The Trilateral Commission

The Trilateral Commission was founded in July 1973 by David Rockefeller (banker, president of the Chase Manhattan Bank and the Council on Foreign Relations) and Zbigniew Brzezinski (political scientist and future National Security Advisor to Jimmy Carter). The idea originated during a 1972 Bilderberg Group meeting, where Rockefeller proposed creating a trilateral forum including Japan, Europe, and North America, the three economic poles of the free world during the Cold War.

The context is that of the 1970s: oil crisis, the end of the Bretton Woods system, and trade tensions between the United States, Europe, and Japan. The Commission officially aims to promote cooperation between these three regions.

The Commission comprises approximately 300-400 members divided into three regional groups: North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific (initially Japan only). Members are politicians, business leaders, bankers, academics, and media directors selected through co-optation. The Commission publishes reports ('Triangle Papers') on international policy issues.

Among the most notable members:

• David Rockefeller (founder, honorary president until his death in 2017)
• Zbigniew Brzezinski (co-founder, died in 2017)
• Jimmy Carter (member before his presidency, the first 'trilateralist president')
• George H.W. Bush (member)
• Bill Clinton (member)
• Dick Cheney (member)
• Henry Kissinger (member)
• Paul Volcker (Chairman of the Federal Reserve)
• Alan Greenspan (Chairman of the Federal Reserve)
• Jean-Claude Juncker (President of the European Commission)
• Mario Monti (Italian Prime Minister)
• Keizo Obuchi (Japanese Prime Minister)

The Commission's foundational report, 'The Crisis of Democracy' (1975), written by Michel Crozier, Samuel Huntington, and Joji Watanuki, is a central document for conspiracy theorists. It analyzes the 'excesses of democracy' in trilateral countries and suggests that governability requires moderating democratic expectations and giving more power to experts. This report is interpreted as an admission of the Commission’s anti-democratic project.

Conspiracy theories surrounding the Trilateral Commission primarily emerged after the election of Jimmy Carter in 1976. Carter, a member of the Commission, appointed more than 20 trilateralists to key positions in his administration, including Brzezinski as National Security Advisor, Cyrus Vance as Secretary of State, and Harold Brown as Secretary of Defense. Senator Barry Goldwater denounced this situation in his book 'With No Apologies' (1979), writing: 'The Trilateral Commission is international... It is intended to be the vehicle for multinational consolidation of the commercial and banking interests by seizing control of the political government of the United States.'

Extremist Lyndon LaRouche made the Trilateral Commission a central target of his theories, describing it as a 'fascist conspiracy'. The American conservative right (John Birch Society) and certain leftist currents also criticize the Commission.

The Trilateral Commission is often associated with the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR, founded in 1921) and the Bilderberg Group as part of a 'triangle' of elitist organizations working to establish the New World Order. David Rockefeller himself, in his memoirs (2002), wrote a passage often quoted by conspiracy theorists: 'Some even believe we are part of a secret cabal working against the best interests of the United States... If that's the charge, I stand guilty, and I am proud of it.'

In its contemporary form, the Commission continues to meet regularly and publish reports, but its influence is considered to have declined compared to the 1970s-1990s, due to other forums such as Davos/WEF.