The AEI World Forum is an annual meeting of business and financial executives,

heads of government In the executive branch, the head of government is the highest or the second-highest official of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a ...

, government officials, and intellectuals. Held every spring in Sea Island, Georgia, it is sponsored by the

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

(AEI) and the Vail Valley Foundation, and it features a number of AEI scholars and fellows.Vail Valley Foundation,
World Forum

History

In 1976, U.S. president

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...

hosted the second G7 summit in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...

. During his presidency, Ford became close friends with three of the other heads of government present at the summit: British prime minister

James Callaghan Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff ( ; 27 March 191226 March 2005) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the L ...

, French president

Valéry Giscard d'Estaing Valéry René Marie Georges Giscard d'Estaing (, ; ; 2 February 19262 December 2020), also known as simply Giscard or VGE, was a French politician who served as President of France from 1974 to 1981. After serving as Ministry of the Economy ...

, and German chancellor Helmut Schmidt. After his presidency, Ford joined the American Enterprise Institute as its "Distinguished Fellow" and in 1982, he and his wife, Betty Ford, hosted the first AEI World Forum near their home in Beaver Creek. Along with Callaghan, Giscard d'Estaing, and Schmidt, he hoped to enrich discourse among world leaders and explore crucial public policy issues in an intimate setting. Ford hosted the World Forum until his death in 2006. At the twenty-sixth World Forum in 2007, Vice President Richard Cheney unveiled Gerald R. Ford Hall in the Beaver Creek Park

Hyatt Hyatt Hotels Corporation, commonly known as Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, is an American multinational corporation, multinational hospitality company headquartered in the 150 North Riverside, Riverside Plaza area of Chicago that manages and franchise ...

Hotel, where the World Forum's sessions are held.

Format

The AEI World Forum is private and off the record. The World Forum consists of plenary sessions, topical small-group discussion sessions, informal conversational time, and recreational activities. According to the Vail Valley Foundation, "Senior U.S. cabinet officers and legislators provide candid briefings on important policy initiatives. Heads of major international corporations discuss business and financial developments. Government officials from Europe, Asia and the Americas debate international strategic and economic issues in a private, informal atmosphere, far removed from the distractions of day-to-day business." Journalists are not able to officially report on discussions taking place, leading to claims that the event is “secretive”. However, this does not prevent journalists from obtaining discussion topics, or from speaking at the events off the record. The Forum attracts right-leaning politicians, and has included members of the

first Trump administration Donald Trump's first tenure as the president of the United States began on January 20, 2017, when Trump First inauguration of Donald Trump, was inaugurated as the List of presidents of the United States, 45th president, and ended on January ...

and UK Conservative party government ministers. It has also been reported that its members shaped discussions ahead of the 2016 Republican Party presidential primaries.

References

{{Gerald Ford, state=collapsed Meetings James Callaghan Gerald Ford Valéry Giscard d'Estaing American Enterprise Institute Annual events in Colorado