Membership

When the Trilateral Commission was first launched, the plan was for an equal number of members from each of the three regions. The numbers soon began to grow, and ceilings were imposed about 1980. These ceilings have been raised somewhat since then as new countries came to be represented in the groups.

The European Group includes members from Austria, Belgium/Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. It now has a ceiling of 170 members which is divided into national quotas. Germany has a quota of 20; France, Italy, and the United Kingdom each have a quota of 18; and Spain has a quota of 12. The remaining national quotas range from 6 to 1.

The quota for the North American Group is 120, including 20 Canadian members, 13 Mexican members and 97 U.S. members.

The Japanese Group of 85 members expanded in 2000 to become the Pacific Asian Group and now includes over 100 members from Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, the original five ASEAN countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand), India, and the People's Republic of China. Triennium Participants from Hong Kong and Taiwan have also participated. This group changed its name to Asia Pacific Group in 2012.

To help preserve the Commission’s unofficial character, members who take up positions in their national administration give up Trilateral Commission membership. New members are chosen on a national basis. The procedures used for rotation off and for invitation of new members vary from national group to national group. Three chairmen (one from each region), deputy chairmen, and directors constitute the leadership of the Trilateral Commission, along with an Executive Committee including 36 other members.

Membership in The Trilateral Commission is by invitation only.

Click here to download the Trilateral Commission Membership List.