Friday, January 30, 2009
The Trilateral Commission - Membership List 2009
Executive Committee
Europe
North America
Pacific Asian
Peter Sutherland, Chairman
Joseph S. Nye, Jr, Chairman
Yotaro Kobayashi, Chairman
Herve De Carmoy, Deputy Chairman
Allan E. Gotlieb, Deputy Chairman
Han Sung-Joo, Deputy Chairman
Andrezej Olechowski, Deputy Chairman
Lorenzo H. Zambrano, Deputy Chairman
Shijuro Ogata, Deputy Chairman
North American Group
Richard L. Armitage, President, Armitage International LLC, Washington, DC; former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State
James L. Balsillie, Co-Chief Executive Officer, Research in Motion, Ltd., Waterloo, ON
Alan R. Batkin, Vice Chairman, Eton Park Capital Management, New York, NY
Nani Beccalli-Falco, President and Chief Executive Officer, GE International, Brussels, Belgium
*C. Fred Bergsten, Director, Peterson Institute for International Economics, Washington, DC; former U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs
Catherine Bertini, Professor of Public Administration, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY; Senior Fellow, Agricultural Development, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; former Under Secretary-General for Management, United Nations; former Executive Director, UN World Food Program.
Robert D. Blackwill, President, BGR International, Washington, DC; former Deputy Assistant to President George W. Bush and Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Planning; former Ambassador to India
Adm. Dennis C. Blair, U.S. Navy (retired), John M. Shalikashvili Chair in National Security Studies, National Bureau of Asian Research; Omar Bradley Chair of Strategic Leadership, Army War College and Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA; former Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Command
Herminio Blanco Mendoza, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Soluciones Estratégicas, Mexico City, NL; former Mexican Secretary of Commerce and Industrial Development
David G. Bradley, Chairman, Atlantic Media Company, Washington, DC
Lael Brainard, Vice President and Founding Director, Global Economy and Development Center, The Brookings Institution, Washington, DC
Harold Brown, Counselor and Trustee, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, DC; former General Partner, Warburg Pincus & Company, New York, NY; former U.S. Secretary of Defense
*Zbigniew Brzezinski, Counselor and Trustee, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, DC; Robert Osgood Professor of American Foreign Affairs, Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University; former U.S. Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs
Sylvia Mathews Burwell, President, Global Development Programs, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, WA
Louis C. Camilleri, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Altria Group, Inc., New York, NY
Kurt Campbell, Chief Executive Officer, Center for a New American Security (CNAS), Washington, DC; Director of the Aspen Strategy Group; former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asia and the Pacific
Raymond Chrétien, Strategic Advisor, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Montreal, QC; Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Center for International Studies of the University of Montreal; former Associate Under-Secretary of State of External Affairs; former Ambassador of Canada to the Congo, Belgium, Mexico, the United States and France
William T. Coleman, Jr., Senior Partner and the Senior Counselor, O’Melveny & Myers, Washington, DC; former U.S. Secretary of Transportation; Lifetime Trustee, Trilateral Commission
Richard N. Cooper, Maurits C. Boas Professor of International Economics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA; former Chairman, U.S. National Intelligence Council; former U.S. Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs
E. Gerald Corrigan, Managing Director, Goldman, Sachs & Co., New York, NY; former President, Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Lee Cullum, former regular commentator, "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer," and columnist, Dallas, TX
H. Lawrence Culp, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer, Danaher Corporation, Washington, DC
Gerald L. Curtis, Burgess Professor of Political Science, Columbia University, New York, NY; Visiting Professor, Graduate Research Institute for Policy Studies, Tokyo
Lynn Davis, Director, Washington Office, The RAND Corporation, Arlington, VA; former U.S. Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security
Arthur A. DeFehr, President and Chief Executive Officer, Palliser Furniture, Winnipeg, MB
André Desmarais, President and Co-Chief Executive Officer, Power Corporation of Canada, Montréal, QC; Deputy Chairman, Power Financial Corporation
John M. Deutch, Institute Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA; former Director of Central Intelligence; former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense
Jamie Dimon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, JPMorgan Chase & Co., New York, NY
Peter C. Dobell, Founding Director, Parliamentary Centre, Ottawa, ON
Wendy K. Dobson, Professor and Director, Institute for International Business, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON; former Canadian Associate Deputy Minister of Finance
Thomas Donilon, Partner, O’Melveny & Myers, LLP, Washington, DC
Kenneth M. Duberstein, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Duberstein Group, Washington, DC; former Chief of Staff to President Ronald Reagan
Peggy Dulany, Founder and Chair, Synergos Institute, New York, NY
Robert Eckert, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mattel, Inc., El Segundo, CA
Jessica P. Einhorn, Dean, Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, The Johns Hopkins University, Washington, DC; former Managing Director for Finance and Resource Mobilization, [Image]World Bank
Diana Farrell, Director, McKinsey Global Institute, San Francisco, CA
Dianne Feinstein, Member (D-CA), U.S. Senate
Martin S. Feldstein, George F. Baker Professor of Economics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA; President Emeritus, National Bureau of Economic Research; former Chairman, U.S. President’s Council of Economic Advisors
Roger W. Ferguson, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer, TIAA-CREF, New York, NY; former Member of the Executive Committee, Head of Financial Services Products, and Chairman of Swiss Re America Holding Corporation; former Vice Chairman, Board of Governors, U.S. Federal Reserve System
Stanley Fischer, Governor of the [Image]Bank of Israel, Jerusalem; former President, Citigroup International and Vice Chairman, Citgroup, New York, NY; former First Deputy Managing Director, International Monetary Fund
*Thomas S. Foley, former U.S. Ambassador to Japan; former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; former North American Chairman, Trilateral Commission, Washington, DC
Kristin J. Forbes, Associate Professor of Economics, MIT Sloan School of Management, Cambridge, MA; former Member of the U.S. Council of Economic Advisors
Michael B.G. Froman, Managing Director, Head of Infrastructure and Sustainable Development, Citi Alternative Investments, Citigroup Inc., New York, NY
Francis Fukuyama, Bernard L. Schwartz Professor International Political Economy, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, The Johns Hopkins University, Washington, DC
Dionisio Garza Medina, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, ALFA, Garza Garcia, NL
Richard A. Gephardt, Senior Counsel, DLA Piper, Washington, DC; former Member (D-MO), U.S. House of Representatives
David Gergen, Professor of Public Service and Director of the Center for Public Leadership, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA; Editor-at-Large, U.S. News and World Report
Timothy F. Geithner, President, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, New York, NY
Francisco Gil-Díaz, Executive President, Telefónica de España-México and Central América, Mexico City, DF
Peter C. Godsoe, retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Scotiabank, Toronto, ON
*Allan E. Gotlieb, Senior Advisor, Bennett Jones LLP, Toronto, ON; Chairman, Sotheby’s, Canada; former Canadian Ambassador to the United States; North American Deputy Chairman, Trilateral Commission
Bill Graham, Chancellor, Trinity College, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON; former Member of Canadian House of Commons; former Minister of Foreign Affairs and former Minister of Defence
Donald E. Graham, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Washington Post Company,
Washington, DC
Richard N. Haass, President, Council on Foreign Relations, New York, NY; former Director, Policy Planning, U. S. Department of State; former Director of Foreign Policy Studies, The Brookings Institution
James T. Hackett, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, Anadarko Petroleum Corp., The Woodlands, TX
John J. Hamre, President, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, DC; former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense and Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)
Richard F. Haskayne, Board Chairman Emeritus, University of Calgary, AB; past Chairman of the Board of TransCanada Corporation
Carlos Heredia, Economist, Mexico City, DF; Advisor to the Governor of Michoacán
*Carla A. Hills, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Hills & Company, International Consultants, Washington, DC; former U.S. Trade Representative; former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
*Karen Elliott House, Writer, Princeton, NJ; Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA; former Senior Vice President, Dow Jones & Company, and Publisher, The Wall Street Journal
Gen. James L. Jones, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.), President and Chief Executive Officer, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for 21st Century Energy, Washington, DC
Alejandro Junco de la Vega, President and Director, Grupo Reforma, Monterrey, NL
Robert Kagan, Senior Associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington, DC
Arnold Kanter, Principal and Founding Member, The Scowcroft Group, Washington, DC; former U.S. Under Secretary of State
Charles R. Kaye, Co-President, Warburg Pincus LLC, New York, NY
James Kimsey, President and Executive Director, The Kimsey Foundation, Washington, DC
Henry A. Kissinger, Chairman, Kissinger Associates, Inc., New York, NY; former U.S. Secretary of State; former U.S. Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs; Lifetime Trustee, Trilateral Commission
Michael Klein, Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer, Citi Markets & Banking; Vice Chairman, Citibank International plc; New York, NY
Steven E. Koonin, Chief Scientist, [Image]BP, London, UK
Enrique Krauze, General Director, Editorial Clio Libros y Videos, S.A. de C.V., Mexico City, DF
Robert W. Lane, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Deere & Company, Moline, IL
Fred Langhammer, Chairman, Global Affairs, The Estée Lauder Companies, Inc., New York, NY
Winston Lord, Chairman Emeritus and former Co-Chairman of the Board, International Rescue Committee, New York, NY; former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs; former U.S. Ambassador to China
E. Peter Lougheed, Counsel, Bennett Jones, Barristers & Solicitors, Calgary, AB; former Premier of Alberta
*Roy MacLaren, former Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom; former Canadian Minister of International Trade; Toronto, ON
John A. MacNaughton, Chairman, Business Development Bank of Canada, and Chairman of Canadian Trading and Quotation System Inc., Toronto, ON
Antonio Madero, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, San Luis Corporacion, S.A. de C.V., Mexico City, DF
John Manley, Senior Counsel, McCarthy Tétrault LLP, Ottawa, ON; former Canadian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
*Sir Deryck C. Maughan, Managing Director and Chairman, KKR Asia, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., New York, NY; former Vice Chairman, Citigroup
Jay Mazur, President Emeritus, UNITE (Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees, and President, ILGWU's 21st Century Heritage Foundation, New York, NY
Robert S. McNamara, former President, World Bank; former U.S. Secretary of Defense; former President, Ford Motor Company; Lifetime Trustee, Trilateral Commission
James Moore, Member from British Columbia, Canadian Parliament, Ottawa, ON; Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada and the Pacific Gateway and Vancouver 2010 Olympics
Marc H. Morial, President and Chief Executive Officer, National Urban League, New York, NY; former Mayor, New Orleans, LA
Heather Munroe-Blum, Principal and Vice-Chancellor, McGill University, Montreal, QC
*Indra K. Nooyi, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, PepsiCo, Inc., Purchase, NY
*Joseph S. Nye, Jr., University Distinguished Service Professor and former Dean, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA; former Chair, National Intelligence Council and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs; North American Chairman, Trilateral Commission
Meghan O'Sullivan, Lecturer in Public Policy, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA; former Special Assistant to President George W. Bush and Deputy National Security Advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan, National Security Council, The White House
Thomas R. Pickering, Vice Chairman, Hills & Company, International Consultants, Washington, DC; former Senior Vice President, International Relations, The Boeing Company, Arlington, VA; former U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs; former U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation, India, Israel, El Salvador, Nigeria, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and the United Nations
Martha C. Piper, former President and Vice-Chancellor, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC
Richard Plepler, Co-president, HBO, New York, NY
Gen. Joseph W. Ralston, U.S. Air Force (Ret.), Vice Chairman, The Cohen Group, Washington, DC; former Commander, U.S. European Command, and Supreme Allied Commander NATO; former Vice Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S. Department of Defense
Charles B. Rangel, Member (D-NY), U.S. House of Representatives
Federico Reyes Heroles, Writer and Political Analyst, Chairman of the Board of Este Pais Magazine, and Chairman of the Board, Transparencia Mexicana, Mexico City, DF
*Susan Rice, Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy Studies and Global Economy and Development Programs, Brookings Institution, Washington, DC; former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs; former Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for African Affairs, National Security Council
Hartley Richardson, President, James Richardson & Sons, Ltd., Winnipeg, MB
Joseph E. Robert, Jr., Chairman and Chief Executive Office, J.E. Robert Companies, McLean, VA
David Rockefeller, Founder, Honorary Chairman, and Lifetime Trustee, Trilateral Commission, New York, NY
John D. Rockefeller IV, Member (D-WV), U.S. Senate
Kenneth Rogoff, Professor of Economics and Thomas D. Cabot Professor of Public Policy, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA; former Chief Economist, International Monetary Fund, Washington, DC
Charles Rose, Host of the Charlie Rose Show and Charlie Rose Special Edition, PBS, New York, NY
Irene B. Rosenfeld, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Kraft Foods, Inc., Northfield, IL
Dennis Ross, Counselor and Ziegler Distinguished Fellow, The Washingon Institute for Near East Policy, Washington, DC; former Special Middle East Coordinator in President Clinton’s Administration
*Luis Rubio, President, Center of Research for Development (CIDAC), Mexico City, DF
Arthur F. Ryan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Prudential Financial, Inc., Newark, NJ
Jaime Serra, Chairman, SAI Consulting, Mexico City, DF; former Mexican Minister of Trade and Industry
Dinakar Singh, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, TPG-Axon Capital, New York, NY;
former Co-head, Principal Strategies Department, Goldman Sachs
Anne-Marie Slaughter, Dean, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
Gordon Smith, Director, Centre for Global Studies, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC; Chairman, Board of Governors, International Development Research Centre; former Canadian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Personal Representative of the Prime Minister to the Economic Summit
Donald R. Sobey, Chairman Emeritus, Empire Company Ltd., Halifax, NS
Ronald D. Southern, Chairman, ATCO Group, Calgary, AB
James B. Steinberg, Dean, LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas, Austin, TX; former Vice President and Director of the Foreign Policy Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, Washington, DC; former U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor
Jessica Stern, Academic Director, Program on Terrorism and the Law, Harvard Law School, and Lecturer on Law and Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Barbara Stymiest, Chief Operating Officer, RBC Financial Group, Toronto, ON
John J. Sweeney, President, AFL-CIO, Washington, DC
George J. Tenet, Distinguished Professor, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, Washington, DC; former U.S. Director of Central Intelligence
*Paul A. Volcker, former Chairman, Wolfensohn & Co., Inc., New York; Frederick H. Schultz Professor Emeritus, International Economic Policy, Princeton University; former Chairman, Board of Governors, U.S. Federal Reserve System; Honorary North American Chairman and former North American Chairman, Trilateral Commission
William H. Webster, Senior Partner, Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP, Washington, DC; former U.S. Director of Central Intelligence; former Director, U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation; former Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
Fareed Zakaria, Editor, Newsweek International, New York, NY
*Lorenzo H. Zambrano, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, CEMEX, Monterrey, NL; North American Deputy Chairman, Trilateral Commission
Ernesto Zedillo, Director, Yale Center for the Study of Globalization, Yale University, New Haven, CT; former President of Mexico
Mortimer B. Zuckerman, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief, U.S. News & World Report, and Publisher, New York Daily News; Founder and Chairman of Boston Properties, Inc.; New York, NY
Former Members In Public Service
Richard B. Cheney, Vice President of the United States
Paula J. Dobriansky, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs
Luis Téllez, Secretary of Communications and Transport of Mexico
Robert B. Zoellick, President, World Bank
European Group
Paul Adams, Chief Executive, British American Tobacco, London
Urban Ahlin, Member of the Swedish Parliament and Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Stockholm
*Edmond Alphandéry, Chairman, Caisse Nationale de Prévoyance, Paris; former Chairman, Electricité de France (EDF); former Minister of the Economy and Finance
Jacques Andréani, Ambassadeur de France, Paris; former Ambassador to the United States
Jorge Armindo, President and Chief Executive Officer, Amorim Turismo, Lisbon
Jerzy Baczynski, Editor-in-Chief, Polityka, Warsaw
Patricia Barbizet, Chief Executive Officer and Member of the Board of Directors, Artémis Group, Paris
Estela Barbot, Director, AGA; Director, Bank Santander Negocios; Member of the General Council, AEP -- Portuguese Business Association, Porto; General Honorary Consul of Guatemala, Lisbon
*Erik Belfrage, Senior Vice President, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken; Director, Investor AB, Stockholm
Marek Belka, Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), Geneva; former Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Poland, Warsaw; former Ambassador-at-Large and Chairman, Council for International Coordination, Coalition Provisional Authority, Baghdad
Baron Jean-Pierre Berghmans, Chairman of the Executive Board, Lhoist Group, Limelette, Belgium
*Georges Berthoin, International Honorary Chairman, European Movement; Honorary Chairman, The Jean Monnet Association; Honorary European Chairman, The Trilateral Commission, Paris
Nicolas Beytout, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, D.I. Group; Former Editor of Le Figaro and Les Echos, Paris
Carl Bildt, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sweden; former Chairman, Kreab Group of public affairs companies; former Chairman, Nordic Venture Network, Stockholm; former Member of the Swedish Parliament, Chairman of the Moderate Party and Prime Minister of Sweden; former European Union High Representative in Bosnia-Herzegovina & UN Special Envoy to the Balkans
Manfred Bischoff, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Daimler AG, Munich; former Member of the Board of Management, Daimler AG; former Chairman, EADS
Antonio Borges, International Advisor and former Managing Director and Vice Chairman, Goldman Sachs International, London
Ana Patricia Botin, Executive Chairman, Banesto; Vice Chairman, Urbis; Member of the Management Committee, Santander Group, Madrid
Jean-Louis Bourlanges, Member, State Audit Court (Cour des Comptes), Paris; Associated Professor, Institute for Political Studies in Paris; former Member of the European Parliament, Brussels; former President of the European Movement in France, Paris
*Jorge Braga de Macedo, President, Tropical Research Institute, Lisbon; Professor of Economics, Nova University at Lisbon; Chairman, Forum Portugal Global; former Minister of Finance
Lord Brittan of Spennithorne, Vice Chairman, UBS Investment Bank, London; former Vice President, European Commission
Jean-Louis Bruguière, EU High Representative to the United States on the Terrorist Finance Tracking Programme (TFTP/SWIFT); Judge, Paris
Robin Buchanan, Dean, London Business School; former Senior Partner, Bain & Company, London
*François Bujon de l'Estang, Ambassadeur de France; Chairman, Citi France, Paris; former Ambassador to the United States
Edelgard Bulmahn, Member of the German Bundestag and Chairwoman of the Committee on Economic Affairs; former Federal Minister, Berlin
Sven Burmester, Writer and Explorer, Denmark; former Representative, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Beijing; former World Bank Deputy Secretary and Representative in Cairo
Richard Burrows, Governor, Bank of Ireland; Director, Pernod Ricard; Chairman, the Scotch Whisky Association; former President, IBEC (The Irish Business and Employers Confederation), Dublin
*Hervé de Carmoy, Chairman, Almatis, Frankfurt-am-Main; former Partner, Rhône Group, New York & Paris; Honorary Chairman, Banque Industrielle et Mobilière Privée, Paris; former Chief Executive, Société Générale de Belgique
Salvatore Carrubba, Director of Strategies and Columnist, Il Sole 24 Ore, Milan; former Culture Alderman, Municipality of Milan
Carme Chacon Piqueras, Minister for Defence; former Minister of Housing; former First Vice-President of the Spanish Parliament, Madrid
Jürgen Chrobog, Chairman, BMW Herbert Quandt Foundation, Munich; former German Deputy Foreign Minister and Ambassador to the United States
Luc Coene, Minister of State; Deputy Governor, National Bank of Belgium, Brussels
Sir Ronald Cohen, Chairman, Portland Capital & The Portland Trust; former Founding Partner and Executive Chairman, Apax Partners Worldwide, London
Bertrand Collomb, Honorary Chairman, Lafarge; Chairman, Institut des Hautes Etudes pour la Science et la Technologie (IHEST); Chairman, Institut Français des Relations Internationales (IFRI); Member of the Institut de France, Paris
Iain Conn, Member of the Board of Directors and of the Executive Management Team, BP, London
Richard Conroy, Conroy Diamonds & Gold, Dublin; Member of Senate, Republic of Ireland
Eckhard Cordes, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Management Board, Franz Haniel & Cie., Duisburg; Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Management Board, Metro; former Member of the Board, DaimlerChrysler, Stuttgart
Alfonso Cortina, Chairman, Colonial; former Chairman, Repsol-YPF Foundation, Madrid
Eduardo Costa, Executive Vice Chairman, Banco Finantia, Lisbon; Member, Forum Portugal Global
Enrico Tomaso Cucchiani, Member of the Board of Management, Allianz SE, Munich; Chief Executive Officer, Allianz S.p.A., Trieste
Michel David-Weill, Former Chairman, Lazard LLC, worldwide; Chairman of the Supervisory Board, EURAZEO, Paris
*Vladimir Dlouhy, Senior Advisor, ABB; International Advisor, Goldman Sachs; former Czechoslovak Minister of Economy; former Czech Minister of Industry & Trade, Prague
*Bill Emmott, Former Editor, The Economist, London
Pedro Miguel Echenique, Professor of Physics, University of the Basque Country; President, Foundation Donostia International Physic Center (DIPC); former Basque Minister of Education, San Sebastian
Oscar Fanjul, Vice Chairman, Omega Capital, Madrid
Grete Faremo, Director of Law and Corporate Affairs for Western Europe, Microsoft Norway; former Executive Vice President, Storebrand; former Norwegian Minister of Development Cooperation, Minister of Justice and Minister of Oil and Energy, Oslo
*Nemesio Fernandez-Cuesta, Executive Director of Upstream, Repsol-YPF; former Chairman, Prensa Española, Madrid
Jürgen Fitschen, Member of the Group Executive Committee, Deutsche Bank, Frankfurt-am-Main
Klaus-Dieter Frankenberger, Foreign Editor, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Frankfurt am Main
Louise Fresco, University Professor, University of Amsterdam; Member of the Board of non-executive Directors, RABO Bank, Utrecht; former Assistant Director-General, Head of Agriculture Department, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Rome
Hugh Friel, Chairman, Tourism Ireland; former Chief Executive Officer, Kerry Group, Tralee, Co. Kerry, Ireland
Lykke Friis, Pro-Rector, University of Copenhagen
*Michael Fuchs, Member of the German Bundestag, Berlin; former President, National Federation of German Wholesale & Foreign Trade
Lord Garel-Jones, Managing Director, UBS Investment Bank, London; Member of the House of Lords; former Minister of State at the Foreign Office (European Affairs)
*Antonio Garrigues Walker, Chairman, Garrigues Abogados y Asesores Tributarios, Madrid
Wolfgang Gerhardt, Member of the German Bundestag; Chairman of the Friedrich-Naumann Foundation; former Chairman of the Free Democratic Party, Berlin
Lord Gilbert, Member of the House of Lords; former Minister for Defence, London
Esther Giménez-Salinas, Rector, Ramon Llull University; Professor of Criminal Law, ESADE Law School, Ramon Llull University, Barcelone
Dermot Gleeson, Chairman, AIB Group, Dublin
Elisabeth Guigou, Member of the French National Assembly; former Minister for European Affairs, Paris
General The Lord Guthrie, Director, N M Rothschild & Sons, London; Member of the House of Lords; former Chief of the Defence Staff, London
Antti Herlin, Chairman of the Board, KONE Corporation, Helsinki
Helga Hernes, Senior Advisor, PRIO (International Peace Research Institute Oslo); Chair, Norwegian Parliamentary Intelligence Oversight Committee, Oslo; former Norwegian Ambassador
Nigel Higgins, Co-Head of Global Investment Banking, N M Rothschild & Sons, London
Wolfgang Ischinger, Global Head of Government Relations, Allianz SE, Munich; Chairman, the Munich Security Conference on Security Policy; former European Member of the Troïka on the Kosovo Status Determination and German Ambassador to the United Kingdom
*Mugur Isarescu, Governor, National Bank of Romania, Bucharest; former Prime Minister
*Baron Daniel Janssen, Honorary Chairman, Solvay, Brussels
Trinidad Jiménez, International Relations Secretary of the Socialist Party (PSOE) & Member of the Federal Executive Committee; Secretary of State for Latin America, Madrid
Lady Barbara Judge, Chairman, UKAEA (United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority); former US Securities Exchange Commissioner
*Béla Kadar, Member of the Hungarian Academy, Budapest; Member of the Monetary Council of the National Bank; President of the Hungarian Economic Association; Former Ambassador of Hungary to the O.E.C.D., Paris; former Hungarian Minister of International Economic Relations and Member of Parliament
Robert Kassai, General Vice President, The National Association of Craftmen’s Corporations, Budapest
*Lord Kerr of Kinlochard, Deputy Chairman, Royal Dutch Shell plc; Member of the House of Lords, London; former British Ambassador to the United States; former Secretary General, European Convention
*Sixten Korkman, Managing Director, The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy (ETLA) & Finnish Business and Policy Forum (EVA), Helsinki
Arpad Kovacs, President, State Audit Office of Hungary, Budapest
Gabor Kovacs, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Bankar Holding; Founder, KOGART (the Kovacs Gabor Art Foundation), Budapest
Jerzy Kozminski, President and Chief Executive Officer, Polish-American Freedom Foundation; former Ambassador to the United States; former First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Warsaw
Ivan Krastev, Chairman of the Board and Programme Director for Political Research, Centre for Liberal Strategies, Sofia; Editor-in-Chief, Bulgarian Edition, Foreign Policy
Jiri Kunert, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, UniCredit Bank Czech Republic; President of the Czech Association of Banks, Prague
Ulysses Kyriacopoulos, Chairman, S&B Group; former Chairman, Federation of Greek Industries, Athens
*Count Otto Lambsdorff, Partner, Wessing Lawyers, Düsseldorf; former Chairman, Friedrich Naumann Foundation, Berlin; former Member of German Bundestag; Honorary Chairman, Free Democratic Party; former Federal Minister of Economy; former President of the Liberal International; Honorary European Chairman, The Trilateral Commission, Paris
Kurt Lauk, Member of the European Parliament (EPP Group-CDU); Chairman, Globe Capital Partners, Stuttgart; President, Economic Council of the CDU Party, Berlin; Former Member of the Board, DaimlerChrysler, Stuttgart
Anne Lauvergeon, Chairperson of the Executive Board, Areva; Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer, Cogema, Paris
Ulrich Lehner, Chairman of the Board, Henkel, Düsseldorf
Pierre Lellouche, Member of the French National Assembly and of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Paris; former President, NATO Parliamentary Assembly
Enrico Letta, Under State Secretary, Office of the Prime Minister, Italy; former Minister of European Affairs, Industry, and of Industry and International Trade, Rome
Thomas Leysen, Chief Executive Officer, Umicore, Brussels
*Marianne Lie, former Director General, Norwegian Shipowner’s Association, Oslo
Erkki Liikanen, Chairman of the Board, [Image]Bank of Finland, Helsinki; former Finnish Minister of Finance; former European Commissioner
Count Maurice Lippens, Chairman, Fortis, Brussels
Peter Löscher, Chief Executive Officer, Siemens, Munich
Helge Lund, Chief Executive Officer of the Norwegian Oil Company, Statoil, Oslo
*Cees Maas, Honorary Vice Chairman of the ING Group and former Chief Financial Officer, Amsterdam; former Treasurer of the Dutch Government
Peter Mandelson, Member of the European Commission (Trade), Brussels; former Member of the British Parliament; former Secretary of State to Northern Ireland and for Trade and Industry
Abel Matutes, Chairman, Empresas Matutes, Ibiza; former Member of the European Commission, Brussels; former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Madrid
Francis Maude, Member of the British Parliament; Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office and Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster; Director, Benfield Group; former Shadow Foreign Secretary, London
Friedrich Merz, Member of the German Bundestag; former Member of the European Parliament; former Chairman of the Parliamentary Group of the CDU/CSU in the Bundestag, Berlin
Peter Mitterbauer, Honorary President, The Federation of Austrian Industry, Vienna; President and Chief Executive Officer, Miba, Laakirchen
Pietro Modiano, General Manager & Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Intesa Sanpaolo, Turin
Dominique Moïsi, Special Advisor to the Director General of the French Institute for International Relations (IFRI), Paris
Mario Monti, President and Professor Emeritus, Bocconi University, Milan; Chairman of BRUEGEL and of ECAS, Brussels; former Member of the European Commission (Competition Policy)
Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, Chairman, Fiat, Turin; former Chairman, Confindustria (Italian Confederation of Industry), Rome
Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, Chairman, The Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; Chairman, Anglo American; former Chairman, Royal Dutch/Shell Group, London
Klaus-Peter Müller, Chairman of the Board, Commerzbank, Frankfurt-am-Main; President, Association of German Banks (BDB), Berlin
Harald Norvik, Chairman and Partner, ECON Management; former President and Chief Executive, Statoil, Oslo
Ewald Nowotny, former Chief Executive Officer, BAWAG P.S.K., Vienna
Arend Oetker, President, German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP); Vice Chairman, Federation of German Industries; Managing Director, Dr. Arend Oetker Holding, Berlin
*Andrzej Olechowski, Founder, Civic Platform; Former Chairman, Bank Handlowy; former Minister of Foreign Affairs and of Finance, Warsaw
Richard Olver, Chairman, BAE Systems, London
Janusz Palikot, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Polmos, Lublin; Vice President, Polish Confederation of Private Employers; Co-owner, Publishing House slowo/obraz terytoria; Member of the Board of Directors, Polish Business Council, Warsaw
Dimitry Panitza, Founding Chairman, The Free and Democratic Bulgaria Foundation; Founder and Chairman, The Bulgarian School of Politics, Sofia
Lucas Papademos, Vice President, European Central Bank, Frankfurt-am-Main; former Governor of the [Image]Bank of Greece
Lord Patten of Barnes, Chancellor of the University of Oxford; Chairman, International Crisis Group, Brussels; former Member of the European Commission (External Relations), Brussels; former Governor of Hong Kong; former Member of the British Cabinet, London
Volker Perthes, Chairman and Director, German Institute for International and Security Affairs, Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP), Berlin
Carlo Pesenti, Managing Director, Italcementi, Bergamo
Dieter Pfundt, Personally Liable Partner, Sal. Oppenheim Bank, Frankfurt-am-Main
Josep Piqué, Chairman of the Popular Party of Catalunya, Barcelona; Member of the Parliament of Catalunya; Member of the Spanish Senate; former Minister of Foreign Affairs
Benoît Potier, Chairman of the Management Board, Air Liquide, Paris
Alessandro Profumo, Chief Executive Officer, UniCredit Group, Milan
Luigi Ramponi, Member of the Italian Senate; former Chairman of the Defence Committee of the Chamber of Deputies, Rome; former Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Italian Army)
Denis Ranque, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Thales, Paris
Juha Rantanen, President and Chief Executive Officer, Outokumpu Group, Espoo, Finland
Wanda Rapaczynski, Advisor to the Supervisory Board and former President of the Management Board, Agora, Warsaw
Heinz Riesenhuber, Member of the German Bundestag; former Federal Minister of Research and Technology, Berlin; Chairman of the Supervisory Boards of Kabel Deutschland and of Evotec
Gianfelice Rocca, Chairman, Techint Group of Companies, Milan; Vice President, Confindustria, Rome
H. Onno Ruding, Chairman, Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), Brussels; Former Vice Chairman, Citibank; former Dutch Minister of Finance
Ferdinando Salleo, Vice Chairman, MCC (Mediocredito Centrale), Rome; former Ambassador to the United States
Jacques Santer, Honorary State Minister, Luxembourg; former Member of the European Parliament; former President of the European Commission; former Prime Minister of Luxembourg
*Silvio Scaglia, Founder, Chairman and Financial backer, Babelgum, London; Chairman, S.M.S. Finance S.A., Luxembourg; former Chairman, Fastweb, Milan
Paolo Scaroni, Chief Executive Officer, ENI, Rome
*Guido Schmidt-Chiari, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Constantia Group; former Chairman, Creditanstalt Bankverein, Vienna
Henning Schulte-Noelle, Chairman of the Supervisory Board and former Chief Executive Officer, Allianz, Munich
Karel Schwarzenberg, Minister of Foreign Affairs; Founder and Director, Nadace Bohemiae, Prague; former Member of the Czech Senate; former Chancellor to President Havel; former President of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights
*Carlo Secchi, Professor of European Economic Policy and former Rector, Bocconi University; Vice President, ISPI, Milan; former Member of the Italian Senate and of the European Parliament
*Tøger Seidenfaden, Editor-in-Chief, Politiken, Copenhagen
Maurizio Sella, Chairman, Gruppo Banca Sella, Biella; former Chairman, Association of Italian Banks (A.B.I.), Rome
Slawomir S. Sikora, Chief Executive Officer and Citigroup Country Officer for Poland, Bank Handlowy w Warszawie, Warsaw
Stefano Silvestri, President, Institute for International Affairs (IAI), Rome; Commentator, Il Sole 24 Ore; former Under Secretary of State for Defence, Italy
Lord Simon of Highbury, Member of the House of Lords, Deputy Chairman of Unilever; Non-Executive Director of Suez Group; Senior Adviser of Morgan Stanley Europe; former Minister for Trade & Competitiveness in Europe; former Chairman of BP, London
Nicholas Soames, Member of the British Parliament, London
Sir Martin Sorrell, Chief Executive Officer, WPP Group, London
*Petar Stoyanov, Former President of the Republic of Bulgaria; Member of Bulgarian
Parliament; Chairman of Parliamentary Group of United Democratic Forces; Chairman of Union of Democratic Forces, Sofia
Peter Straarup, Chairman of the Executive Board, Danske Bank, Copenhagen; Chairman, the Danish Bankers Association
*Peter Sutherland, Chairman, BP p.l.c.; Chairman, Goldman Sachs International; Chairman of the London School of Economics; UN Special Representative for Migration and Development; former Director General, [Image]GATT/[Image]WTO; former Member of the European Commission; former Attorney General of Ireland
Pavel Telicka, Partner, BXL-Consulting, Prague
Jean-Philippe Thierry, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, AGF (Assurances Générales de France), Paris
*Harri Tiido, Undersecretary for Political Affairs, Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tallinn; former Ambassador of Estonia and Head of the Estonian Mission to NATO
Andreas Treichl, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Erste Bank der Oesterreichischen Sparkassen, Vienna
Marco Tronchetti Provera, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Pirelli & C., Milan; Deputy Chairman, Confindustria, Rome; former Chairman, Telecom Italia
Elsbeth Tronstad, Executive Director, Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO); former Vice President, ABB, Oslo
Loukas Tsoukalis, Special Adviser to the President of the European Commission; Professor at the University of Athens and the College of Europe; President of the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP), Athens
Mario Vargas Llosa, Writer and Member of the Royal Spanish Academy, Madrid
*George Vassiliou, Former Head of the Negotiating Team for the Accession of Cyprus to the European Union; former President of the Republic of Cyprus; Former Member of Parliament and Leader of United Democrats, Nicosia
Jeroen van der Veer, Chief Executive, Royal Dutch Shell, The Hague
Franco Venturini, Senior Editorial Commentator on Foreign Affairs, Corriere della Sera, Rome
Janne Virkkunen, Senior Editor-in-Chief, Helsingin Sanomat, Helsinki
*Marko Voljc, Chief Executive Officer, K & H Bank Zrt, Budapest; former General Manager of Central Europe Directorate, KBC Bank Insurance Holding, Brussels; former Chief Executive Officer, Nova Ljubljanska Banka, Ljubljana
Alexandr Vondra, Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs; former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prague
Joris Voorhoeve, Member of the Council of State; former Member of the Dutch Parliament; former Minister of Defence, The Hague
*Panagis Vourloumis, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Hellenic Telecommunications Organization (O.T.E.), Athens
Marcus Wallenberg, Chairman of the Board, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB), Stockholm
Serge Weinberg, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Accor; Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Weinberg Capital Partners; former Chairman of the Management Board, Pinault-Printemps-Redoute; former President, Institute of International and Strategic Studies (IRIS), Paris
*Heinrich Weiss, Chairman, SMS, Düsseldorf; former Chairman, Federation of German Industries, Berlin
Nout Wellink, President, Dutch Central Bank, Amsterdam
Hans Wijers, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Akzo Nobel, Arnhem
Emilio Ybarra, former Chairman, Banco Bilbao-Vizcaya, Madrid
Former Members in Public Service
John Bruton, European Union Ambassador & Head, Delegation of the European Commission to the United States
Lene Espersen, Minister of Justice, Denmark
Toomas Hendrik Ilves, President of the Republic of Estonia, Tallinn
Pedro Solbes, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy and Finances, Spain; former Member of the European Commission
Karsten D. Voigt, Coordinator of German-American Cooperation, Federal Foreign Ministry, Berlin
Pacific Asian Group
Note: Those without city names are Japanese Members.
Korean names are shown with surname first.
Narongchai Akrasanee, Director and Chairman of Board of Executive Directors, Export Import Bank of Thailand; former Minister of Commerce of Thailand; Bangkok
Ali Alatas, Advisor and Special Envoy of the President of the Republic of Indonesia; former Indonesian Minister for Foreign Affairs; Jakarta
Philip Burdon, Former Chairman, Asia 2000 Foundation; New Zealand Chairman, [Image]APEC; former New Zealand Minister of Trade Negotiations; Wellington
Fujio Cho, Chairman, Toyota Motor Corporation
Cho Suck-Rai, Chairman, Hyosung Group, Seoul
Chung Mong-Joon, Member, Korean National Assembly; Vice President, Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA); Seoul
Barry Desker, Dean, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies; Vice Chairman, Singapore Business Federation; Honorary Advisor to the Minister for Trade and Industry, Singapore
Takashi Ejiri, Lawyer, Nishimura Asahi Law Office
Jesus P. Estanislao, Chairman, Institute of Corporate Directors; President and Chief Executive Officer, Institute of Solidarity in Asia, Manila; former Philippine Secretary of Finance
Hugh Fletcher, Chancellor, The University of Auckland; former Chief Executive Officer, Fletcher Challenge
Hiroaki Fujii, Advisor, The Japan Foundation; Chairman, Mori Arts Center; former Japanese Ambassador to the United Kingdom
Shinji Fukukawa, Chairman, TEPIA, The Machine Industry Memorial Foundation
Yoichi Funabashi, Chief Diplomatic Correspondent and Columnist, The Asahi Shimbun
Carrillo Gantner, Director, The Myer Foundation; Melbourne
Ross Garnaut, Professor of Economics, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University, Canberra
*Toyoo Gyohten, President, Institute for International Monetary Affairs; Senior Advisor, The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd.
*Han Sung-Joo, Chairman, The Asan Institute for Policy Studies; former President, Korea University, Seoul; former Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs; former Korean Ambassador to the United States; Pacific Asia Deputy Chairman, Trilateral Commission
*Stuart Harris, Professor of International Relations, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University, Canberra; former Australian Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs
Azman Hashim, Chairman, AmBank Group, Kuala Lumpur
John R. Hewson, Executive Chairman, Elderslie Finance Corporation, Ltd.; Chairman, The John Hewson Group, Sydney; Former Leader of the Federal Opposition, Australia; Special Adviser to the Under Secretary of UNESCAP
Ernest M. Higa, President and CEO, Higa Industries
Hong Seok Hyun, former Chairman and CEO, Joong Ang Ilbo; former Korean Ambassador to the United States; Seoul
Shintaro Hori, Chairman, Bain Capital Japan, Inc.
Murray Horn, Managing Director, Institutional Banking, ANZ (NZ) Ltd., Sydney; Chairman, ANZ Investment Bank; former Parliament Secretary, New Zealand Treasury
Hyun Hong-Choo, Senior Partner, Kim & Chang, Seoul; former Korean Ambassador to the United Nations and to the United States, Seoul
Hyun Jae-Hyun, Chairman, Tong Yang Group, Seoul
Shin’ichi Ichimura, Professor Emeritus, Kyoto University; former Director, International Centre for the Study of East Asian Development, Kitakyushu
Nobuyuki Idei, Chairman of the Advisory Board of Sony Corporation; Board of Directors, Baidu
Noriyuki Inoue, Chairman and CEO, Daikin Industries, Ltd.
Dato Seri Mohamed Jawhar, Chairman and CEO, Institute of Strategic International Studies (ISIS), Malaysia
Motoo Kaji, Professor Emeritus, University of Tokyo
Kasem Kasemsri, Honorary Chairman, Thailand-U.S. Business Council, Bangkok; Chairman, Advisory Board, Chart Thai Party; Chairman, Thai-Malaysian Association; former Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand
Koichi Kato, Member, Japanese House of Representatives; former Secretary-General, Liberal Democratic Party
K. Kesavapany, Director, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore
Kim Kihwan, International Advisor, Goldman Sachs, Asia, Seoul; Chair, Seoul Financial Forum; former Korean Ambassador-at-Large for Economic Affairs
Kim Kyung-Won, President Emeritus, Seoul Forum for International Affairs, Seoul; former Korean Ambassador to the United States and the United Nations; Senior Advisor, Kim & Chang Law Office
Kakutaro Kitashiro, Senior Advisor, IBM Japan, Ltd.; Chairman, KEIZAI DOYUKAI (Japan Association of Corporate Executives)
Shoichiro Kobayashi, Advisor, Kansai Electric Power Company, Ltd.
*Yotaro Kobayashi, Chief Corporate Advisor, Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.; Pacific Asia Chairman, Trilateral Commission
Akira Kojima, Chairman, Japan Center for Economic Research ( JCER )
Koo John, Chairman, LS Cable Ltd.; Chairman, LS Industrial Systems Co.; Seoul
Kenji Kosaka, Member, Japanese House of Representatives; former Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
*Lee Hong-Koo, Chairman, Seoul Forum for International Affairs, Seoul; former Korean Prime Minister; former Korean Ambassador to the United Kingdom and the United States
Lee In-ho, University Professor, Myongji University, Seoul; former President, Korea Foundation; former Korean Ambassador to Finland and Russia
Lee Jay Y., Vice President, Corporate Strategy Office, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Seoul
Lee Kyungsook Choi, President, Sookmyung Women's University, Seoul
Lee Shin-wha, Professor & Director of PEL (Politics, Economics and Law) Program, Department of Political Science and International Relations, Korea University, Seoul
Adrianto Machribie, Chairman, PT Freeport Indonesia, Jakarta
*Minoru Makihara, Senior Corporate Advisor, Mitsubishi Corporation
Hiroshi Mikitani, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Rakuten, Inc.
Yoshihiko Miyauchi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, ORIX Corporation
Isamu Miyazaki, Honorary Advisor, Daiwa Institute of Research, Ltd.; former Director-General of the Japanese Economic Planning Agency
Yuzaburo Mogi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Kikkoman Corporation
Mike Moore, former Director-General, World Trade Organization, Geneva; Member, New Zealand Privy Council, Auckland; former Prime Minister of New Zealand
Hugh Morgan, Principal, First Charnock, Melbourne, Australia
Moriyuki Motono, former President, Foreign Affairs Society; former Japanese Ambassador to France
Jiro Murase, Managing Partner, Bingham McCutchen Murase, New York
*Minoru Murofushi, Counselor, ITOCHU Corporation
Osamu Nagayama, President and CEO, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
Masao Nakamura, President and Chief Executive Officer, NTT Docomo Inc.
Masashi Nishihara, President, Research Institute for Peace and Security
Roberto F. de Ocampo,Chairman, Board of Advisors, RFO Center for Public Finance & Regional Economic Cooperation, Manila; former Philippine Secretary of Finance
Sadako Ogata, President, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA); former United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
*Shijuro Ogata, former Deputy Governor, Japan Development Bank; former Deputy Governor for International Relations, Bank of Japan; Pacific Asia Deputy Chairman, Trilateral Commission
Sozaburo Okamatsu, President, Industrial Property Cooperation Center; former Chairman, Research Institute of Economy, Trade & Industry (RIETI)
*Yoshio Okawara, President, Institute for International Policy Studies; former Japanese Ambassador to the United States
Yoichi Okita, Professor, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies
Ariyoshi Okumura, Chairman, Lotus Corporate Advisory, Inc.
Anand Panyarachun, Chairman, Thai Industrial Federation; Chairman, Saha-Union Public Company, Ltd.; former Prime Minister of Thailand; Bangkok
Ryu Jin Roy, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Poongsan Corp., Seoul
Eisuke Sakakibara, Professor, Waseda University; former Japanese Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs
SaKong Il, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Institute for Global Economics, Seoul; former Korean Minister of Finance
Yoshiyasu Sato, Advisor, Tokyo Electric Power Co. Ltd.; former Japanese Ambassador to China
Yukio Satoh, President, The Japan Institute of International Affairs; former Japanese Ambassador to the United Nations
Sachio Semmoto, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, EMOBILE, Ltd.
Masahide Shibusawa, President, Shibusawa Ei’ichi Memorial Foundation
Yasuhisa Shiozaki, Former Chief Cabinet Secretary; former Senior Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs; Member, Japanese House of Representatives; former Parliamentary Vice Minister for Finance
Arifin Siregar, Chairman of the Governing Board, Indonesian Council on World Affairs (ICWA); former International Advisor, Goldman Sachs (Pacific Asia) LLC; former Ambassador of Indonesia to the United States; Jakarta
Jacob Soetoyo, Director and Shareholder of P.T.Gesit Maju Corporation; Jakarta
Shigemitsu Sugisaki, Vice Chairman, Goldman Sachs Japan Co., Ltd.; former Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund ([Image]IMF)
Tsuyoshi Takagi, President, JTUC-Rengo (Japanese Trade Union Confederation)
Keizo Takemi,Former Member, Japanese House of Councillors; former State Secretary for Foreign Affairs; former Vice Minister for Health, Labour and Welfare, Tokyo; Research Fellow, Harvard School of Public
Akihiko Tanaka, Professor, University of Tokyo
Hitoshi Tanaka, Senior Fellow, Japan Center for International Exchange; former Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs
Naoki Tanaka, President, Center for International Public Policy Studies
Teh Kok Peng, President, GIC Special Investments Private Ltd., Singapore
Kiyoshi Tsugawa, Executive Adviser & Member of Japan Advisory Board, Lehman Brothers Japan, Inc.; Member of the Board, Aozora Bank
Junichi Ujiie, Chairman, Nomura Holdings, Inc.
Sarasin Viraphol, Executive Vice President, Charoen Pokphand Co., Ltd., Bangkok; former Deputy Permanent Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Thailand
Cesar E. A. Virata, Corporate Vice Chairman and Acting Chief Executive Officer, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC), Manila; former Prime Minister of Philippines
*Jusuf Wanandi, Vice Chairman, Board of Trustees, Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Jakarta
Etsuya Washio, President, The Foundation for Workers Welfare and Cooperative Insurance; former President, Japanese Trade Union Confederation (RENGO)
Koji Watanabe, Senior Fellow, Japan Center for International Exchange; former Japanese Ambassador to Russia
Osamu Watanabe, Executive Vice President, Japan Petroleum Exploration Co., Ltd.
Taizo Yakushiji, Executive Member, Council for Science and Technology Policy of the Cabinet Office of Japan
Tadashi Yamamoto, President, Japan Center for International Exchange; Pacific Asia Director, Trilateral Commission
Noriyuki Yonemura, Chairman, Japan Small and Medium Enterprise Management Consultants Association
Former Members in Public Service
Hisashi Owada, Judge, International Court of Justice
Participants from Other Areas
“Triennium Participants”
André Azoulay, Adviser to H.M. King Mohammed VI, Rabat, Morocco
Morris Chang, Chairman, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Taipei, Taiwan
Omar Davies, Member of the Jamaican Parliament and Opposition Spokesman on Finance, Kingston, Jamaica; former Minister of Finance and Planning
Hüsnü Dogan, General Coordinator, Nurol Holding; former Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Development Foundation of Turkey; former Minister of Defence, Ankara, Turkey
Alejandro Foxley, Chilean Minister of Foreign Affairs, Valparaiso, Chile
Jacob A. Frenkel, Vice Chairman, American International Group, Inc. (AIG) and Chairman, AIG's Global Economic Strategies Group, New York, NY; Chairman, Group of Thirty; former Chairman, Merrill Lynch International London; former Governor, Bank of Israel
Victor K. Fung, Chairman, Li & Fung; Chairman, Prudential Asia Ltd., Hong Kong
Frene Ginwala, former Speaker of the National Assembly, Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, Cape Town, South Africa
H.R.H. Prince El Hassan bin Talal, President, The Club of Rome; Moderator of the World Conference on Religion and Peace; Chairman, Arab Thought Forum, Amman, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Ricardo Hausmann, Professor of the Practice of Economic Development, Center for International Development, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA; former Chief Economist, Inter-American Development Bank; former Venezuelan Minister of Planning and Member of the Board of the Central Bank of Venezuela
Sergei Karaganov, Dean, School of World Economics and International Affairs, State University–Higher School of Economics; Chairman, Presidium of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy; Chairman, Editorial Board, “Russia in Global Affairs,” Moscow
Jeffrey L.S. Koo, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Chinatrust Investment, Bank, Taipei, Taiwan
Richard Li, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Pacific Century Group Holdings Ltd., Hong Kong
Ricardo Lopez Murphy, Visiting Research Fellow, Latin American Economic Research Foundation, Buenos Aires, Argentina; former Argentinian Finance Minister and Defence Minister
Andrónico Luksic Craig, Vice Chairman, Banco de Chile, Santiago, Chile
Qin Yaqing, Vice President, China Foreign Affairs University, Beijing, China; Vice President, China National Association for International Studies
Itamar Rabinovich, Ettinger Chair of Contemporary Middle Eastern History, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel; Charles and Andrea Bronfman Distinguished Fellow at the Saban Center, The Brookings Institution; Distinguished Global Professor at New York University; Visiting Professor, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University; former Ambassador to the United States
Rüsdü Saracoglu, President of the Finance Group, Koç Holding; Chairman, Makro Consulting, Istanbul, Turkey; former State Minister and Member of the Turkish Parliament; former Governor of the Central Bank of Turkey
Roberto Egydio Setubal, President and Chief Executive Officer, Banco Itaú S.A. and Banco Itaú Holding Financeira S.A., Sao Paulo, Brazil
Stan Shih, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Acer Group, Taipei, Taiwan
Wang Jisi, Dean, School of International Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China
Gordon Wu, Chairman and Managing Director, Hopewell Holdings Ltd., Hong Kong
Wu Jianmin, President, China Foreign Affairs University; Executive Vice President, China National Association for International Studies, Beijing, China
Grigory A. Yavlinsky, Chairman and Co-Founder of the Russian Democratic Party “Yabloko” and former Member of the State Duma; Chairman of the Center for Economic and Political Research, Moscow, Russian Federation
Yu Xintian, President, Shanghai Institute for International Studies, Shanghai, China
Yuan Ming, Vice Dean, School of International Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China
Zhang Yunling, Director, Academic Division of International Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), Beijing, China
MUST READ - Chomsky on Oil & Israel Lobby
M. Shahid Alam Jan 30, 2009
In the slow evolution of US relations with Israel since 1948, as the latter mutated from a strategic liability to a strategic asset, Israel and its Jewish allies in the United States have always occupied the driver’s seat.
President Truman had shepherded the creation of Israel in 1947 not because the American establishment saw it as a strategic asset; this much is clear. "No one," writes Cheryl Rubenberg, "not even the Israelis themselves, argues that the United States supported the creation of the Jewish state for reasons of security or national interest."(1) Domestic politics, in an election year, was the primary force behind President Truman’s decision to support the creation of Israel. In addition, the damage to US interests due to the creation of Israel -- although massive -- was not immediate. This was expected to unfold slowly: and its first blows would be borne by the British who were still the paramount power in the region.
Nevertheless, soon after he had helped to create Israel, President Truman moved decisively to appear to distance the United States from the new state. Instead of committing American troops to protect Israel, when it fought against five Arab armies, he imposed an even-handed arms embargo on both sides in the conflict. Had Israel been dismantled [at birth], President Truman would have urged steps to protect the Jewish colonists in Palestine, but he would have accepted a premature end to the Zionist state as fait accompli. Zionist pressures failed to persuade President Truman to lift the arms embargo. Ironically, military deliveries from Czechoslovakia may have saved the day for Israel.
Once Israel had defeated the armies of Arab protostates and expelled the Palestinians to emerge as an exclusively Jewish colonialsettler state in 1949, these brute facts would work in its favor. Led by the United States, the Western powers would recognize Israel, aware that they would have to defend this liability. At the same time, the humiliation of defeat had given an impetus to Arab nationalists across the region, who directed their anger against Israel and its Western sponsors.
This placed Israel in a strong position to accelerate its transformation into a strategic asset. In tandem with the Jewish lobby in the United States, Israel sought to maximize the assistance it could receive from the West through policies that stoked Arab nationalism; and as Israel’s military superiority grew this emboldened it to increase its aggressive posture towards the Arabs. Israel had the power to set in motion a vicious circle that would soon create the Arab threat against which it would defend the West. As a result, at various points during the 1950s, France, the United States, and Britain began to regard Israel as a strategic asset.
America’s embrace of Israel did not begin in 1967. Israel’s victory in the June War only accelerated a process that had been underway since its creation -- even before its creation. Indeed, the Zionists had decided in 1939 to pursue the United States as their new mother country; they knew that they could use the very large and influential population of American Jews to win official US backing for their goals.
This paid off handsomely in 1948; but thereafter, the United States sought to contain the damage that would flow from the creation of Israel. However, these efforts would be selfdefeating; the die had been cast. Israel -- not the United States -- was in the driver’s seat; and Israel would seek to maximize the negative fallout from its creation. As Israel succeeded in augmenting -- within limits -- the Arab threat to itself and the United States, the Jewish lobby would regain confidence; it would reorganize to reinforce Israel’s claim that it was now a strategic asset.
We have here another vicious circle -- virtuous, for Israel. The Jewish lobby would gain strength as the Arabcum-Soviet threat to the Middle East grew. When Israel scaled back the Arab threat in 1967, the Jewish lobby would step in to spend the political capital the Jewish state had garnered in the United States. The Israeli capture of Jerusalem in 1967 also energized the Christian Zionists, who, with encouragement from Jewish Zionists, would organize, enter into Republican politics, and soon become a major ally of the Jewish lobby. The sky was now the limit for Israel and the Zionists in the United States. The special relationship would become more special under every new presidency.
Several writers on the American left have pooh-poohed the charge that the Jewish lobby has been a leading force shaping America’s Middle East policy. They argue that the United States has supported Israel because of the convergence of their interests in the region. (2) Oil, primarily Saudi Arabian oil, they maintain correctly, is "a stupendous source of strategic power, and one of the greatest material prizes in world history."(3] Incorrectly, however, they insist that this is what has driven US policy towards the Middle East.
A priori, this is an odd position to maintain, since Britain -- up until 1948 -- had managed quite well to maintain complete control over Middle Eastern oil, a dominance the United States could not sustain ‘despite’ the ‘strategic support’ of Israel. Successively, they argue, Western control over oil came under threat from Arab nationalism and militant Islamism. Israel has demonstrated its strategic value by holding in check and, later, defeating, the Arab nationalist challenge. Since then, Israel has fought the Islamist challenge to US hegemony over the region.
It may be useful to examine Noam Chomsky’s analysis of this relationship, since he enjoys iconic status amongst both liberal and leftists in the United States. Chomsky frames his analysis of ‘causal factors’ behind the special relationship as essentially a choice between "domestic pressure groups" and "US strategic interests." He finds two limitations in the argument that the "American Jewish community" is the chief protagonist of the special relationship between Israel and the United States.
First, "it underestimates the scope of the "support for Israel," and second, it overestimates the role of political pressure groups in decision-making." Chomsky points out that the Israel lobby is "far broader" than the American Jewish community; it embraces liberal opinion, labor leaders, Christian fundamentalists, conservative hawks, and "fervent cold warriors of all stripes."(4) While this broader definition of the Israel lobby is appropriate, and this is what most users of the term have in mind, Chomsky thinks that the presence of this "far broader" support for Israel diminishes the role that American Jews play in this lobby.
Two hidden assumptions underpin Chomsky’s claim that a broader Israel lobby shifts the locus of lobbying to non-Jewish groups. First, he fails to account for the strong overlap -- barring the Christian fundamentalists -- between the American Jewish community and the other domestic pressure groups he enumerates. In the United States, this overlap has existed since the early decades of the twentieth century, and increased considerably in the post-War period. It is scarcely to be doubted that Jews hold -- and deservedly so -- a disproportionate share of the leadership positions in corporations, the labor movement, and those professions that shape public discourse. Starting in the 1980s, the ascendancy of Jewish neoconservatives -- together with their think tanks - gave American Jews an equally influential voice in conservative circles. Certainly, the weight of Jewish neoconservative opinion during the early years of President Bush -- both inside and outside his administration -- has been second to that of none. The substantial Jewish presence in the leadership circles of the other pressure groups undermines Chomsky’s contention that the pro-Israeli group is "far broader" than the American Jewish community.
There is a second problem with Chomsky’s argument. Implicitly, he assumes that the different proIsraeli groups have existed, acted and evolved independently of each other; alternatively, the impact of the lobbying efforts of these groups is merely additive. This ignores the galvanizing role that Jewish organizations have played in mobilizing Gentile opinion behind the Zionist project. The activism of the American Jews -- as individuals and groups - has operated at several levels. Certainly, the leaders of the Zionist movement have directed a large part of their energies to lobbying at the highest levels of official decision-making. At the same time, they have created, and they orchestrate, a layered network of Zionist organizations who have worked very hard to create support for their aims in the broader American civil society.
American Jews have worked through several channels to influence civil society. As growing numbers of American Jews embraced Zionist goals during the 1940s, as their commitment to Zionism deepened, this forced the largest Jewish organizations to embrace Zionist goals. In addition, since their earliest days, the Zionists have created the organizations, allies, networks and ideas that would translate into media, congressional and presidential support for the Zionist project. In addition, since Jewish Americans made up a growing fraction of the activists and leaders in various branches of civil society -- the labor, civil rights and feminist movements -- it was natural that the major organs of civil society came to embrace Zionist aims. It makes little sense, then, to maintain that the proIsraeli positions of mainstream American organizations had emerged independently of the activism of the American Jewish community.
Does our contention fail in the case of the Christian Evangelicals because of the absence of Jews in their ranks? In this case, the movement has received the strongest impetus from the ingathering of Jews that has proceeded in Israel since the late nineteenth century. The dispensationalist stream within Protestant Christians in the United States -- who believe that the ingathering of Jews in Israel will precede the Second Coming -- has been energized by every Zionist success on the ground. They have viewed these successes - the launching of Zionism, the Balfour Declaration, the creation of Israel, the capture of Jerusalem, ‘Judea’ and ‘Samaria’ in 1967 -- as so many confirmations of their dispensationalist eschatology. The movement expanded with every Zionist victory. At the same time, it would be utterly naïve to rule out direct relations between the Zionists and the leaders of the evangelical movement. The Zionists have rarely shrunk from accepting support even when it has come from groups with unedifying beliefs.
Noam Chomsky raises a second objection against the ability of the Jewish lobby to influence policy on its own steam. "No pressure group," he maintains, "will dominate access to public opinion or maintain consistent influence over policymaking unless its aims are close to those of elite elements with real power (emphases added)."(5) One problem with this argument is easily stated. It pits the Jewish lobby as one "pressure group" -- amongst many -- arrayed against all the others that hold the real power. This equation of the Jewish lobby with a narrowly defined "pressure group" is misleading. We have argued -- a position that is well supported by the evidence -- that Jewish protagonists of Zionism have worked through many different channels to influence public opinion, the composition of political classes, and political decisions. They work through the organs that shape public opinion to determine what Americans know about Israel, how they think about Israel, and what they can say about it. This is no little Cuban lobby, Polish lobby or Korean lobby. Once we recognize the scale of financial resources the Jewish lobby commands, the array of political forces it can mobilize, and the tools it commands to direct public opinion on the Middle East, we would shrink from calling it a lobby.
Chomsky quickly proceeds to undermine his own argument about "elite elements with real power." He explains that the "[elite] elements are not uniform in interests or (in the case of shared interests) in tactical judgments; and on some issues, such as this one [policy towards Israel], they have often been divided."(6) Yet, despite the differences in their interests, their tactics, and their divisions, Chomsky maintains that these "elite elements" have "real power." Oddly, these "divided" elites -- whoever they are -- exercise the power of veto over the multifaceted Jewish lobby with its deep pockets, hierarchical organizations, and influence over key organs of civil society, campaign contributions, popular votes, etc.
Chomsky’s argument shifts again -- a second time in the same para-graph -- away from "elite elements" to "America’s changing conceptions of its politicalstrategic interests" in the Middle East.(6) This suggests a new theory of the chief determinant of US policy towards Israel. At the heart of these "political-strategic interests" is the oil wealth of the Middle East -- and the twin threats to American control over this oil wealth from Arab nationalists and the Soviets. Presumably, Israel protects these "political-strategic interests" by holding the Arabs and the Soviets at bay. Chomsky conveniently forgets that the Arab nationalist threat to US interests in the Middle East was -- in large part -- the product of Israel’s insertion into the region, its ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, and its aggressive posture towards Arabs since its creation. It is unnecessary to account for the Soviet threat, since they entered the region on the back of Arab nationalist discontent. Indeed, had Israel never been created, it is more than likely that all the states in the Middle East -- just like Turkey and Pakistan -- would have remained firmly within the Western sphere of influence.
This argument fails because it ignores history. Starting in 1933, American oil corporations -- who later merged to form Aramco -- gained exclusive rights to explore, produce and market Saudi oil. Saudi Arabia first acquired a 25 percent ownership stake in Aramco in 1973. Had there emerged an Arab nationalist threat to US control over Saudi oil in the 1950s -- in the absence of Israel -- the United States could have handled it by establishing one or more military bases in Saudi Arabia or, preferably, in one of the Emirates, since American military presence in Saudi Arabia might inflame Islamic sentiments. Far from helping entrench American control of Saudi oil, Israel, by radicalizing Arab nationalism, gave Saudi Arabia the excuse to first gain a 25 percent stake in Aramco and then nationalize it in 1988.
Chomsky claims that the United States was committed to winning and keeping the "stupendous" oil prize. This claim is not supported by the results that America’s Middle Eastern policy has produced on the ground over the years. If the United States was indeed committed to this goal, it would have pursued a Middle East policy that could be expected to maximize -- with the lowest risks of failure -- the access of US oil corporations to exploration, production and distribution rights over oil in this region. This is not the case.
In creating, aiding and arming Israel, the United States has followed a policy that could easily have been foreseen to produce, as it did produce, exactly the opposite effects. It gave a boost to Arab nationalism, radicalized it, and led within a few years to the Arab nationalist take-over of three of the four key states in the Arab world. In turn, this contributed to the nationalization of oil wealth even in those Arab countries that remained clients of the United States, not to speak of countries that were taken over by Arab nationalists , who excluded the US oil corporations from this industry altogether. In addition, America’s Middle Eastern policy converted the Middle East into a leading arena of wars. It also became a source of deep tensions between the US and the Soviets, since US partisanship of Israel forced the Arab nationalist regimes to ally themselves with the Soviet Union. In the October War of 1973, the United States provoked the Arab nations -- because of its decision to re-supply the Israeli army during the war -- to impose a costly oil embargo against the United States. In opposition to the pleadings of its oil corporations, the United States has also prevented them from doing business with three oil-producing nations in the Middle East -- Iran, Iraq and Libya.(8)
If oil had been driving America’s Middle East policy, we should have seen the fingerprints of the oil lobby all over this policy. In recent decades, according to Mearsheimer and Walt, the oil lobby has directed its efforts "almost entirely on their commercial interests rather than on broader aspects of foreign policy." They focus most of their lobbying efforts on getting the best deals on tax policies, government regulations, drilling rights, etc. Even the AIPAC bears witness to this. In the early 1980s, Morris J. Amitay, former executive director of AIPAC, noted, "We rarely see them [oil corporations] lobbying on foreign policy issues…In a sense, we have the field to ourselves."(9)
Why does it matter whether it is oil or the Jewish lobby that determines US policy towards Israel and the Middle East?
The answer to this question has important consequences. It will determine who is in charge, and, therefore, who should be targeted by people who oppose Israel’s war mongering and its destruction of Palestinian society. If US policy is driven by America’s strategic interests -- and Israel is a strategic US asset -- opposing this policy will not be easy. If Israel keeps the oil flowing, keeps it cheap, and keeps down the Arabs and Islamists -- all this for a few billion dollars a year -- that is a bargain. In this case, opponents of this policy face an uphill task. Sure, they can document the immoral consequences of this policy -- as Noam Chomsky and others do. Such moral arguments, however, will not cut much ice. What are the chances that Americans can be persuaded to sacrifice their "stupendous prize" because it kills a few tens of thousands of Arabs?
On the other hand, if the Jewish lobby drives US policy towards the Middle East, there is some room for optimism. Most importantly, the opponents of this policy have to dethrone the reigning paradigm, which claims that Israel is a strategic asset. In addition, it is necessary to focus attention on each element of the real costs - economic, political and moral -- that Israel imposes on the United States. Winning these intellectual arguments will be half the battle won; this will persuade growing numbers of Americans to oppose a policy because it hurts them. Simultaneously, those who seek justice for the Palestinians must organize to oppose the power of the Israel lobby and take actions that force Israel to bear the moral, economic and political consequences of its destructive policies in the Middle East.
References
(1) "Virtually every professional in the foreign affairs bureaucracy, including the secretaries of state and war (later, defense) and the joint chiefs of staff, opposed the creation of Israel from the standpoint of US national interests (Rubenberg: 1986, 9-10)."
(2) For criticisms of Chomsky, see James Petras, The Power of Israel in the United States (Atlanta: Clarity Press, 2006): 168-81; and Jeff Blankfort, Damage control: Noam Chomsky and the Israeli-Palestine conflict.
(3) This assessment comes from a 1945 report of the State Department (Chom-sky: 1999, 17).
(4) Noam Chomsky, Fateful triangle: 13.
(5) Noam Chomsky, Fateful triangle: 17.
(6) Noam Chomsky, Fateful triangle:: 17.
(7) Noam Chomsky, Fateful triangle:: 17.
(8) Mearsheimer and Walt, The Israel lobby and US foreign policy (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006): 143.
(9) Mearsheimer and Walt, The Israel lobby: 145.
M. Shahid Alam is professor of economics at Northeastern University. He is author of Challenging the New Orientalism (2007). Send comments to alqalam02760--at--yahoo.com
Visit the author’s website at http://aslama.org.
www.theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/chomsky_on_oil_and_the_israel_lobby/0017166
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
HELP!! Massacre in Progress!! DO SOMETHING!
TRO Vanni appeals to the people of Tamil Nadu, the Government of India, the international community and international humanitarian organizations for the immediate delivery of medical supplies by land, sea or air within the next 24 hours.
Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation
Head Office: 254 Jaffna Road, Kilinochchi, Sri Lanka Ph/Fax: +94 (0) 21 228 3947
Tamils murdered by bombing
26 January 2009
Over the last 24 hours over 300 civilians who were awaiting relief and medical assistance within the “Safety Zone” declared by the Government of Sri Lanka have been killed and several thousand injured in Udaiyaarkaddu, Suthanthirapuram, and Vallipuram in the Mullaitivu District by Sri Lanka Army multi-barrel artillery and mortar shelling by the Sri Lanka armed forces.
TRO Vanni is making an URGENT APPEAL to the people of Tamil Nadu, the Government of India, the Royal Norwegian Government, the international community, international humanitarian organizations and the United Nations for the immediate delivery of medical supplies and medical teams to the hospitals in the Vanni.
These medical supplies must arrive within the next 24 hours if the lives of these injured are to be saved. If these supplies do not arrive immediately there will be a nitarian catastrophe of enormous proportions and hundreds more will die.
The heavy shelling and bombing has caused terror in the civilian population and many have run into the jungles seeking refuge. Many of these people are injured and are in dire need of assistance.
Medical personnel and volunteers are unable to access these areas due to continuous shelling. All of the hospitals in the Vanni, Kilinochchi Hospital and Mullaitivu Hospital, have been displaced and are functioning in schools or other public buildings. These displaced hospitals have been stretched to their limit due to the continuous bombing and shelling of the Vanni over the past few months.
The injured have no access to medical supplies and there are not enough doctors and other medical staff available to treat the population.
The continuing indiscriminate aerial bombardment and shelling by the Sri Lanka armed forces has caused immense destruction and suffering, which has been exacerbated by the Government of Sri Lanka’s draconian embargoes on supplies of food, medicine, fuel, tents, tarpaulins, and other humanitarian relief items to the people. The attacks and the embargoes comprise a callous effort to drive the population of the Vanni, on pain of death and injury, into military-controlled areas.
TRO Vanni appeals to the people of Tamil Nadu, the Government of India, the international community and international humanitarian organizations for the immediate delivery of medical supplies by land, sea or air within the next 24 hours.
Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation
Head Office: 254 Jaffna Road, Kilinochchi, Sri Lanka Ph/Fax: +94 (0) 21 228 3947
On April 20, a roadside bomb set off by government soldiers in rebel-held territory in Sri Lanka killed a Roman Catholic priest who was also a human rights activist. Reverend MX Karunaratnam accused the government of committing serious human rights violations in its military campaign against the Tamil Tigers.
gravely concerned following the killing of human rights defender Rev. Fr. M X Karunaratnam, Chairperson of the NorthEast Secretariat on Human Rights (NESoHR), in Vanni on 20 April 2008. NESoHR is a local, independent human rights monitoring body in the North East of Sri Lanka.
Further Information
Posted 20/05/2008 On 20 April 2008, at approximately 12:30pm, Rev. Fr. M X Karunaratnam was killed in a claymore anti-personel mine attack on Mallaavi-Vavunikku'lam Road in Vanni. Rev. Fr. M X Karunaratnam used the road regularly to get to his residential prayer and counselling centre in Vavunikku'lam. His vehicle was known publicly.
On this occasion he was on his way to a remembrance event for Mr Sivanesan, an MP for the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), who was reportedly also killed in a claymore anti-personel mine attack on 6 March 2008. Rev. Fr. M X Karunaratnam's car had broken down and he was steering it whilst being towed. The car which was towing him was not targeted.
Some reports have claimed that the Deep Penetration Unit of the Sri Lankan army was responsible for these killings. Front Line is calling for an immediate, exhaustive, and impartial investigation into the killing of Rev. Fr. M X Karunaratnam.
In a recent report Rev. Fr. M X Karunaratnam called for a United Nations body to be established to monitor human rights violations in Sri Lanka. He added that Sri Lanka's human rights record was totally unacceptable and that there had been many adverse reports on human rights violations against Tamils.
Wickramatunga is the latest in a long line of Sri Lankan journalists who have been murdered or silenced over the past two decades.
M. X. Karunaratnam was born in Jaffna.He was a officer with the Bank of Ceylon before he was opdained as a priest in 1989.Father Karunaratnam was founder and Chairman of NESHOR.He was also the Chairman of NGO Consortium of Jaffna.He was engaged in relief work for War displaced and worked in the Tsunami relief.
M. X. Karunaratnam was a priest of the Jaffna Diocese and served in the Vanni region of Sri Lanka and worked from the LTTE controlled parts of Sri Lanka. He worked for human rights and called on the United Nations and foreign human rights organisation to monitor the human rights situation in Sri Lanka . [7][8][9] [10]Earlier two other NESHOR members and Tamil National Alliance MPs Ariyanayagam Chandra Nehru and Joseph Pararajasingham were killed.He was extremely critical of the Sri Lankan government.
He was killed in the Mallaavi-Vavunikku'lam Road in Vanni after he was returning from a Sunday mass and going to a remembrance ceremony for a Tamil National Alliance MP a pro LTTE party Kiddinan Sivanesan who was also killed similar fashion.He killed by a claymore blast carried out allegedly by a Deep Penetration Unit (DPU) of the Sri Lanka Army.
http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,USDOS,,LKA,,48d5cbf9c,0.html
2008 Report on International Religious Freedom - Sri Lanka
Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
In April 2008 the Bishop of Mannar moved the historical statue of Our Lady of Madhu from Madhu Church to St. Xavier's Church in Thevanpiddy to protect it from increasing hostilities between government security forces and the LTTE in the area. The Bishop of Mannar asked the Government and the LTTE to stay at least 1.2 miles away from the church to enable civilian access.
In April 2008 Pastor Huthin Manohar from Mannar was released from custody after 48 days in detention. Manohar's name was given to police by Pastor Nahulan from the Foursquare Church who was arrested in February for transporting LTTE equipment and explosives in his van. Police appear to be investigating all pastors who may have been closely associated with Nahulan or who may have used his van. Six other pastors from the Foursquare Church were arrested and later released.
In April 2008 a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) claymore antipersonnel mine allegedly killed the Chairman of the North East Secretariat on Human Rights, Father M. X. Karunaratnam, in Vanni (Northern Province).
In March 2008 the Foursquare Gospel Church in Kelaniya, Gampaha District was informed by the Chairman of the Pradeshiya Sabha that the approvals for constructing a new church building were revoked and that work must stop immediately. No reason was given for the reversal.
In January 2008 UNP parliamentarian T. Maheswaran was killed at a Hindu temple in Kotahena. The main suspect is a former member of Maheswaran's security detail who has connections to the progovernment Tamil party Eelam's People Democratic Party. However, the Inspector General of Police stated the LTTE was responsible.
In October 2007 the bodies of Vavuniya Pastor Victor Yogarajan and his two sons were found buried near Negombo. The three had been missing since March 2007.
In September 2007 an SLA claymore mine killed Father Nicholaspillai Packiyaranjit, Mannar Coordinator of Jesuit Refugee Service, in Mannar.
In September 2007 unidentified men abducted, severely abused, and killed Hindu priest Subramaniasharma Ketheswara Kurukkal in Jaffna as he was traveling to visit relatives. His body was found on the road.
In September 2007 the chief monk of the Boddhirukkaramaya Temple led a protest against expansion work being performed on a Catholic church just north of Colombo. Protesters demanded that construction stop immediately, warning lives would be otherwise lost. A judge told Father Susith Silva to suspend the church expansion. In October 2007 police interrupted mass at the same church and sent worshipers home. The chief monk stated that Buddhists in the area do not want a church nearby and would not allow the building to proceed.
In April 2007 an exchange of fire between the Sri Lanka Navy and a group of youths during a cordon and search operation killed Hindu priest Ratnasabapathy Aiyar Somaskantha in Velanai, Jaffna.
In January 2007 government security forces shot and killed Reverend Nallathamby Gnanaseelan of the Tamil Mission Church of Jaffna.
In August 2006 Father Thiruchchelvan Nihal Jim Brown and his assistant, Wenceslaus Vinces Vimalathas, disappeared after six armed men followed them from a security forces checkpoint near a predominantly Catholic neighborhood near the Jaffna peninsula. In March 2007 local press reported that DNA tests confirmed Father Brown's death; however, in June 2007 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated the opposite.
In August 2006 government troops were accused of firing into Philip Nerean Church in Allapiddy, Kayts Island (Northern Province), Father Jim Brown's church. Approximately 30 civilians died.
In June 2006 in Pesalai, government troops were accused of opening fire at a Christian church where hundreds of civilians, including both Christian and Hindu Tamils, were seeking shelter from an exchange of fire between the Government and the LTTE.
In May 2006 eight Tamil men were abducted from a Hindu temple in the north as they were decorating the temple for a religious festival. Eyewitnesses claimed the eight men were taken away by Army personnel. However, at the end of the reporting period, no action had been taken by the Human Rights Commission in Jaffna in response to petitions filed with the UN Special Rapporteur for Extra-Judicial Killings by the next of kin of the abducted. The whereabouts of the missing individuals remained unknown.
In 2005 Joseph Pararajasingham, a Member of Parliament for the pro-LTTE Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and a Christian, was assassinated while attending midnight mass at a church in Batticaloa in the east.
Wickramatunga
He also blames Sri Lanka's [[Deep State]] with his murder and regular [[Gladio]]-style bombing of its own citizens.{{citeweb|url= http://u2r2h-documents.blogspot.com/2009/01/bbc-censors-deep-state-example.html|title= BBC actor reading Wickramatunga's last article (audio download and transcript) }}