The 2013 Bilderberg Conference took place June 6–9, 2013, at The Grove hotel in

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

, Hertfordshire, England. It was the first

Bilderberg Group The Bilderberg meeting (also known as the Bilderberg Group) is an annual off-the-record conference established in 1954 to foster dialogue between Europe and North America. The group's agenda, originally to prevent another world war, is now defin ...

conference to be held in the United Kingdom since the 1998 meeting in Turnberry, Scotland. The_Grove_and_golf_course,_Watford_-_geograph

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' likened the annual conference to "a political version of the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...

in Davos, Switzerland, which draws members of high society to discuss business and the economy." A British Member of Parliament and former Bilderberg attendee quoted by the ''

Independent on Sunday ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' also likened the annual conference to the World Economic Forum, and said it was "...not that exciting, in fact it's a bit run of the mill". Around 140 participants are expected to participate in the meetings annually. Attendance to the event is by invitation only. No delegates pay to attend the conferences, and no delegates attend by conference phone or satellite. The conference programme never includes entertainment or performances. The confidential nature of Bilderberg led to criticism of the group's lack of transparency and accountability, along with concerns about potential lobbying. Outside the 2013 meeting, Labour MP

Michael Meacher Michael Hugh Meacher (4 November 1939 – 21 October 2015) was a British politician who served as a government minister under Harold Wilson, James Callaghan and Tony Blair. A member of the Labour Party, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for ...

said, "If there is any conference which required transparency, which required democratic accountability, it is the Bilderberg conference because this is really where the top brass of Western finance capitalism meet ... including government ministers." Conservative MP

Douglas Carswell John Douglas Wilson Carswell (born 3 May 1971) is a British former politician who served as a Member of Parliament from 2005 to 2017, co-founded Vote Leave and currently serves as president and CEO of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy. ...

was also concerned about the privacy of the meetings, by saying "...you would have thought the least our ruling elite could do is discuss these issues in public." There has also been speculation from conspiracy theorists about the purpose of the meetings. The secretive approach to staging the conferences has led to the younger generation of Bilderberg attendees being uncomfortable with the policy of total media exclusion, as reported by the ''Independent on Sunday''. A previous attendee told the ''Independent'' that he sympathised with "those who tell us the confidentiality policy only encourages the conspiracy theorists. It does." Of the format and outcome of the conference, the Bilderberg website said, "There is no detailed agenda, no resolutions are proposed, no votes are taken, and no policy statements are issued." A Bilderberg Fringe Festival was held near the conference. The festival featured speakers, comedy, music, workshops, arts and entertainment. The

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern pr ...

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...

, attended the conference on 7 June. Cameron attended in a private capacity and was not accompanied by civil servants, even though it is customary for the Prime Minister to be accompanied by civil servants when he meets business leaders.

Press coverage

Journalists were banned from attending the event, with the exception of

Lilli Gruber Dietlinde "Lilli" Gruber (born 19 April 1957) is an Italian journalist and former politician. Currently a talk show host for Italian private television channel La7, Gruber also served as Member of the European Parliament from 2004 to September ...

, although a press office was provided by the

. The group is represented by a German corporate communications firm. The meeting was well covered by the British media, with frequent Bilderberg writer

Charlie Skelton Charlie Skelton is a comedy writer, journalist, artist and actor from Suffolk, England. Early work A University of Oxford graduate, he started out as a journalist, writing features for the ''Evening Standard'' and ''The Guardian''. Career Ske ...

noting the presence of

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

, the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

Channel 4 News ''Channel 4 News'' is the main news programme on British television broadcaster Channel 4. It is produced by ITN, and has been in operation since Channel 4's launch in November 1982. Current productions ''Channel 4 News'' ''Channel 4 News'' ...

, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' and the

Press Association PA Media (formerly the Press Association) is a multimedia news agency, and the national news agency of the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is part of PA Media Group Limited, a private company with 26 shareholders, most of whom are national and re ...

Agenda

A list of key topics for discussion at the 2013 Bilderberg conference was published on the Bilderberg website shortly before the meeting. Topics for discussion included: * "Can the U.S. and Europe grow faster and create jobs?" * "Jobs, entitlement and debt" * "How big data is changing almost everything" * "Nationalism and populism" * "U.S. foreign policy" * "Africa's challenges" * "Cyber warfare and the proliferation of asymmetric threats" * "Major trends in medical research" * "Online education: promise and impacts" * "Politics of the European Union" * "Developments in the Middle East"

Delegates (alphabetical)

For the first time, a list of expected delegates was published by the Bilderberg Group. *

Paul Achleitner Paul M. Achleitner (born 28 September 1956, in Linz) is an Austrian businessman who served as chairman of the supervisory board of Deutsche Bank from 2012 to 2022. Education Achleitner studied Business Administration, Economics, Law and Social Sc ...

, Chairman of the Supervisory Board,

Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (), sometimes referred to simply as Deutsche, is a German multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Sto ...

Josef Ackermann Josef Meinrad Ackermann (born 7 February 1948) is a Swiss banker, former Chairman of the Bank of Cyprus, and former chief executive officer of Deutsche Bank. He has also been a member of the influential Washington-based financial advisory body, th ...

, Chairman of the Board,

Zurich Insurance Group Zurich Insurance Group Ltd is a Swiss insurance company, headquartered in Zürich, and the country's largest insurer. As of 2021, the group is the world's 112th largest public company according to ''Forbes'' Global 2000s list, and in 2011 it ran ...

Marcus Agius Marcus Ambrose Paul Agius (; born 22 July 1946) is a British financier and former group chairman of Barclays. Early life and education Marcus Agius was born on 22 July 1946, the son of Ena Eleanora (née Hueffer) and Lieutenant Colonel Alfre ...

, former Chairman, Barclays * Helen Alexander, Chairman,

UBM plc UBM plc was a British business-to-business (B2B) events organiser headquartered in London, England, before its acquisition by Informa in 2018. It had a long history as a Multinational corporation, multinational media company. Its main focus was ...

* Roger C. Altman, Executive Chairman,

Evercore Partners Evercore Inc., formerly known as Evercore Partners, is a global independent investment banking advisory firm founded in 1995 by Roger Altman, David Offensend, and Austin Beutner. The firm has advised on over $4.7 trillion of merger, acquisition, ...

* Matti Apunen, Director, Finnish Business and Policy Forum EVA * Susan Athey, Professor of Economics, Stanford Graduate School of Business * Aslı Aydıntaşbaş, columnist, ''

Milliyet ''Milliyet'' ( Turkish for "''nationality''") is a Turkish daily newspaper published in Istanbul, Turkey. History and profile ''Milliyet'' came to publishing life at the Nuri Akça press in Babıali, Istanbul as a daily private newspaper on 3 ...

'' * Ali Babacan, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister for Economic and Financial Affairs *

Ed Balls Edward Michael Balls (born 25 February 1967) is a British broadcaster, writer, economist, professor and former politician who served as Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families from 2007 to 2010, and as Shadow Chancellor of the Ex ...

, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer *

Francisco Pinto Balsemão Francisco José Pereira Pinto Balsemão (; born 1 September 1937) is a Portuguese businessman, former journalist and retired politician, who served as Prime Minister of Portugal, from 1981 to 1983. Background He is the son of Henrique Patríci ...

, Chairman and CEO,

Impresa Impresa (full name: IMPRESA Sociedade Gestora de Participações Sociais SA) () is a Portuguese media conglomerate, headquartered in Paço de Arcos, in Oeiras municipality. It is the owner of SIC TV channel, and '' Expresso'' newspaper, among ...

* Nicolas Barré, Managing Editor, '' Les Echos'' *

José Manuel Barroso José Manuel Durão Barroso (; born 23 March 1956) is a Portuguese politician and university teacher, currently serving as non-executive chairman of Goldman Sachs International. He previously served as the 11th president of the European Commi ...

, President,

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

* Nicolas Baverez, Partner,

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is an American multinational law firm headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1890, the firm includes approximately 1,400 attorneys and 1,000 staff located in 20 offices around the world, including North ...

* Olivier de Bavinchove, Commander,

Eurocorps Eurocorps, located in the French city of Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin), is a multinational corps headquarters. Founded by France and Germany in 1992, it is today composed of personnel from six framework nations and five associated nations. The framework ...

* John Bell, Regius Professor of Medicine,

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

* Franco Bernabè, Chairman and CEO,

Telecom Italia Gruppo TIM, legally TIM S.p.A. (formerly Telecom Italia S.p.A.), also known as the TIM Group in English, is an Italian telecommunications company with headquarters in Rome, Milan, and Naples, (with the Telecom Italia Tower) which provides fixe ...

Jeff Bezos Jeffrey Preston Bezos ( ;; and Robinson (2010), p. 7. ''né'' Jorgensen; born January 12, 1964) is an American entrepreneur, media proprietor, investor, and commercial astronaut. He is the founder, executive chairman, and former preside ...

, founder and CEO,

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

Carl Bildt Nils Daniel Carl Bildt (born 15 July 1949) is a Swedish politician and diplomat who was Prime Minister of Sweden from 1991 to 1994. He was the leader of the Moderate Party from 1986 to 1999. Bildt served as Sweden's Minister for Foreign Affairs ...

, Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs *

Anders Borg Anders Erik Borg (born 11 January 1968) is a Swedish politician who served as Minister for Finance in the Swedish government from 2006 to 2014. He is a member of the Swedish Moderate Party. Youth and education Borg was born in Skarpnäck, Sto ...

, Swedish Minister for Finance * Jean-François van Boxmeer, CEO,

Heineken Heineken Lager Beer ( nl, Heineken Pilsener), or simply Heineken () is a pale lager beer with 5% alcohol by volume produced by the Dutch brewing company Heineken N.V. Heineken beer is sold in a green bottle with a red star. History On 15 Feb ...

* Svein Richard Brandtzæg, President and CEO,

Norsk Hydro Norsk Hydro ASA (often referred to as just ''Hydro'') is a Norwegian aluminium and renewable energy company, headquartered in Oslo. It is one of the largest aluminium companies worldwide. It has operations in some 50 countries around the world a ...

Oscar Bronner Oscar Bronner (born 14 January 1943) is an Austrian newspaper publisher. Biography Bronner was born in Haifa, Mandatory Palestine, on 14 January 1943. He is the eldest son of Austrian cabaret artist Gerhard Bronner. In 1948, at the age of fiv ...

, publisher, Der Standard Medienwelt *

Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington Peter Alexander Rupert Carington, 6th Baron Carrington, Baron Carington of Upton, (6 June 1919 – 9July 2018), was a British Conservative Party politician and hereditary peer who served as Defence Secretary from 1970 to 1974, Foreign Secretary ...

, former Honorary Chairman, Bilderberg Meetings * Juan Luis Cebrián, Executive Chairman, PRISA *

Edmund Clark Edmund Clark Fellow of Royal Photographic Society, HonFRPS is a British artist and photographer whose work explores politics, representation, incarceration and control. His research based work combines a range of references and forms including b ...

, President and CEO,

Toronto-Dominion Bank Toronto-Dominion Bank (french: links=no, Banque Toronto-Dominion), doing business as TD Bank Group (french: links=no, Groupe Banque TD), is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. T ...

Kenneth Clarke Kenneth Harry Clarke, Baron Clarke of Nottingham, (born 2 July 1940), often known as Ken Clarke, is a British politician who served as Home Secretary from 1992 to 1993 and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1993 to 1997 as well as serving as de ...

, Cabinet Minister *

Bjarne Corydon Bjarne Fog Corydon (born 1 March 1973) is a Danish former politician, who was a member of the Folketing from the Social Democrats from 2011 to 2016. He served as Finance Minister of Denmark in the Cabinet of Helle Thorning-Schmidt from 2011 to 20 ...

, Danish Minister of Finance *

Sherard Cowper-Coles Sir Sherard Louis Cowper-Coles (born 8 January 1955) is a British former diplomat. He was the Foreign Secretary's Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2009–2010. After leaving the Foreign Office, he worked briefly for BAE ...

, Business Development Director, International,

BAE Systems BAE Systems plc (BAE) is a British multinational arms, security, and aerospace company based in London, England. It is the largest defence contractor in Europe, and ranked the seventh-largest in the world based on applicable 2021 revenues. ...

Étienne Davignon Étienne, Count Davignon (born 4 October 1932 in Budapest, Hungary) is a Belgian politician, businessman, and former vice-president of the European Commission. Career After receiving a Doctorate of Law from the Catholic University of Louvain, ...

, Belgian Minister of State; Former Chairman, Bilderberg Meetings * Ian Davis, Senior Partner Emeritus, McKinsey & Company *

Robbert Dijkgraaf Robertus Henricus "Robbert" Dijkgraaf FRSE (Dutch: born 24 January 1960) is a Dutch theoretical physicist, mathematician and string theorist, and the current Minister of Education, Culture and Science in the Netherlands. From July 2012 unti ...

, Director and Leon Levy Professor,

Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States, is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholar ...

Haluk Dinçer Haluk Dinçer (born 1962) is a Turkish business executive. He has been Executive Board Member of Sabanci Holding Turkey's leading industrial and financial group, since February 2002, and Financial Services Group President since April 2020. Bi ...

, President, Retail and Insurance Group,

Sabancı Holding Hacı Ömer Sabancı Holding A.Ş., commonly abbreviated as Sabancı Holding, is an industrial and financial conglomerate with headquarters in Istanbul, Turkey. The company's primary activities are in financial services, energy (electricity generat ...

* Robert Dudley, Group Chief Executive, BP *

Nicholas Eberstadt Nicholas Eberstadt (born 1955) is an American political economist. He holds the Henry Wendt Chair in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), a political think tank. He is also a Senior Adviser to the National Bureau of Asia ...

, Henry Wendt Chair in Political Economy,

American Enterprise Institute The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, known simply as the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), is a center-right Washington, D.C.–based think tank that researches government, politics, economics, and social welfare. ...

Espen Barth Eide Espen Barth Eide (born 1 May 1964, in Oslo) is a Norwegian politician and political scientist. He is currently serving as the Minister of Climate and the Environment in Jonas Gahr Støre's government. He has been a been a member of the Norwegian ...

, Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs * Börje Ekholm, President and CEO,

Investor AB Investor AB is a Swedish investment and ''de facto'' conglomerate holding company. It was founded in 1916 and is still controlled by the Wallenberg family through their Foundation Asset Management company FAM. The company owns a controlling st ...

* Thomas Enders, CEO, EADS * Michael Evans, Vice Chairman,

Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs () is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered at 200 West Street in Lower Manhattan, with regional headquarters in London, Warsaw, Bangalore, H ...

* Ulrik Federspiel, Executive Vice President, Haldor Topsøe * Martin Feldstein, Professor of Economics,

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

; President Emeritus,

National Bureau of Economic Research The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) is an American private nonprofit research organization "committed to undertaking and disseminating unbiased economic research among public policymakers, business professionals, and the academic c ...

François Fillon François Charles Armand Fillon (; born 4 March 1954) is a retired French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 2007 to 2012 under President Nicolas Sarkozy. He was the nominee of the Republicans (previously known as the Union ...

, former French Prime Minister * Mark Fishman, President, Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research *

Douglas Flint Sir Douglas Jardine Flint, (born 8 July 1955) is a British banker and former Group Chairman of HSBC Holdings. He served from 2011 to 2017, having previously been Group Finance Director since 1995. He currently serves as chairman of Standard Lif ...

, Group Chairman,

HSBC HSBC Holdings plc is a British multinational universal bank and financial services holding company. It is the largest bank in Europe by total assets ahead of BNP Paribas, with US$2.953 trillion as of December 2021. In 2021, HSBC had $10.8 tri ...

* Paul Gallagher, Senior Counsel *

Timothy Geithner Timothy Franz Geithner (; born August 18, 1961) is a former American central banker who served as the 75th United States Secretary of the Treasury under President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013. He was the President of the Federal Reserve Bank o ...

, Former Secretary of the Treasury * Michael Gfoeller, US Political Consultant * Donald Graham, Chairman and CEO,

The Washington Post Company Graham Holdings Company (formerly The Washington Post Company) is a diversified American conglomerate holding company. Headquartered in Arlington County, Virginia, and incorporated in Delaware, it was formerly the owner of ''The Washington Post ...

* Ulrich Grillo, CEO, Grillo-Werke AG *

, journalist - Anchorwoman, La 7 TV * Luis de Guindos, Spanish Minister of Economy and Competitiveness * Stuart Gulliver, Group Chief Executive,

* Felix Gutzwiller, Member of the Swiss Council of States * Victor Halberstadt, Professor of Economics, Leiden University; Former Honorary Secretary General of Bilderberg Meetings *

Olli Heinonen Olli Heinonen (born in Finland) is Senior Advisor on Science and Nonproliferation at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) and an associate of Harvard University's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. Previously, he was ...

, Senior Fellow,

Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs The Robert and Renée Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, also known as the Belfer Center, is a research center located within the Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University, in the United States. From 2017 until his death in Oc ...

Harvard Kennedy School The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

of Government * Simon Henry, CFO,

Royal Dutch Shell Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New Yo ...

Paul Hermelin Paul Hermelin (born April 30, 1952) is the chairman of Capgemini. Early life and education Hermelin graduated from the Ecole Polytechnique in 1972 and the Ecole Nationale d’Administration (ENA) in 1978. Career Hermelin spent the second f ...

, Chairman and CEO,

Capgemini Capgemini SE is a multinational information technology (IT) services and consulting company, headquartered in Paris, France. History Capgemini was founded by Serge Kampf in 1967 as an enterprise management and data processing company. The comp ...

Pablo Isla Pablo Isla Álvarez de Tejera (born 22 January 1964) is a Spanish businessman and a State lawyer who served as chairman and CEO of Inditex, a large Spanish corporation and the world's largest fashion group, from 2005 to 2022. Early life and educ ...

, Chairman and CEO,

Inditex Industria de Diseño Textil, S.A. (Inditex; , ; ) is a Spanish multinational clothing company headquartered in Arteixo, Galicia, in Spain. Inditex, the biggest fast fashion group in the world, operates over 7,200 stores in 93 markets worldwide. ...

* Kenneth M. Jacobs, Chairman and CEO,

Lazard Lazard Ltd (formerly known as Lazard Frères & Co.) is a financial advisory and asset management firm that engages in investment banking, asset management and other financial services, primarily with institutional clients. It is the world's la ...

* James A. Johnson, Chairman, Johnson Capital Partners * Thomas Jordan, Chairman of the Governing Board,

Swiss National Bank The Swiss National Bank (SNB; german: Schweizerische Nationalbank; french: Banque nationale suisse; it, Banca nazionale svizzera; rm, Banca naziunala svizra) is the central bank of Switzerland, responsible for the nation's monetary policy an ...

* Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., Managing Director,

Robert D. Kaplan Robert David Kaplan (born June 23, 1952) is an American author. His books are on politics, primarily foreign affairs, and travel. His work over three decades has appeared in ''The Atlantic'', ''The Washington Post'', ''The New York Times'', ''The ...

, Chief Geopolitical Analyst, Stratfor *

Alex Karp Alexander Caedmon Karp (born 2 October 1967) is an American billionaire businessman, and the co-founder and CEO of the software firm Palantir Technologies. As of April 2022, his estimated net worth is US$1.1 billion. Early life Alexander Caedmon ...

, founder and CEO,

Palantir Technologies Palantir Technologies is a public American software company that specializes in big data analytics. Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, it was founded by Peter Thiel, Nathan Gettings, Joe Lonsdale, Stephen Cohen, and Alex Karp in 2003. The compa ...

* John Kerr, Independent Member, House of Lords * Henry A. Kissinger, Chairman,

Kissinger Associates Kissinger Associates, Inc. is a New York City-based international geopolitical consulting firm, founded and run by Henry Kissinger since 1982. The firm assists its clients in identifying strategic partners and investment opportunities and advisi ...

Klaus Kleinfeld Klaus-Christian Kleinfeld (born 6 November 1957 in Bremen, Germany) is the former chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Arconic. Kleinfeld is former chairman and CEO of Alcoa Inc., and former president and CEO of Siemens AG. Kleinfeld ste ...

, Chairman and CEO,

Alcoa Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for Aluminum Company of America) is a Pittsburgh-based industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum. Alcoa conducts operations in 10 countries. Alcoa is a major producer of primary ...

* Klaas Knot, President,

De Nederlandsche Bank De Nederlandsche Bank NV (DNB) is the central bank of the Netherlands. Founded by King William I in 1814, it is part of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB). De Nederlandsche Bank is a public limited company (Dutch: '' naamloze vennoots ...

* Mustafa Koç, Chairman, Koç Holding *

Roland Koch Roland Koch (born 24 March 1958) is a German jurist and former conservative politician of the CDU. He was the 7th Minister President of Hesse from 7 April 1999, immediately becoming the 53rd President of the Bundesrat, completing the term beg ...

, CEO,

Bilfinger Bilfinger SE (previously named Bilfinger Berger AG) is a German company specialized in civil and industrial construction, engineering and services based in Mannheim, Germany. History Bilfinger dates back to 1880 when August Bernatz founded Be ...

Henry Kravis Henry R. Kravis (born January 6, 1944) is an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist.Kohlberg Kravis Roberts KKR & Co. Inc., also known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., is an American global investment company that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate, credit, and, through its strate ...

Marie-Josée Kravis Marie-Josée Kravis (née Drouin; born 11 September 1949) is a Canadian businessperson and philanthropist. Early life and education Marie-Josée Drouin was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, of French and English parentage and was the youngest of ...

, Senior Fellow and Vice Chair, Hudson Institute *

André Kudelski André Kudelski (born 26 May 1960 in Lausanne) is a Swiss engineer of a Polish descent, who is the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the Kudelski Group. André Kudelski obtained a degree in physical engineering from the Éc ...

, Chairman and CEO,

Kudelski Group Kudelski SA () is a Swiss company that sells digital television access and management systems, cybersecurity solutions, Internet of Things products, and public infrastructure. The company is headquartered in Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne. Kudelski's f ...

* Ulysses Kyriacopoulos, Chairman, S&B Industrial Minerals *

Christine Lagarde Christine Madeleine Odette Lagarde (; née Lallouette, ; born 1 January 1956) is a French politician and lawyer who has been serving as President of the European Central Bank since 2019. She previously served as the 11th managing director of the ...

, Managing Director,

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...

* Kurt Lauk, Chairman of the Economic Council to the CDU, Berlin *

Lawrence Lessig Lester Lawrence Lessig III (born June 3, 1961) is an American academic, attorney, and political activist. He is the Roy L. Furman Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and the former director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard ...

, Roy L. Furman Professor of Law and Leadership,

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

Thomas Leysen Thomas Leysen (born 1960) is a Belgian entrepreneur who graduated from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven with a degree in law. Career Leysen spent a large part of his career at Umicore (formerly Union Minière), which was transformed under hi ...

, Chairman of the Board of Directors,

KBC Bank KBC Group is a Belgian universal multi-channel bank-insurer, focusing on private clients and small and medium-sized enterprises in Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia. It was created in 1998 through the merger of Kredietbank ...

Christian Lindner Christian Wolfgang Lindner (born 7 January 1979) is a German politician of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) serving as the Federal Minister of Finance since 8 December 2021. He has been the party leader of the liberal FDP since 2013 and a Mem ...

, Party Leader, Free Democratic Party (FDP NRW) *

Stefan Löfven Kjell Stefan Löfven (; officially ''Löfvén''; born 21 July 1957) is a Swedish politician who serves as the President of European Socialists since October 2022. He previously served as Prime Minister of Sweden from October 2014 to November 20 ...

, Party Leader, Social Democratic Party (SAP) *

Peter Löscher Peter Löscher (born 17 September 1957 in Villach, Austria) is an Austrian manager who was the CEO of Siemens from 2007 until 2013. As of 2017, Löscher remains as the only CEO to be hired from outside the conglomerate in the 170-year history o ...

, President and CEO,

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad. The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...

Peter Mandelson Peter Benjamin Mandelson, Baron Mandelson (born 21 October 1953) is a British Labour Party politician who served as First Secretary of State from 2009 to 2010. He was President of the Board of Trade in 1998 and from 2008 to 2010. He is the ...

, Chairman, Global Counsel; Chairman,

Jessica T. Mathews Jessica Tuchman Mathews (born July 4, 1946) is an American international affairs expert with a focus on climate and energy, defense and security, nuclear weapons, and conflict and governance. She was President of the Carnegie Endowment for Inter ...

, President,

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) is a nonpartisan international affairs think tank headquartered in Washington D.C. with operations in Europe, South and East Asia, and the Middle East as well as the United States. Founded in ...

Frank McKenna Francis Joseph McKenna (born January 19, 1948) is a Canadian businessman and former politician and diplomat. He is currently Deputy Chairman of the Toronto-Dominion Bank. He served as Canadian Ambassador to the United States from 2005 to 2006 ...

, Chair,

Brookfield Asset Management Brookfield Asset Management Inc. is a Canadian multinational company that is one of the world's largest alternative investment management companies, with over US$725 billion of assets under management in 2022. It focuses on direct contr ...

John Micklethwait Richard John Micklethwait (born 11 August 1962) is editor-in-chief of Bloomberg News, a position he has held since February 2015. A British journalist, he was previously the editor-in-chief of '' The Economist'' from 2006 to 2015. Life and ...

, Editor-in-Chief, ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...

'' *

Thierry de Montbrial Thierry de Montbrial (born 3 March 1943) is the executive chairman of the French Institute of International Relations (Ifri), which he founded in 1979. He is also the founder and chairman of the World Policy Conference (WPC), which he created in ...

, President, French Institute for International Relations *

Mario Monti Mario Monti, (born 19 March 1943) is an Italian economist and academic who served as the Prime Minister of Italy from 2011 to 2013, leading a technocratic government in the wake of the Italian debt crisis. Monti served as a European Commiss ...

, former Italian Prime Minister *

Craig Mundie Craig James Mundie (born July 1, 1949 in Cleveland, Ohio) is Senior Advisor to the CEO at Microsoft and its former Chief Research and Strategy Officer. Biography He started in the consumer platforms division in 1992, managing the production of W ...

, Senior Advisor to the CEO,

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

* Alberto Nagel, CEO,

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Princess Beatrix of The Netherlands Beatrix (Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, ; born 31 January 1938) is a member of the Dutch royal house who reigned as List of monarchs of the Netherlands, Queen of the Netherlands from 1980 until her abdication in 2013. Beatrix is the eldest daug ...

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, co-founder,

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Jorma Ollila Jorma Jaakko Ollila CBE (born 15 August 1950) is a Finnish businessman who was chairman of Royal Dutch Shell from 1 June 2006 to May 2015, and at Nokia Corporation chairman from 1999 to 2012 and CEO from 1992 to 2006. He has been a director of ...

, Chairman,

* David Omand, Visiting Professor,

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

George Osborne George Gideon Oliver Osborne (born Gideon Oliver Osborne; 23 May 1971) is a former British politician and newspaper editor who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2010 to 2016 and as First Secretary of State from 2015 to 2016 in the ...

, British

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...

* Emanuele Ottolenghi, Senior Fellow,

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* Soli Özel, Senior Lecturer, Kadir Has University; Columnist, ''

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'' *

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, Executive Editor, '' Kathimerini'' *

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, Turkish MP *

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, French MP *

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, Resident Fellow,

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, General,

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

(Retired) *

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, Portugal Minister of State and Foreign Affairs *

Robert Prichard John Robert Stobo Prichard, (born 1949) is a Canadians, Canadian lawyer, economist, and academic. He is the past president and chief executive officer and former director of Torstar Corporation. He is now the chairman of the Bank of Montreal. A ...

, Chair,

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, Vice President and Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship,

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, CEO, Indigo Books & Music * Hélène Rey, Professor of Economics,

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* Simon Robertson, Partner, Robertson Robey Associates; Deputy Chairman,

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, Chairman,

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, Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister *

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, Co-Chairman, Council on Foreign Relations; Former Secretary of the Treasury *

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, Dutch Prime Minister * Andreas Schieder, Austrian State Secretary of Finance * Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman,

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* Rudolf Scholten, Member of the Board of Executive Directors, Oesterreichische Kontrollbank *

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, CEO,

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, Director General, Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise *

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, Bert G. Kerstetter '66 University Professor of Politics and International Affairs,

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, Chairman,

* Martin Taylor, Former Chairman, Syngenta *

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, Group CEO, Prudential * Peter A. Thiel, President, Thiel Capital * Craig B. Thompson, President and CEO,

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* Jakob Topsøe, Partner, AMBROX Capital * Jutta Urpilainen, Finnish Minister of Finance *

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, Honorary Chairman,

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, CEO,

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, Chairman,

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, Distinguished Visiting Fellow,

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, Executive Chairman,

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, Member of the House of Lords *

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, Chief Economics Commentator, ''

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'' * James D. Wolfensohn, Chairman and CEO, Wolfensohn and Company * David Wright, Vice Chairman, Barclays *

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, Distinguished Visiting Fellow,

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Policing

A private security company provided security at the hotel; in addition, the Bilderberg Group agreed to contribute toward the policing costs of the event. The local police force, Hertfordshire Police, were in talks with the Home Office about a grant for potential "unexpected or exceptional costs". The grant is provided if the costs threaten the "stability of their policing budget". A combined force of Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, and Cambridge constabularies prepared for the conference, with the assistance of specialist officers from the Metropolitan Police. Five rugby pitches belonging to the Fullerians RFC were hired by police for the duration of the event. The police operation for the Bilderberg conference was called Operation Discuss, and had been running for eighteen months prior to the start of the conference. The cost of policing was revealed after the conference to have been in the region of £1.3 million, with £500,000 having been offered to the police by the Bilderberg Group. The mayor of Watford, Dorothy Thornhill, said that she had concerns that the conference "does attract people who can and do cause violence and disturbance" but was confident that the police will "be able to minimise that and give them their right to protest". She was additionally "ambivalent about whether this is a good thing. It's potentially a positive thing as long as things don't kick off."

References

External links

*
Official website
of the Bilderberg conference
Bilderberg 2013
- unofficial site
Bilderberg Fringe Festival
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bilderberg Conference, 2013 2013 in the United Kingdom

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

History of Watford