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Congressional Research ServiceThe Library of Congress
Washmgton,
D.C.
20540
TRILATERAL COMMISSIONIP0092
In
response to numerous inquiries relating
to
the TrilateralCommission, we have assembled the enclosed materials.This packetincludes background information on the Commission, a listing of
its
members, articles regarding the influence of the Commission,and a bibliography of publications by and about the Commission.
Many
of the items in the bibliography may be available at alocal public or school library.Wehope this information
is
helpful.Congressional ReferenceDivision
All
materials are reprinted with permission of the copyright claimants.
 
We've Been Asked
Campaign attacks on George Bushand John Anderson for membershipon the Trilateral Commission againare putting the spotlight on a contro-versial international organization.Conservative critics claim that thecommission constitutes a conspiracyseeking to gain control of the
US.
government and to create a newworld order.Bush and Anderson are not theonly presidential aspirants with Trila-teralist links. An adviser on RonaldReagan's team, former Secretary ofHealth, Education and Welfare Cas-par Weinberger, is a member. Presi-dent Carter also was in the organiza-tion before. his election, as werenearly
20
present or former topmembers of his administration.
What is
the
commission?
It is a group of
275
prominent busi-nessmen, labor leaders, scholars,statesmen and politicians from theworld's three major non-Communistindustrialized regions-North Arneri-ca, Western Europe and Japan.
What are its goals?
The commission's avowed aim is toincrease political and economic co-operation among the three regions.This is done by analyzing major
is-
sues of common interest and devel-oping practical proposals to deal withthese problems. The commission haspublished
20
reports, covering suchtopics as energy, East-West relationsand economics.
When and how did it start?
David Rockefeller, head of SewYork's Chase Manhattan Bank, con-vened a meeting of leaders from thethree regions in 1972 to discuss aplan "to bring the best brains in theworld to bear on problems of the fu-ture." As an upshot of the meeting,the Trilateral Commission wasfounded
11
1973. Its first full-time di-rector: Zbigniew Brzezinski, nowCarter's national-security adviser.
How is it organized?
A
35-member executive commit-tee manages the group's activitiesbetween annual meetings. There arethree headquarters-New York,
Par-
is and Tokyo-each with a small, full-time staff. Rockefeller is chairman ofthe North American section.
When and where does it meet?
The full commission gathers once ayear for several days, rotating themeetings among the three areas rep-resented. The
annual
meetings areclosed to the media and public andare reported in a quarterly magazinepublished by the commission.This year's meeting was held inLondon March 23-25. The program,underscoring the importance theBritish attach to the group, includeddinner with Prince Philip, a recep-tion with Prime Minister MargaretThatcher and speeches
by
formerPrime Minister James
(Lhghan
andForeign Secretary Lord Carrington.
Who finances
the
commbrion?
The North Americaxi share of thecurrent three-year budget totals
1.67
million dollars. Of this,
$644,000
comes from foundations,
$530,000
from corporations,
$220,000
from in-dividuals and
$84,000
from invest-ment income. The Rockefeller nameis conspicuous on the list of donors:
$180,000
from the RockefellerBrothers Fund,
$100,000
from theRockefeller Foundation,
$150,000
from David Rockefeller's personalfunds. There is no government mon-ey involved.
How are members of the commls-don chosen?
An 11-member American execu-tive committee nominates candi-dates for the North American delega-tion. Nominations are made on thebasis of interest in international
af-
fairs but with an attempt to strike abalance among areas of the countryand professions.
Whoserveson
the
commission?
Among the
76
U.S. members are
8
congressmen,
3
state and local gov-ernment officials,
17
businessmen, 13academicians, 7 bankers
and
finan-ciers,
10
officials of nonprofit organi-zations and institutes, 7 lawyers,
4
trade-union officials,
3
journalists ormedia executives and
1
representa-tive of agriculture interests. Cornrnis-sion members who join the executivebranch of government must resign,but they often rejoin when their offi-cial
service
ends.
What
.bout
conspiracy charges?
George Bush, who resigned fromthe organization in
1978,
says: "Tosuggest that those that belong to thecommission
.
.
.
are involved in a con-spiracy
is
absurd." Reagan loyalistWeinberger, who describes himselfas "very conservative," says "the Tri-lateral Commission is performing avery valuable service in strengthen-ing ties between the U.S. and ournatural allies."
How
influenthl is
the
commissionin shaping
gopolicy?
Its
voice
is
undoubtedly heard. Be-sides Carter, former Trilateralists in-clude Vice President Mondale,
Sec-
retary of State Cyrus Vance,Secretary of Defense Harold Brownand Brzezinski-the entire foreign-policy and national-security team.
Still,
foreign-affairs experts makethis argument: The policies pursuedby the Carter administration haveproduced results that conflict withthe commission's goals of closer coop-eration among the non-Communistindustrial regions and between thisgroup and the Third World. Rela-tions between the U.S. and its indus-trialized allies, these experts say,have frayed seriously over the pastthree years, and ties with a numberof Third World nations-such asIran-have rarely been worse.
Three Trilateralists in the Presidential Race
Bush
""
Anderson
?
CarterRepublican candidates
George
Bush
and John Anderson
md
Democrat Jimmy Car-
ter
are present or fonnew
mbon
of the Trilateral Comrnlssion.
U.S.NEWS
&
WORLD
REPORT.Apr~l.
1980
2
of 00

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