---

The Members of the Trilateral Commission: What is their Purpose?

---

The members of the Trilateral Commission were comprised of 250 members in 1972, year their first meeting took place.

They were more or less equally divided amongst the geographic areas the Commission was created for.

Representatives of the banking, finance, and business communities of Europe, the United States, and Japan met at founder David Rockefeller’s home in New York.

The group formed a commission which formally created the Trilateral Commission the next year in Japan, including founders David Rockefeller, Zbigniew Brzezeinski, Marshall Hornblower, and others. 

The Commission quickly grew to its present size of about 350 members, growing over time to include not just Japan, but other parts of Asia in what is now called the Pacific Asia group.

The United States group also grew and expanded to include Canada and Mexico in what is now the North America group.

The European group added new countries of representation, but kept its original name.

A final, smaller group that is not officially a part of the Trilateral is the Triennium Participants, which make up members from nations not otherwise represented such as Morocco and South American countries.

The original purpose of the Trilateral Commission was to foster trade relations and mutual cooperation between its original three geographic areas of origin and that still remains a focus today.

---

---

Trilateral Controversy

Controversy over the group began shortly after its inception when, in 1976, Jimmy Carter was elected President of the United States. 

He immediately appointed several members of the Trilateral Commission to various cabinet and other prominent positions (over 20 of them) in government.

When the media and others found out that these members, and then Carter himself, were all current or former members of the Commission, a hubbub began over who was really in control of Washington.

Every President since Carter has had ties to or been a member of the Trilateral Commission and/or its parent group, the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).

At the time of the inception of the Trilateral, David Rockefeller was Chair of the CFR.

---

Members of the Trilateral Commission

Prominent members of Barack Obama’s advisory committee, supporters during his campaign, and those he’s named as appointees to positions within his cabinet, are or have been members of either the Trilateral or the CFR (some both). 

The current members include the Chair of the European group, Peter Sutherland (chair of British Petroleum and Goldman Sachs Intl.); Chair of the North American group, Joseph S. Nye, Jr. (Dean of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University); and Chair of the Pacific Asia group Yotaro Kobayashi (Chief Corp Advisor for Fuji Xerox Ltd). 

Former heads of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan and Paul Volcker, are both members of the Commission. Notably, Volcker gave a ringing endorsement for Obama early in his campaign.

Professors from almost all major world universities, including Harvard, Yale, MIT, the U. of Montreal, and many others are members of the Trilateral Commission, as are noted scientists and scholars worldwide.

Two retired generals from the United States Armed Forces, General James L. Jones (USMC) and General Joseph W. Ralston (USAF) are members, as is noted political advisor and diplomat Henry Kissinger. 

The current heir to the Rockefeller dynasty John D. Rockefeller IV is one of the members of the Trilateral Commission as are noted editors and journalists from various news agencies such as Jerzy Baczynski (Editor-in-Chief of Polityka in Warsaw) and Lee Collum (commentator on “NewsHour With Jim Lehr” and columnist).

---

Members Invariably Reach Prominence

Many of the Commission’s members have reached prominent positions in governments worldwide, including the United Nations as well as our own government here in the United States.

Often, they are appointed to important advisory positions or to positions of power.

Occasionally, they are elected to office, such as former Vice President Dick Cheney or former President George H.W. Bush. 

The question remains as to whether the members of the Trilateral Commission are prominent people who are coming together to foster goodwill between their three geographic regions or if they are a controlling interest, pressing for their own agenda.

It is known that the Commission has been instrumental in pressing a one world government agenda through trade institutions such as NAFTA and the WTO. 

So what, exactly, is the Trilateral Commission’s ultimate goal?

---

---