Le Cercle
Le Cercleis a invitation-only foreign policy forum. Initially its focus was opposingcommunismand, in the 1970s and 1980s, supportingapartheidwhen the group had intimate ties with and funding from South Africa.[1]The group was described by BritishConservativeMPAlan Clarkas "anAtlanticistsociety of right-wing dignitaries ".[2]
History
[edit]Le Cercle was established in 1952-53 by then French prime ministerAntoine Pinayand French intelligence agent Jean Violet under the nameCercle Pinay.Konrad AdenauerandFranz Josef Strausswere co-founders and reconciliation between France and Germany was an important goal. Historian Adrian Hänni wrote that "The Cercle's founding vision encompassed the integration of a Christian-Catholic Europe, an aspiration reflected in the Cercle's personal membership and the countries represented in its early years." The other members of the original Cercle were from the Governments of Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands including a number of members of the CatholicOpus Deiand theKnights of Malta.[3]
Political changes in 1969 led to the addition of Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States with meetings held twice a year rather than three times a year as before. This led to a shift in objectives, which became an emphasis on forming a strong anti-Communist alliance between the United States and Europe. Hänni stated that "The leaders of the group increasingly considered strategies to target public opinion and, to this end, formed a" Cercle network "of associated organisations, institutes and think tanks, which attacked both the Soviet Union and the perceived" leftist "governments or opposition movements in Europe and the Third World." Its members then and now tended to be strident anti-Communists, including members of theWorld Anti-Communist League.TheUnion of South Africaprovided the only official delegation and the Cercle supported organisations such asRenamo,whose general secretary attended meetings, andUnita.[3]
Le Cercle was mentioned in the early 1980s byDer Spiegelin Germany as a result of the controversy surroundingFranz Josef Strauss,one of the regular attendants of the Cercle.[4]In the late 1990s, the Cercle received some attention after a scandal had broken out involvingJonathan Aitken,at the time chairman of Le Cercle.[5]
In June 2004, it met in theRoyal Palace in Belgrade,hosted byAlexander, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia.[6]
In later years, theBritishtook over the chairmanship of Le Cercle. Leading members included the ex-MI6officerAnthony Cavendish,the British Conservative MPJulian Amery,[7]andBrian Crozier.[4]
Alan Clark,the British Conservative MP and historian stated in hisdiariesthat Le Cercle was funded by the CIA.[8]
British MPsRory StewartandNadhim Zahawiwere chairs of Le Cercle in the 2010s at the same time as they served as members of the UK parliament'sForeign Affairs Select Committee.Neither MP declared their chairmanship of Le Cercle to the UK parliament.[9]
Ecuadorian Foreign Minister,Guillaume Long,wrote in 2022 that the group has "strong links to the intelligence community in Europe and the United States".[10]
Sample agenda from 1979
[edit]An agenda presented by Brian Crozier noted that its goal to change the British Government had been changed by the election ofMargaret Thatcherand among others listed the following objectives:
- "Undercover financial transactions for political aims";
- "International campaigns aiming to discredit hostile personalities or events";
- "Creation of a(private) intelligence servicespecialising in a selective point of view "[11]
Chairs
[edit]- 1953–1971:Antoine Pinay
- 1971–1980:Jean Violet
- 1980–1985:Brian Crozier
- 1985–1993:Julian Amery
- 1993–1996:Jonathan Aitken
- 1996–2008:Norman Lamont[12]
- 2008–2013:Michael Ancram
- 2013–2014:Rory Stewart[9]
- 2015–2018:Nadhim Zahawi[9]
Members
[edit]Former UKMinister of State for Europe and North America,Alan Duncan,is a member.[10]
References
[edit]- ^Vuuren, Hennie van (2019).Apartheid Guns and Money: A Tale of Profit.Oxford University Press. pp. 342–349.ISBN9781787382473.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-06-19.Retrieved2020-10-18.
- ^Clark, Alan (2011).Alan Clark: A Life in his Own Words.Orion.ISBN9781780220352.Archivedfrom the original on 19 June 2022.Retrieved1 November2019.
- ^abAdrian Hänni (2014)."A Global Crusade Against Communism: The Cercle in the" Second Cold War "".In van Dongen, Luc; Roulin, Stéphanie;Scott-Smith, Giles(eds.).Transnational Anti-Communism and the Cold War: Agents, Activities, and Networks.Springer. pp. 161–172.ISBN978-1137388803.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-06-19.Retrieved2020-09-30.doi:10.1057/9781137388803_11.
- ^abDer Spiegel:Victory for StraußArchived2013-05-01 at theWayback Machine.37/1982 (PDFArchived2016-03-27 at theWayback Machine)
- ^"CAAT Publications - the Arabian Connection: The UK Arms Trade to Saudi Arabia".Archived fromthe originalon 22 September 2008.Retrieved29 June2008.
- ^"Reception in Honor of the" Le Cercle "Conference".18 June 2004.
- ^Anthony CavendishArchived2018-09-30 at theWayback Machine,obituary inThe Daily Telegraph,14 February 2013
- ^Staff writer (Jun. 29, 1997)."Aitken Dropped by the Right's Secret Club."The Independent.Archived fromthe original.
- ^abcJohnston, John (22 July 2019)."Top Tories face questions over links to secretive foreign affairs group".PoliticsHome.Archivedfrom the original on 6 November 2019.Retrieved6 November2019.
- ^abLong, Guillaume (24 February 2022)."The U.K. Wanted to Extradite Julian Assange to the U.S. From the Start".The Intercept.Archivedfrom the original on 19 May 2022.Retrieved11 June2022.
- ^Blackhurst, Chris (29 June 1997)."Aitken dropped by the Right's secret club".The Independent.Archivedfrom the original on 13 May 2011.Retrieved2 November2019.
- ^"House of Lords - Economic Affairs - Sixth Report".publications.parliament.uk.Archivedfrom the original on 24 September 2015.Retrieved2 November2019.
Further reading
[edit]- Johannes Großmann (2014).Die Internationale der Konservativen. Transnationale Elitenzirkel und private Außenpolitik in Westeuropa seit 1945.Munich: Walter de Gruyter. pp. 437–496.ISBN978-3110354263.
- David Teacher (2003).Rogue Agents: The Cercle and the 6I in the Private Cold War, 1951-1991.6th ed.