
Baudson, Valérie (FRA), CEO, Amundi SA
She is Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Crédit Agricole S.A. and, since May 2021, has been responsible for the asset management division and a member of the Executive Committee of Crédit Agricole SA. In this role, she is Chief Executive Officer of Amundi. Valérie began her career in 1995 at Banque Indosuez in the General Audit department. She then moved to Crédit Agricole Cheuvreux, the European brokerage subsidiary of the Crédit Agricole Group, as Secretary General and then Marketing Director for Europe. Valérie joined Amundi in 2007 to build the ETF, Index & Smart Beta business unit. Amundi ETF is now the fifth-largest player in Europe. In 2020, she also took over as Head of the Amundi Group’s Retail and Private Banking Clients department worldwide. She was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Amundi in May 2021, succeeding Yves Perrier.
Fentener van Vlissingen, Annemiek (NLD), Chair, SHV Holdings NV
Hobson, Mellody (USA), Co-CEO and President, Ariel Investments LLC
Mellody Hobson is an American businesswoman who serves as President and Co-CEO of Ariel Investments and Chairman of the Board of Starbucks Corporation. She is the former Chairman of DreamWorks Animation.
Kravis, Henry R. (USA), Co-Founder and Co-Executive Chair, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.
American investor. He is co-owner of the large private equity investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR), which rose to prominence in Germany in 2006 through its joint acquisition (with Permira) of ProSiebenSat.1 Media. His fortune was estimated by Forbes at USD 5.5 billion in 2008. From June 11 to 14, 2015, he attended the 63rd Bilderberg Conference in Telfs-Buchen, Austria. In New York, he worked under Jerome Kohlberg, Jr., with his cousin George R. Roberts at Bear Stearns, where he quickly became a partner.
Nobility
Netherlands, H.M. the King of the (NLD)
Like all royal families in Europe, this line descends from predominantly German houses of the Middle Ages. The ancient House of Nassau became closely aligned with the House of Orange, a rather obscure principality in southern France with strong German ties. The website of the Dutch monarchy states:
“The connections between the House of Nassau and the Netherlands date back to 1403.”
The new House of Orange-Nassau eagerly intermarried with other noble families in the Teutonic hinterland. The Prussian Prince Bernhard, founder of the Bilderberg Group, made his way into the Dutch royal family before World War II, adding even more Prussian blood to it. Queen Beatrix’s husband, Claus von Amsberg, was also of German nobility. Beatrix’s sons are now expected to continue the agenda.
Willem-Alexander of Orange-Nassau is much more secretive than his two brothers. Officially, he is involved with “global water management” for the United Nations. The World Trade Organization is supposed to create a global framework for the control of drinking water. At a 2004 meeting of the International Institute for Sustainable Development at the United Nations headquarters in New York, he sat next to the German Bilderberger and Executive Director of UNEP Klaus Töpfer and discussed with him the “implementation of Agenda 21.” The same Töpfer admitted in 2000 that there was an “international consensus on global population control.”
