The Atlantic Council is an American

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...

in the field of

international affairs International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such a ...

, favoring

Atlanticism Atlanticism, also known as Transatlanticism, is the belief in or support for a close relationship between the peoples and governments in Northern America (the United States and Canada) and those in Europe (the countries of the European Union, ...

, founded in 1961. It manages sixteen regional centers and functional programs related to international security and global economic prosperity. It is headquartered in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

It is a member of the

Atlantic Treaty Association The Atlantic Treaty Association (ATA) is an umbrella organization which draws together political leaders, academics, military officials, and diplomats to support the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The ATA is an independent organization ...

History

The Atlantic Council was founded with the stated mission to encourage the continuation of cooperation between North America and Europe that began after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In its early years, its work consisted largely of publishing policy papers and polling Europeans and Americans about their attitudes towards transatlantic and international cooperation. In these early years, its primary focus was on economic issues—mainly encouraging free trade between the two continents, and to a lesser extent to the rest of the world—but it also did some work on political and environmental issues. Although the Atlantic Council did publish policy papers and

monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograph ...

Melvin Small Melvin Small (born March 14, 1939 in New York City) is an American academic working as a distinguished professor emeritus of history at Wayne State University in Detroit. Education Small earned a Bachelor of Arts from Dartmouth College in 196 ...

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

wrote that, especially in its early years, the Council's real strength lay in its connections to influential policymakers. The Council early on found a niche as "center for informal get-togethers" of leaders from both sides of the Atlantic, with members working to develop "networks of continuing communication". The Atlantic Council also works outside Europe and the U.S. It was among the first organizations advocating an increased Japanese presence in the international community. Its Asian programs have expanded since 2001 as a consequence of the

war in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC) * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709) *Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see al ...

leading to the opening of its South Asia Center and Program on Asia.

Climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

, and coordinating with India and China on these issues, were also a factor in this development. In February 2009,

James L. Jones James Logan Jones Jr. (born December 19, 1943) is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general and consultant who served as the 21st United States National Security Advisor from 2009 to 2010. During his military career, he served as th ...

, then-chairman of the Atlantic Council, stepped down in order to serve as President Obama's new

National Security Advisor A national security advisor serves as the chief advisor to a national government on matters of security. The advisor is not usually a member of the government's cabinet but is usually a member of various military or security councils. National sec ...

and was succeeded by Senator

Chuck Hagel Charles Timothy Hagel ( born October 4, 1946)Susan Rice as ambassador to the UN,

Richard Holbrooke Richard Charles Albert Holbrooke (April 24, 1941 – December 13, 2010) was an American diplomat and author. He was the only person to have held the position of Assistant Secretary of State for two different regions of the world (Asia from 1977 ...

as the Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, General

Eric K. Shinseki Eric Ken Shinseki (; born November 28, 1942) is a retired United States Army General (United States), general who served as the seventh United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs (2009–2014). His final United States Army post was as the 34th C ...

as the

Secretary of Veterans Affairs The United States secretary of veterans affairs is the head of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, the department concerned with veterans' benefits, health care, and national veterans' memorials and cemeteries. The secretary is a me ...

, and

Anne-Marie Slaughter Anne-Marie Slaughter (born September 27, 1958) is an American international lawyer, foreign policy analyst, political scientist and public commentator. From 2002 to 2009, she was the Dean of Princeton University's School of Public and Interna ...

Director of Policy Planning The Director of Policy Planning is the United States Department of State official in charge of the department's internal think tank, the Policy Planning Staff. In the department, the Director of Policy Planning has a rank equivalent to Assistant ...

at the

State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

. Four years later, Hagel stepped down to serve as

US Secretary of Defense The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclosure 2: a The ...

. Gen.

Brent Scowcroft Brent Scowcroft (; March 19, 1925August 6, 2020) was a United States Air Force officer who was a two-time United States National Security Advisor, first under U.S. President Gerald Ford and then under George H. W. Bush. He served as Military As ...

served as interim chairman of the organization's Board of Directors until January 2014, when former ambassador to China and

governor of Utah A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Jon Huntsman Jr. was appointed. In September 2014, The Atlantic Council hired '' Call of Duty: Black Ops'' series director Dave Anthony as a nonresident senior fellow. In 2017,

Tom Bossert Thomas P. Bossert (born March 25, 1975) is an American lawyer and former Homeland Security Advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump. He is an ABC News Homeland Security analyst. Immediately before, he was a fellow at the Atlantic Council and prio ...

, previously a Nonresident Zurich Cyber Risk Fellow at the Atlantic Council's Cyber Security Initiative, was appointed

Homeland Security Advisor The Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, commonly referred to as the Homeland Security Advisor and formerly the Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, is a senior aide in the ...

to the Trump administration. In 2019, the Atlantic Council entered into a partnership with the Hungary Foundation, a group funded by the authoritarian Orbán government in Hungary. A series of strategy discussions was planned which would have included key US and Central Europe officials. In a meeting in Budapest that year, Atlantic Council members criticized Hungarian Foreign Ministry officials for limiting discussion of the state of democracy in Hungary. Following this, the Hungary Foundation canceled the project. In 2020, the Atlantic Council returned a grant from the Hungary Foundation and ended its relationship with the foundation.

Connections and funding

The Atlantic Council has, since its inception, stated it is a nonpartisan institution, with members "from the moderate internationalist wings of both parties" in the United States. Despite its connections, the Council is by charter independent of the U.S. government and NATO, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. In September 2014, Eric Lipton reported in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' that since 2008, the US organization had received donations from more than twenty-five foreign governments. He wrote that the Atlantic Council was one of a number of

think tanks A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmental or ...

that received substantial overseas funds and conducted activities that "typically align with the foreign governments’ agendas". The Atlantic Council's Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East was established with a donation from

Bahaa Hariri Bahaa El-Dine Rafic Al-Hariri ( ar, بهاء الدين رفيق الحريري; born 26 April 1966) is a Lebanese-Saudi billionaire business man. He is the eldest son of assassinated former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri from his father' ...

and its founding head was Michele Dunne. After

Mohamed Morsi Mohamed Mohamed Morsi Eissa al-AyyatThe spellings of his first and last names vary. survey of 14 news organizations plus Wikipedia in July 2012 military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such ...

". Bahaa Hariri complained to the Atlantic Council about Dunne's actions and four months later Dunne resigned her position. In 2014, The Atlantic Council produced a report promoting the

Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) was a proposed trade agreement between the European Union and the United States, with the aim of promoting trade and multilateral economic growth. According to Karel de Gucht, European ...

(TTIP) — a proposed trade-accommodation agreement between the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

and the U.S. — with the financial backing of

FedEx FedEx Corporation, formerly Federal Express Corporation and later FDX Corporation, is an American multinational conglomerate holding company focused on transportation, e-commerce and business services based in Memphis, Tennessee. The name "Fe ...

, who were simultaneously lobbying Congress directly to decrease transatlantic tariffs. In 2015 and 2016, the three largest donors, giving over $1 million USD each, were US millionaire Adrienne Arsht (executive vice chair), Lebanese billionaire Bahaa Hariri (estranged brother of Lebanese Prime Minister

Saad Hariri Saad El-Din Rafik Al-Hariri ( ar, سعد الدين رفيق الحريري, translit=Saʿd ad-Dīn Rafīq al-Ḥarīrī; born 18 April 1970) is a Lebanese-Saudi politician who served as the prime minister of Lebanon from 2009 to 2011 and 2016 ...

), and the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

. The

Ukrainian oligarch Ukrainian oligarchs (Ukrainian: українські олігархи, romanized: ukrayins'ki oliharkhy) are business oligarchs who emerged on the economic and political scene of Ukraine after the 1991 Ukrainian independence referendum. This peri ...

-run

Burisma Holdings Burisma Holdings Limited ( uk, Бурісма Холдингс) is a holding company for a group of energy exploration and production companies. It is registered in Limassol, Cyprus, but based in Kyiv, Ukraine. Burisma Holdings has operated in t ...

donated $100,000 per year for three years to the Atlantic Council starting in 2016. The full list of financial sponsors includes many military, financial, and corporate concerns. The leading donors in 2018 were Facebook and the British government.Menn, Joseph (7 August 2018)
"U.S. think tank's tiny lab helps Facebook battle fake social media."
''Reuters website'' Retrieved 17 June 2019. According to the Council, of its 2019 revenue, 14% (approximately $5.5 million) came from government donors excluding the US government. In 2021, the founding donor was Adrienne Arsht, and donors giving more than $1 million were the American Securities Foundation,

, Embassy of the United Arab Emirates, Facebook,

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 ...

The Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Carneg ...

, and the UK

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' ministries of foreign affairs, it was created on 2 September 2020 through the merger of the Foreign ...

Events

The Atlantic Council creates a meeting place for heads of state, military leaders, and international leaders from both sides of the Atlantic. In 2009, the Council hosted former NATO Secretary General

Anders Fogh Rasmussen Anders Fogh Rasmussen (; born 26 January 1953) is a Danish politician who was the 24th Prime Minister of Denmark from November 2001 to April 2009 and the 12th Secretary General of NATO from August 2009 to October 2014. He became CEO of politi ...

's first major U.S. speech, in which he discussed issues such as NATO's mission in the

War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC) *Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709) *Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see als ...

, NATO cooperation with

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, and the broader transatlantic relationship.NATO Secretary General Rasmussen: First Major U.S. Speech
, Atlantic Council, 28 September 2009 Members of the U.S. Congress have also appeared, including Senator

Richard Lugar Richard Green Lugar (April 4, 1932 – April 28, 2019) was an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Indiana from 1977 to 2013. He was a member of the Republican Party. Born in Indianapolis, Lugar graduated from De ...

and Secretary of State

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party (Unite ...

.Senator Richard Lugar: Congressional Perspective on the Future of NATO
, Atlantic Council, 28 September 2009Kerry and Hagel Unveil Atlantic Council's Pakistan Report
, Atlantic Council, 25 February 2009 The Council hosts events with sitting heads of state and government, including former Georgian President

Mikheil Saakashvili Mikheil Saakashvili ( ka, მიხეილ სააკაშვილი ; uk, Міхеіл Саакашвілі ; born 21 December 1967) is a Georgian and Ukrainian politician and jurist.

,Council Hosts Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili
, Atlantic Council, 24 September 2008 Ukrainian Prime Minister

Arseniy Yatsenyuk Arseniy Petrovych Yatsenyuk ( uk, Арсеній Петрович Яценюк ; born 22 May 1974) is a Ukrainian politician, economist and lawyer who served as Prime Minister of Ukraine twice – from 27 February 2014 to 27 November 2014 and fr ...

, and former Latvian President

Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga (born 1 December 1937) is a Latvian politician who served as the sixth President of Latvia from 1999 to 2007. She is the first woman to hold the post. She was elected President of Latvia in 1999 and re-elected for the seco ...

.Young Atlanticist Discussion with President Vaira Vike-Freiberga
, Atlantic Council, 3 May 2007 Since January 2007, the Council has hosted military leaders from both sides of the Atlantic. The council's Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security has, held periodic events known as the Commanders Series, where it invites military leaders from the United States and Europe to speak about conflicts of interest to the Atlantic community.Commanders Series
, Atlantic Council As part of the Commanders Series, American military leaders such as former General George Casey and former Admiral Timothy Keating and European leaders like former French Chief of Defense General

Jean-Louis Georgelin Jean-Louis Georgelin (born 30 August 1948 in Aspet, Haute-Garonne) is a French Army General who was Chief of the Defence Staff ("Chef d'état-major des armées", CEMA) between 4 October 2006 and 25 February 2010. Since 9 June 2010, he has ser ...

and Dutch Lieutenant General

Ton van Loon Ton van Loon (born October 10, 1956 in Weert) is a commander from the Netherlands. He is a Lieutenant General employed by NATO who took control of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), Regional Command South (RC-S) on November 1, 2 ...

have spoken on issues such as the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

, the war in Afghanistan, and security threats in Asia and Africa. Its annual events include the Distinguished Leadership Awards in Washington, DC; the Future Leaders Summit; the Wroclaw Global Forum in Wroclaw, Poland; the Atlantic Council Energy & Economic Summit in Istanbul, Turkey; and the Global Citizen Awards in New York City. On February 22, 2019, the Atlantic Council released its ''Declaration of Principles'' at the

Munich Security Conference The Munich Security Conference (MSC; german: Münchner Sicherheitskonferenz) is an annual conference on international security policy that has been held in Munich, Bavaria, Germany since 1963. Former names are ''Wehrkundetagung'' and ''Münchner ...

Frederick Kempe Frederick Kempe (born September 5, 1954) is president and chief executive officer of the Atlantic Council, a foreign policy think tank and public policy group based in Washington, D.C. He is a journalist, author, columnist and a regular commentato ...

, President and CEO of the Atlantic Council, said it was "an effort to rally and reinvigorate 'free peoples' around the world".

Programs and centers

Atlantic Council meeting - November 2019

The Young Atlanticist Network -- Launched at the 2008 Bucharest summit—brings together a community of emerging leaders who share a vision of closer Euro-Atlantic cooperation based on common values. Through online tools and regular events, the Young Atlanticist Network serves as a forum for open dialogue between young Atlanticists so they can exchange their views on a range of international issues. As a meeting place, the Network serves as a stage for global leaders to address the next generation and to share the perspective on current issues. The Young Atlanticist Network also manages the Future Leaders program. The Council hosted the 2014 Future Leaders Summit on the side-lines of the NATO 2014 Wales summit. This Future Leaders Summit connected emerging leaders from NATO member countries with one another, the Alliance's current leaders, people from the international security sphere, and a global network of peers. The Program on Transatlantic Relations promotes dialogue on the major issues that will affect the evolution of the transatlantic relationship. It believes that a healthy transatlantic relationship is an essential prerequisite for a stronger international system. The Council seeks to identify areas of potential cooperation and build the personal networks and mutual understanding that form the basis for an effective partnership. The Council's Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security examines U.S. relationships with allies and adversaries in an effort to build consensus around policies that contribute to a more stable, secure and well-governed world. The GeoEconomics Center is a translation hub at the intersection of foreign policy, finance, and economics with the goal of helping shape a better global economic future. Within the Center, the Economic Statecraft Initiative examines the role that economics, finance, and regulation play in national security for the US and its partners, and how governments can collaborate with the private sector. The Freedom and Prosperity Center aims to increase the prosperity of the poor and marginalized in developing countries and to explore the nature of the relationship between freedom and prosperity in both developing and developed nations. The South Asia Center is the Atlantic Council's focal point for work on Afghanistan,

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

and

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...

, as well as on relations between these countries and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, the

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

world, Europe and the U.S. As part of the Council's Asia program, the Center seeks to foster partnerships with key institutions in the region to establish itself as a forum for dialogue between decision makers in South Asia, the U.S. and NATO. These deliberations cover internal and external security, governance, trade, economic development, education and other issues. The Energy and Environment program explores the economic and political aspects of energy security and supply, as well as international environmental issues. It promotes open access and clean air and offers policy recommendations to meet developing countries' needs through increased capital, technology and know-how in the energy and water supply sectors. The Eurasia Center fosters dialogue among regional leaders, as well as counterparts from key neighbors and global leaders. Combining an understanding of

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago a ...

's history with knowledge of politics, economics, and energy, the Center provides research and advice to governments and businesses. It seeks to promote an agenda of regional cooperation and integration based on shared values and common interest in a free, prosperous and peaceful future. The Africa Center was established in September 2009 with a mission to help transform U.S. and European policy approaches to Africa by emphasizing the building of strong geopolitical partnerships with African states and strengthening economic growth and prosperity on the continent. George W

The Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East is named for

Rafik Hariri Rafik is the given name of: *Rafik Al-Hariri (1944–2005), business tycoon, former Prime Minister of Lebanon *Rafik Bouderbal (born 1987), French-born Algerian player currently playing for ES Sétif in the Algerian Championnat National *Rafik Deg ...

(a billionaire and former prime minister of Lebanon, and father of one of the center's major donors). It seeks to produce analysis of the forces transforming the region, as well as policy recommendations for the United States and Europe about how to promote closer and more productive relations with the region. The Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center promotes a stronger partnership between Latin America, the United States, and Europe based on shared values and common strategic interests, and engages its network of political, business, and

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

entrepreneurs to develop ideas for policy and business leaders seeking solutions to regional and global challenges. The Adrienne Arsht Center for Resilience is the Council's was established in April 2017. The Center works to build resilience – the ability to prepare for, absorb, and recover from potential challenges – into our societies and our systems. It develops pragmatic recommendations to put ideas into practice – helping governments, cities, businesses and other leaders to identify and address challenges before they become crises.

The Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab)

The Digital Forensic Research Lab was founded in 2016, to study disinformation in open source environments and report on democratic processes. The leading donors of the project and the think tank, in general, are currently Facebook, after a 2018 sum was donated, and the government of Great Britain. On December 20, 2019, ''The New York Times'' reported, in "Facebook Discovers Fakes That Show Evolution of

Disinformation Disinformation is false information deliberately spread to deceive people. It is sometimes confused with misinformation, which is false information but is not deliberate. The English word ''disinformation'' comes from the application of the L ...

", that

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

had deleted "hundreds of accounts with ties to the Epoch Media Group, the parent company of the conservative news outlet ''

The Epoch Times ''The Epoch Times'' is a far-right international multi-language newspaper and media company affiliated with the Falun Gong new religious movement. The newspaper, based in New York City, is part of the Epoch Media Group, which also operates New ...

''" using fake profile photos that had been generated using

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...

. The DFRLab director Graham Brookie stated that the coordinated network of fake accounts demonstrated "an eerie, tech-enabled future of disinformation".

Leadership

* John F.W. Rogers, Chairman *

David McCormick David Harold McCormick (born August 17, 1965) is an American politician and businessman. McCormick served as the CEO of Bridgewater Associates, one of the world's largest hedge funds, from 2020 to 2022. A member of the Republican Party, he was ...

, Chairman, International Advisory Board *

, President and CEO * James L. Jones, Jr., Executive Chairman Emeritus *

Damon Wilson Damon M. Wilson (born May 24, 1973) is an American foreign policy expert and the President and CEO of the National Endowment for Democracy, an independent grant-making foundation supporting freedom and democracy around the world. From 2011 to 202 ...

, Executive Vice President * Adrienne Arsht, Executive Vice Chair * Stephen J. Hadley, Executive Vice Chair * Robert J. Abernethy, Vice Chair (Executive Committee) *

Richard Edelman Richard Winston Edelman (born June 15, 1954) is an American businessman, and the president and chief executive officer of the public relations company Edelman, a company founded by his father, since 1996. Personal life Edelman was born on June 15 ...

, Vice Chair (Executive Committee) * C. Boyden Gray, Vice Chair (Executive Committee) *

Alexander Mirtchev Alexander Mirtchev (April 28, 1957) is an American business executive, academic, author, and philanthropist working in the areas of global economic security, political risk analysis, and geo-economics. He is a vice chair of the Atlantic Council ...

, Vice Chair (Executive Committee) *

John Studzinski John Joseph Paul Studzinski, CBE (born March 19, 1956) is an American-British investment banker and philanthropist. Since September 2018 he has been Managing Director and Vice Chairman of the global investment-management firm PIMCO. Prior to j ...

, Vice Chair (Executive Committee) * Jason Healey, Director, Cyber Statecraft Initiative *

Peter Schechter Peter Schechter (born 1959) is an American political consultant and the executive producer and host of Altamar, a foreign policy podcast. Until June 2017, he was the Atlantic Council's Senior Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and the fo ...

, Director, Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center *

Rama Yade Rama Yade (born Mame Ramatoulaye Yade; 13 December 1976) is a Senegalese-born French politician and the author of several books. She served as the French Secretary of Human Rights from 2007 to 2009, and the Secretary of Sports from 2009 to 2010 ...

, Director, Africa Center *

John E. Herbst John Edward Herbst (born August 12, 1952) is a retired American diplomat who was the United States Ambassador to Uzbekistan from 2000 to 2003 and United States Ambassador to Ukraine from September 2003 to May 2006. Education Herbst received ...

, Director, Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center * David Koranyi, Director, Eurasian Energy Futures Initiative, Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center * Mathew Burrows, Director, Foresight, Strategy, and Risks Initiative

Notable Directors

Stéphane Abrial Stéphane Abrial (; born 7 September 1954), is a French general who is the previous commander of Allied Command Transformation based in Norfolk, VA, one of the two NATO strategic commands. His previous posting was as the Chief of Staff of the Fre ...

Peter Ackerman Peter Ackerman (November 6, 1946 – April 26, 2022) was an American businessman, the founder and former chairman of Americans Elect, and the founding chair of the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict. Ackerman was the managing director o ...

(Executive Committee member) * Timothy D. Adams *

Barbara Barrett Barbara McConnell Barrett (born December 26, 1950) is an American businesswoman, attorney and diplomat who served as the United States secretary of the Air Force from 2019 to 2021. She is also an instrument-rated pilot, and cattle and bison ranche ...

* Colleen Bell *

Stephen Biegun Stephen Edward Biegun (born March 30, 1963) is an American businessman and diplomat who served as the United States deputy secretary of state from December 2019 to January 2021 and United States Special Representative for North Korea from August 2 ...

Philip M. Breedlove Philip Mark Breedlove (born September 21, 1955) is a retired four-star general in the United States Air Force who served as the commander of U.S. European Command, as well as the 17th Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) of NATO Allied Comm ...

* Esther Brimmer (Executive Committee member) *

R. Nicholas Burns Robert Nicholas Burns (born January 28, 1956) is an American diplomat and academic who serves as the United States ambassador to China since 2022. Burns has had a 25 year career in the State Department, and served as United States Under Secre ...

* Richard R. Burt (Executive Committee member) * Teresa Carlson * James E. Cartwright *

Michael Chertoff Michael Chertoff (born November 28, 1953) is an American attorney who was the second United States Secretary of Homeland Security to serve under President George W. Bush. Chertoff also served for one additional day under President Barack Obama. H ...

* Wesley K. Clark * Ralph D. Crosby Jr. *

Paula J. Dobriansky Paula Jon Dobriansky (born September 14, 1955) is an American diplomat, public official, and foreign policy expert who served as Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs (2001-2009) and the President's Envoy to Northern Ireland (2007-2009). A sp ...

(Executive Committee member) *

Joseph F. Dunford, Jr. Joseph Francis Dunford Jr. (born December 23, 1955) is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general, who served as the 19th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 1, 2015, until September 30, 2019. He was the 36th commandant ...

* Stuart E. Eizenstat * Mark T. Esper * Jendayi E. Frazer * Sherri W. Goodman (Executive Committee member) * Michael V. Hayden *

Tim Holt Charles John "Tim" Holt III (February 5, 1919 – February 15, 1973) was an American actor. He was a popular Western star during the 1940s and early 1950s, appearing in forty-six B westerns released by RKO Pictures. In a career spanning mo ...

Wolfgang Ischinger Wolfgang Friedrich Ischinger (born April 6, 1946) is a German diplomat who served as chairman of the Munich Security Conference from 2008 to 2022. From 2001 to 2006, Ischinger was the German ambassador to the United States, and from 1998 to 20 ...

Deborah Lee James Deborah Roche Lee James (born November 25, 1958) served as the 23rd Secretary of the Air Force. She is the second woman, after Sheila Widnall (1993–1997), to ever hold this position. James was confirmed as 23rd Secretary of the Air Force on De ...

Henry A. Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (; ; born Heinz Alfred Kissinger, May 27, 1923) is a German-born American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the preside ...

KCMG KCMG may refer to * KC Motorgroup, based in Hong Kong, China * Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George, British honour * KCMG-LP, radio station in New Mexico, USA * KCMG, callsign 1997-2001 of Los Angeles radio station KKLQ (FM) ...

Douglas Lute Lt. Gen. Douglas Edward Lute (born November 3, 1952) is a retired United States Army lieutenant general and public servant who served as the United States Permanent Representative to NATO from 2013 to 2017. He was nominated for the post by Preside ...

Jane Holl Lute Jane Holl Lute (born 1956) is an American diplomat and security analyst currently serving as the UN special envoy on the Cyprus dispute. She served as the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security from 2009 through 2013, after having been confirmed ...

* William J. Lynn *

Mark Machin Mark Machin (born 1966) is a British investor who served as President and CEO of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board between 2016 and 2021. Machin is currently a non-executive director for Serendipity Capital, a Singapore-based venture capit ...

* John M. McHugh * Judith A. Miller (Executive Committee member) * Dariusz Mioduski *

Michael Morell Michael Joseph Morell (; born September 4, 1958) is an American former career intelligence analyst. He served as the deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency from 2010 to 2013 and twice as its acting director, first in 2011 and then fr ...

* Richard L. Morningstar *

Georgette Mosbacher Georgette Mosbacher (née Paulsin; January 16, 1947) is an American business executive, entrepreneur, political activist who served as the United States Ambassador to Poland from 2018 to 2021. She is the chairman of the Green Beret Foundation ad ...

* Dambisa F. Moyo * Thomas R. Nides * Joseph S. Nye *

Ana Palacio Ana Isabel de Palacio y del Valle Lersundi (born 22 July 1948) in Madrid, daughter of Luis María de Palacio y de Palacio, 4th Marqués de Matonte, and wife Luisa Mariana del Valle Lersundi y del Valle, was Spain's minister for foreign affairs ...

David H. Petraeus David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

* Daniel B. Poneman * Thomas J. Ridge *

Lawrence Di Rita Lawrence Thomas Di Rita (born March 12, 1958) is an American political advisor who served as an aide to United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. He has also worked as a spokesman for Bank of America. Early life and education Born i ...

* Charles O. Rossotti * Curtis Michael Scaparrotti *

Rajiv Shah Rajiv J. "Raj" Shah (born March 9, 1973) is the President of the Rockefeller Foundation. He is a former American government official, physician and health economist who served as the 16th Administrator of the United States Agency for Internation ...

Ali Jehangir Siddiqui Ali Jehangir Siddiqui ( ur, ; born 5 December 1976) is a Pakistani diplomat and entrepreneur. He has served as the Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States, as Special Assistant to the Prime Minister of Pakistan with the status of Minister ...

* Walter Slocombe * Clifford Sobel *

James Stavridis James George Stavridis (born February 15, 1955) is a retired United States Navy Admiral (United States), admiral, currently Vice Chair, Global Affairs and Managing Director of the global investment firm the Carlyle Group, and Chair of the Board o ...

* Michael S. Steele * Frances M. Townsend (Executive Committee member) *

Melanne Verveer Melanne Verveer is the executive director of the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security at Georgetown University. She is a founding partner of Seneca Point Global, a global women strategy firm and a co-founder of Seneca Women. Melann ...

* Charles F. Wald * Michael F. Walsh *

Ronald Weiser Ronald N. Weiser is an American businessman and Republican Party activist, donor and financier. Weiser founded a real estate company. He held fundraising roles for the presidential campaigns of George W. Bush and John McCain. He was chairman of ...

Neal S. Wolin Neal Steven Wolin (born December 9, 1961) is the CEO of the corporate advisory firm Brunswick Group, an equity partner of Data Collective, a board partner of Social Capital, and a limited partner advisor of Nyca Partners. He is the longest-servi ...

* Jenny Wood (Executive Committee member) * Mary C. Yates * Dov S. Zakheim *Irfan Nooruddin

Honorary Directors

James A. Baker, III James Addison Baker III (born April 28, 1930) is an American attorney, diplomat and statesman. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 10th White House Chief of Staff and 67th United States Secretary of the Treasury under President ...

* Ashton B. Carter *

Robert M. Gates Robert Michael Gates (born September 25, 1943) is an American intelligence analyst and university president who served as the 22nd United States secretary of defense from 2006 to 2011. He was originally appointed by president George W. Bush an ...

James N. Mattis James Norman Mattis (born September 8, 1950) is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general who served as the 26th US secretary of defense from 2017 to 2019. During his 44 years in the Marine Corps, he commanded forces in the Persian ...

Michael G. Mullen Michael Glenn Mullen (born October 4, 1946) is a retired United States Navy admiral, who served as the 17th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 1, 2007, to September 30, 2011. Mullen previously served as the Navy's 28th chief ...

* Leon E. Panetta *

William J. Perry William James Perry (born October 11, 1927) is an American mathematician, engineer, businessman, and civil servant who was the United States Secretary of Defense from February 3, 1994, to January 23, 1997, under President Bill Clinton. He also ...

Colin L. Powell Colin Luther Powell ( ; April 5, 1937 – October 18, 2021) was an American politician, statesman, diplomat, and United States Army officer who served as the 65th United States Secretary of State from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African ...

Condoleezza Rice Condoleezza Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist who is the current director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served as the 66th Uni ...

William H. Webster William Hedgcock Webster (born March 6, 1924) is an American attorney and jurist who most recently served as chair of the Homeland Security Advisory Council from 2005 until 2020. He was a United States district judge of the United States Distr ...

Lifetime Directors

Julia Chang Bloch Julia Chang Bloch (; born 1942) is a Chinese American businessperson and diplomat, who was the first U.S. ambassador of Asian descent. She is the founder and president of the US-China Education Trust. Life and political career Bloch was born ...

Bantz John Craddock Bantz John Craddock (born August 24, 1949) is a former United States Army General (United States), general. His last military assignment was as Commander, United States European Command and NATO's Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, Supreme ...

* Brian Dailey * Kenneth W. Dam *

Chris Dodd Christopher John Dodd (born May 27, 1944) is an American lobbyist, lawyer, and Democratic Party politician who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1981 to 2011. Dodd is the longest-serving senator in Connecticut's history. H ...

Julie Finley Julie Finley (born c. 1937) was the United States Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). She was nominated by President George W. Bush. Education Finley is a 1952 graduate of the Potomac School and a 195 ...

* Chas W. Freeman * Carlton W. Fulford Jr. * Edmund P. Giambastiani Jr. *

Barbara Hackman Franklin Barbara Hackman Franklin (born March 19, 1940) is an American government official, corporate director, and business executive. She served as the 29th U.S. Secretary of Commerce from 1992–1993 to President George H. W. Bush, during which she le ...

Robert Hormats Robert David "Bob" Hormats (born April 13, 1943, in Baltimore, Maryland) is Vice Chairman of Kissinger Associates. Immediately prior he served as Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment (at the time, entitled Un ...

* George A. Joulwan * Roger Kirk *

Philip Lader Philip Lader, is a former US Ambassador to the Court of St. James’s and former Chairman of WPP plc, the global advertising/communications services firm (including Ogilvy & Mather, J. Walter Thompson, Young & Rubicam, Grey, Hill & Knowlton, B ...

Henrik Liljegren Henrik Liljegren () is a linguist and Associate Professor in the Department of Linguistics at Stockholm University. He does fieldwork on languages of northern Pakistan, particularly the Hindukush– Karakoram region, and studies typology of and ge ...

* John D. Macomber * James P. McCarthy * George E. Moose * Hilda Ochoa-Brillembourg *

Thomas R. Pickering Thomas Reeve "Tom" Pickering (born November 5, 1931) is a retired United States ambassador. Among his many diplomatic appointments, he served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations from 1989 to 1992. Early life and education Born in Orange, ...

* Joseph W. Ralston *

Marjorie Scardino Dame Marjorie Scardino, , FRSA ( Morris; born 25 January 1947) is an American-born British business executive. She is the former CEO of Pearson PLC. Scardino became a trustee of Oxfam during her tenure at Pearson. She was criticized by ''Pri ...

* William H. Taft IV *

Kiron Skinner Kiron Kanina Skinner (born 1961) is a former Director of Policy Planning at the United States Department of State in the Trump administration. Skinner is presently the Taube Professor of International Relations and Politics at the Pepperdine Univer ...

* Paula Stern * Carl E. Vuono *

J. Robinson West J. Robinson (Robin) West is the founder and chairman of PFC Energy. He has advised chief executives of leading international oil and gas companies and national oil companies on corporate strategy, portfolio management, acquisitions, divestitures, ...

* R. James Woolsey

Notable Senior Fellows

Ambassador Paula J. Dobriansky

Richard Verma Richard Rahul Verma (born November 27, 1968) is an Indian-American lawyer, diplomat, and executive, who served as the U.S. Ambassador to India from 2014 to 2017. Verma previously served as the Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs ...

Anoka Abeyrathne Adnan Amin

Reception

Former

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

Secretary General

called the Council a "pre-eminent think tank" with a "longstanding reputation",Rasmussen, Anders Fogh: 9/28/2009 — Transcript
''www.acus.org'' and former U.S. Senator

(R-IN) said that the Council is "held in high esteem within the Atlantic community".Richard Lugar NATO Speech 9/28/2009 Transcript Full
''www.acus.org'' In 2016, the Atlantic Council drew criticism from the founder of the

Human Rights Foundation The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is a non-profit organization that focuses on promoting and protecting human rights globally, with an emphasis on closed societies. HRF organizes the Oslo Freedom Forum. The Human Rights Foundation was founded in ...

for its decision to award a Global Citizen Award to

Ali Bongo Ondimba Ali Bongo Ondimba (born Alain Bernard Bongo; 9 February 1959),"Bongo Ali", ''Gabon: Les hommes de pouvoir'', number 4Africa Intelligence 5 March 2002 . sometimes known as Ali Bongo, is a Gabonese politician who has been the third president of Ga ...

. Bongo declined the award amidst controversy over the 2016 Gabonese presidential election. In July 2019, Russia said the activities of the Atlantic Council pose a threat to the foundations of its constitutional system and the security of the Russian Federation. Russia added the Atlantic Council to its list of "undesirable" organizations, preventing it from operating within Russia.

Publications

The Atlantic Council produces publications and issue briefs about global policy issues ranging from NATO's global role to energy security.

References

External links

*
Board of Directors
at Atlantic Council
Atlantic Council of the United States records, 1950-1986
at th
Hoover Institution Archives
{{Authority control Think tanks established in 1961 Foreign policy and strategy think tanks in the United States United States–European relations 1961 establishments in Washington, D.C. Think tanks based in Washington, D.C. Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C. 501(c)(3) organizations Criticism of journalism Disinformation Journalism ethics Undesirable organizations in Russia