The Atlantic Institute (full name, Atlantic Institute for International Affairs) was an independent, non-governmental institute that promoted economic, political, and cultural relations among NATO alliance members and the international community in general. Based in Paris, France, it was founded in 1961 and closed in 1988. [1]
The institute was approved by the NATO Parliamentarians Conference in June 1959 and opened formally on January 1, 1961. Former Belgian Prime Minister Paul van Zeeland was the first Chairman of the institute, while Henry Cabot Lodge became Director-General later that year. Headquarters initially were at the Hôtel de Crillon, site of the 1919 Paris Peace Conference. Funding of $250,000 over five years was supplied by the Ford Foundation, with a further $800,000 given between 1969 and 1973. [2]
In 1978, talks were held to consider a merger between the Atlantic Institute and the Trilateral Commission, a similar private institution promoting American, European, and Japanese cooperation, [3] but no merger proceeded.
On July 12, 1984, the offices of the Institute were bombed by the left-wing guerrilla group Action directe, who described the institute as an "imperialist" organization working for NATO. [4]
The Trilateral Commission is a nongovernmental international organization aimed at fostering closer cooperation between Japan, Western Europe and North America. It was founded in July 1973 principally by American banker and philanthropist David Rockefeller, an internationalist who sought to address the challenges posed by the growing economic and political interdependence between the U.S. and its allies in North America, Western Europe, and Japan.
Dirk Uipko Stikker was a Dutch politician and diplomat of the defunct Liberal State Party (LSP), co-founder of the defunct Freedom Party (PvdV) and of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), and businessman. Stikker was known for his abilities as a manager and negotiator. Stikker continued to comment on political affairs as a statesman until his death. He holds the distinction as the first Secretary General of NATO from the Netherlands.
Francisco Javier Solana de Madariaga is a Spanish physicist and PSOE politician. After serving in the Spanish government as Foreign Affairs Minister under Felipe González (1992–1995) and as the Secretary General of NATO (1995–1999), leading the alliance during Operation Allied Force, he was appointed the European Union's High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, Secretary General of the Council of the European Union and Secretary-General of the Western European Union and held these posts from October 1999 until December 2009.
The White House Fellows program is a non-partisan federal fellowship established via executive order by President Lyndon B. Johnson in October 1964. The fellowship is one of America’s most prestigious programs for leadership and public service, offering exceptional Americans first-hand experience working at the highest levels of the federal government. The fellowship was founded based upon a suggestion from John W. Gardner, then the president of Carnegie Corporation and later the sixth secretary of health, education, and welfare.
Charles Woodruff Yost was a career U.S. Ambassador who was assigned as his country's representative to the United Nations from 1969 to 1971.
Winston Lord is an American diplomat and leader of non-governmental foreign policy organizations. He has served as Special Assistant to the National Security Advisor (1970–1973), Director of the State Department Policy Planning Staff (1973–1977), President of the Council on Foreign Relations (1977–1985), Ambassador to China (1985–1989), and Assistant Secretary of State (1993–1997).
Andrew Jackson Goodpaster was an American Army General. He served as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (SACEUR), from July 1, 1969, and Commander in Chief of the United States European Command (CINCEUR) from May 5, 1969, until his retirement December 17, 1974. As such, he was the commander of all NATO (SACEUR) and United States (CINCEUR) military forces stationed in Europe and the surrounding regions.
The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) is a non-partisan American public policy think tank that seeks to promote cooperation and understanding between North America and the European Union.
Gerard Coad Smith was an American attorney and defense expert who served as the chief U.S. delegate to the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) in 1969 and the first U.S. Chairman of the Trilateral Commission. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom on January 16, 1981 by President Jimmy Carter.
Theodore Carter Achilles was an American diplomat who served as Ambassador to Peru.
Sirkka Aune-Marjatta Hämäläinen is a Finnish economist who served as a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank from 1998 to 2003. She previously served as the Governor of the Bank of Finland from 1992 to 1998. Hämäläinen was the first woman to hold either post.
Membership in the Council on Foreign Relations comes in two types: Individual and Corporate. Individual memberships are further subdivided into two types: Life Membership and Term Membership, the latter of which is for a single period of five years and is available to those between the ages of 30 and 36 at the time of their application. Only U.S. citizens and permanent residents who have applied for U.S. citizenship are eligible. A candidate for life membership must be nominated in writing by one Council member and seconded by a minimum of three others.
John Luther McLucas was United States Secretary of the Air Force from 1973 to 1975, becoming Secretary of the Air Force on July 19, 1973. He had been Acting Secretary of the Air Force since May 15, 1973, and Under Secretary of the Air Force since March 1969. Before he was appointed Under Secretary, he was president and chief executive officer of MITRE Corporation, of Bedford, Massachusetts, and McLean, Virginia.
Giampaolo Di Paola is an Italian naval officer who served in the government of Italy as minister of defense from November 2011 to April 2013. He was the Italian military's Chief of Staff from 10 March 2004 to 8 February 2008 and served as Chairman of the NATO Military Committee from 2008 to 2011.
Torild Skard is a Norwegian psychologist, politician for the Socialist Left Party, a former Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a former Chairman of UNICEF.
General Sir William Gerald Hugh Beach, was a British Army officer who, in retirement, researched and advised on defence policy, arms control and disarmament, with an interest in promoting concerns about ethical issues of peace and war.
The secretary general of NATO is the chief civil servant of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The officeholder is an international diplomat responsible for coordinating the workings of the alliance, leading NATO's international staff, chairing the meetings of the North Atlantic Council and most major committees of the alliance, with the notable exception of the NATO Military Committee, as well as acting as NATO's spokesperson. The secretary general does not have a military command role; political, military and strategic decisions ultimately rest with the member states. Together with the Chair of the NATO Military Committee and the supreme allied commander, the officeholder is one of the foremost officials of NATO.
Prijono was an Indonesian politician and academic. Prijono was a leading figure of the Murba Party and the Indonesian Peace Committee. Prijono served as Minister of Education and Culture between 1957 and 1966. He was one of the intellectual ideologues who surrounded President Sukarno.
NATO Defense College (NDC) is the international military college for North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries. It is located in Rome, Italy.
Mumtaz Ali Kazi, popularly known as M.A. Kazi, was one of Pakistan's leading scientists and educators. He was President of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences from 1978 to 1988 and President of the Chemical Society of Pakistan from 1977 to 1990.