The Club 21 of the Peace Parks Foundation and WWF: Directors, Members and Donors
When the Berlin Treaty was signed in 1884, African territories were dealt like a pack of cards to colonial powers. The national borders then proclaimed cut across tribal and clan groupings as well as animal migration routes, fragmenting eco-systems and destroying biodiversity. Africa's freedom was shattered – an injustice that Peace Parks Foundation is seeking to rectify. The dream is to once again create an Africa where wildlife can roam freely across international borders
Shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Dr Anton Rupert, then the president of WWF SA [South-Africa] had a meeting with President Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique to discuss the possibility of establishing a permanent link between some of the protected areas in southern Mozambique and their adjacent counterparts in South Africa, Swaziland and Zimbabwe. Political constraints at the time, however, did not allow for the project to progress. Peace in Mozambique and the fall of the apartheid regime created the opportunity for a follow-up meeting between Dr Rupert and President Chissano in 1996, where it was agreed that the time was ripe to realise their dream.
Peace Parks Foundation was therefore established on 1 February 1997 with an initial grant of R1,2 million (US$ 260,000) from the Rupert Nature Foundation to facilitate the establishment of TFCAs in southern Africa as a first area of focus.
Club 21
In order to establish a secure financial base for the Peace Parks Foundation, the three founders, Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, Nelson Mandela and Anton Rupert established Club 21. Club 21 is the Foundation's main international support base and aims to have at least 21 members who will each donate $1 million or its equivalent to the work of the Foundation.
While most of Peace Parks Foundation's project funding is donated by international aid agencies, private foundations and trusts, its operational expenses also need to be covered. Club 21 sets out to do just that in a sustainable manner.
Club 21 also serves as an advisory council to the Foundation.
2005 - Peace Parks Foundation - Board of directors
| Anton E. Rupert (chairman) | South-Africa | South African billionaire, look for his bio in the 1001 Club members list. |
| Prof. G.J. Gerwel (vice-chairman) | South-Africa | Director Gold Fields limited, which is South Africa's #2 gold producer after AngloGold Ashanti. Gold Fields Limited has an office in London. |
| Prof. Willem F. van Riet (CEO) | South-Africa | Chairman and still serving member of the South African National Parks. Past vice-president of the Council for Habitat. |
| Ms L.N. Angel | South-Africa | Chief executive of Mvela Resources, the second-largest black mining group in South-Africa. (mines gold, diamonds, and platinum throughout Africa) |
| Paul Fentener van Vlissingen | Netherlands | Vice chairman of the Prince Bernhard Nature Fund and is involved in many eco-projects in all continents of the world. Owns significant portions of land in Scotland and the Netherlands. He is non Executive Chairman of SHV Holland, a company that is privately held by his family, which employs more than 30,000 people and operates in over 25 countries. |
| Dr HL Hoffmann | Switzerland | - |
| JHW Loudon | Netherlands | Probably a descendent of former Shell chairman, Rothschild director, Institute of International Affairs and 1001 Club member John H. Loudon. |
| Mr M Msimang | South-Africa | CEO South African National Parks. |
| Dr FE Raimondo | South-Africa | - |
| Johann P. Rupert | South-Africa | Of the Rupert family fortune, owner and chairman of jewelry and precious metals companies which fund the Peace Parks Foundation. |
| Ms PE Schlettwein | Switzerland | - |
| Mr DF Strietman | Netherlands | WWF-NL public relations director. |
| Mr FH Stroebel | South-Africa | - |
| Mr JJM van Zyl | South-Africa | - |
| Mr PJ van Zyl | South-Africa | - |
The Club 21 has been very successful and the following members have joined:
|
Honorary Patrons
The Foundation has ten honorary patrons. Some of the patrons are no longer heads of state and the present heads of state have been invited to become patrons:
|
Advisory Committee
Consists of about 15 different African experts on wildlife.
Peace Parks Club
The Peace Parks Club is an international donor club consisting of members that support the objectives of the Peace Park Foundation. It basically is the broader base of the Club 21, with members donating between 5.000 and 50.000 dollar. Pierette Schlettwein of Switzerland is its president and the late HRH Prince Berhard was it's Patron.
Some of the more striking members
I haven't had time to go through the list in detail, but I am sure you will find it filled with all kinds of interesting persons.
| Anglo American Corporation | One of the largest mining companies, usually nr 2. |
| BHP Billiton PLC | One of the largest mining companies, usually nr 1. |
| De Beers | One of the largest gold and diamond mining companies. Owned by Anglo-American. |
| Nicholas Frank Oppenheimer | Chairman De Beers. Family owns Anglo American and are members of the 1001 Club. |
| Laurance Rockefeller | Died in 2004, brother of David. |
| David Rockefeller | See his bio at the Pilgrims Society, Le Cercle, or Bohemian Grove page. |
| Rupert family | Runs the Peace Parks Foundation and was one of the key founders of the 1001 Club. |
| Viscount Leverhulme KG | Died in 2000. 1001 Club. From the family that originally founded Unilever. Has been an advisor to Unilever. |
| Joseph F. Cullman III | Trustee Bank of England 1958-1970, president and CEO Philip Morris Company (sixties), director Ford Motor Company, IBM, Bankers Trust Company and others. He was a member of the Pilgrims Society. Cullman is well-known for stating categorically "I do not believe that cigarettes are hazardous to one's health", which he said in a 1971 interview after the TV tobacco advertising ban was begun. |
| Rothschild Foundation | Edmond en Benjamin de Rothschild are also members as individuals. |
| YA Istel Foundation | Can only stand for Yves-André Istel, who is a senior advisor to Rothschild Inc. and served as vice chairman of Rothschild Inc. from 1993 to 2002. He has also been a co-chairman of the First Boston Corporation, a managing director of Lehman Brothers Kuhn Loeb, Inc. and is chairman of the European Institute. |
| Russell Train | In 1961, he established the African Wildlife Foundation together with CIA spook Kermit Roosevelt (Le Cercle) and Arthur W. Arundel (1001 Club). Train was a president of the WWF-US and founded the World Resources Institute in 1982, so it's likely he would have been a member of the 1001. |
| F.J. Loudon | Chairman Stichting Toezicht Effectenverkeer (STE - Foundation that looks after the Dutch financial market - It is now called the Authority Financial Markets and this seems to be a favorite place for these kinds of people, together with spooks), chairman Exendis (energy systems), became a Knight of the Order of the Dutch Lion in 1999. |
Other members
United Kingdom
BHP Billiton PLC
Dr TG Ashworth
Mr CAR Asprey
Mr RJR Asprey
Mr HN Astrup
Mr Anthony M Bor
The Hon. Caroline S Brougham
Mr David L Burt
Mr LCN Bury
The Marquess of Cholmondeley
Viscount Cowdray
Mr JA de Gier
Mr W de Gier
Mr John-Laffnie de Jager
Sir Michael O Edwardes
Mr GM Fordy
Ms I Goldsmith
Mr ZF Goldsmith
Dr Allan WB Gray
Mr Peter H Henderson
Mr Mick Jagger
Mr John Laing, The Rufford Foundation
Brigadier JTW Landon
Viscount Leverhulme KG
Mrs AH Linde
Mr CB Linde
Mr Gorge E. Loudon
Heather W Lowe
Mr Colin W McKerrow
Dr G Moufarrige
Mr Charles J Nickerson
Mr Louis A Nielsen
Mr NF Oppenheimer
Mr Jaime Ortiz-Patiño
Mr Iain R Sanderson
Sir David G Scholey
Lady GA Sergeant
Baron Jan OW Staël von Holstein
Mr NF Swart
Mrs C Turnbull
Master Ernst G von Weyhausen
Ms Vianna von Weyhausen
United States
The Edmond de Rothschild Foundation
Tudor Investment Corporation
Rick Barongi/Diane Ledder
The Basel Family
Estate James U Blanchard III
The Bruner Family Foundation, Inc.
Ms MO Bryant
Mr Simon J Critchell
Mr Jospeh F. Cullman III
Mr K Cyr
Mr John T Dow
Ms Erpf Van de Bovenkamp
The Armand G Erpf Fund
Mr Wayne K Ferreira
Mrs DL Fleischmann
Mr JH Flemer;
Mr Christopher Forbes
Prof. Wayne M Getz
Mr Steven F Goldstone
Mr Robert B Haas
Mr J Hanna
E Steven and Diane Haze
Ms Janine K Iannarelli
Mrs PA Isdell
Mr Robert I Israel
The YA Istel Foundation
Mr Paul Tudor Jones II
Mrs Jorie Kent
Mr RM Lee
Mr E Lifmann
Mr Scott F Lutgert
Mr Earle I Mack
Mr Vance G Martin
Mr DC Murchison
Mr Mark Patterson
Mr Alan G Quasha
Mr Thomas C Quick
Mrs Yvonne C Reed
Ms Lynn Regnery
Mr Stephen F Riley
Mr David Rockefeller
Mr Laurance S Rockefeller
Mr George L Small
John and Carol Thompson
Ambassador Towell
The WILD Foundation
The Hon. Russell Train
Mrs L Vaughan-Flemer
Mr HG Walter (Jr), RP Walter Foundation
Ted and Nancy Weyerhaeuser
Mr David J Winters
Mr J Zaltzman
Argentina
Mr Franco Fava Austria Swarovski Optik KG
Belgium
Bavo Cool
Mr Ben M Pon
Mr Alexander
P van Heeren
Mr Victor L Molenaar
Mr MJF Westheim
Canada
Mrs Beryl M Ivey
Mr Richard M Ivey China Mr CHC Fung
Mr RW Miller
Her Honour Judge Esther Toh France Baron Alain de Gunzburg
Ms Brigitte Deplante
Mr GHM Maas
Dr M Soares
Germany
Mr N Baljer
Mr Claas Daun
Mr George C Domizlaff
Mr Hubert Grosse-Kleimann
Mr J Haape
Mr C Nordmann
Mr Wilfried Pabst
Consul Bruno H Schubert
Casimir Prinz Wittgenstein
Greece
Mrs PE Mouzaki
Ireland
Mr Jeremy Higgs
Italy
Ms Giorgia Bertorello Varese
Mr Paolo Risso
Mr SCP Bloch Saloz
Dr F Cologni
Dott. RF Magnoni
Mr E Porta
Dott. LM Saidelli
Mrs MP von Mautner Markhof-Cassis Farao
Monaco
Mr P Quirk
Dr M Smurfit
Mozambique
Banco Internacional de Mocambique
Mr A Frey
Ms Luiza Pestana
The Netherlands
Krasnapolsky Hotels & Restaurants
Mr DCG Dam
Mr RPM de Kuyper
Mr AG Faber
Mr P Fentener van Vlissingen
Baron C Kraijenhoff
Mr FJ Loudon
Mr JDT Paarlberg
Dr FJ Philips
Dr JM Schröder
Mr FW Sijthoff
Mr Chris TF Thurkow
Mr LHJM van Asch van Wyck
Mr PJ van der Krabben
Mr JD van Karnebeek
Drs C van Zadelhoff
Mrs J van Zadelhoff-Hortulanus
New Zealand
The Hon. Ruth M Richardson
Norway
Mr AR Bjercke
Mr Donald C Reed
Pakistan
Mrs P Ali
Dr SB Ali
Saudi Arabia
The Foundation of HE Sheikh Mohamed Ali M Alhamrani
South Africa
Abercrombie & Kent
ABSA Group
The Ackerman Family
Alexander Forbes Ltd
Anglo American Corporation of SA Ltd
BOE/Pepgro
De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd
Distell
Eskom
FirstRand Ltd
Iscor Ltd
Nampak Ltd
Nedcor
Rand Water
Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve
Sanlam
South African Airways
The Standard Bank of South Africa
Taeuber Management Trust (Pty) Ltd
Vodacom Group
Mrs PM Barlow
Mr G Bertrand
Mr David Cruse
Mr Donald Currie
Mr Richard Currie
Mrs E de Klerk
Mr John Dewar
The John Dewar Family Trust
Mr Pio Eggstein
Mr Jan Erasmus
Mr Peter H Flack
Mr Anthony Fleischer
Mrs MI Gawith
Mrs Pam Golding
Mr PM Goss
Mr Richard A Goss
Mr IS Haggie
Mr NJL Hancock
Mr PL Heinamann
Dr E Hertzog
Mr D Heywood
Ms AE Hoffman-Beels
David and Carol Hughes
Mr Ian WM Hurst
Mr DD Jooste
Mr Dylan Lewis
Mr AC Liebenberg
Mrs E Liebenberg
Mr PRJ Liebenberg
Mr DL McCay
Mrs M McCay
Mrs E Meaker
Mr John Meyer
Mr Andrew Muir
Miss B Neethling
Mr PJ Neethling
Mr Julian Ogilvie-Thompson
Dr Ian Player
Mr Neil Ponting
Dr FE Raimondo
Brian and Carol Ratcliffe
Mr G Ravazzotti
Mr Mark M Read
Mrs JM Relly
Mr PF Retief
Mr HR Rokeby-Johnson
Dr AE Rupert
Miss CC Rupert
Mrs HG Rupert
Miss HM Rupert
Mr JA Rupert
Miss KI Sanderson
Mr Gerhardus J Schoemaker
Mrs Januska MA Schoemaker
Mr LR Seelig
Mr Hank Slack
Mr Simon J Steward
Mr E Steyn
Mr PG Steyn
Mr Frans H Stroebel
Mrs Rosemary Sturgis
Mrs GM Swart
Ms M Swart
Mrs SC Synnott
Mrs A Townsend
Mr Francois van der Merwe
Mr Henk van der Tak
Mr G van der Veer
Mr Fred J van der Werff
Prof Wouter van Hoven
Mr AJ van Ryneveld
Mrs Caroline J van Zyl
Mr JJM van Zyl
Mr Johan A van Zyl
Ms Laura C van Zyl
Mr G Veller
Mr P Viersen
Mr E von Weyhausen
Spain
Mr JM Mayorga
Mr CB Schlettwein
Mrs Gemma Schlettwein
Sweden
Mr L Rahmqvist
Switzerland
AWP AG fur Wirtschafts-Publikationen
Vendôme Luxury Group
Volkart Foundation
HH Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan
Mr N Asimakopulos
Mr Claude FW Barbey
Mrs JE Bar-Segal; Mr
JH Bemberg
Mr CL Blangey
Mr JMR Boutilly
Ms DS Boutilly-Lüchinger
Mr YP Burrus
Mr MA Burgauer, The Marcel Burgauer Foundation
Mr W Clausing
Baron Benjamin de Rothschild
Mr JCR Fothergill
Ms Elske Frost
Mr Alex K Gebauer
Mr AE Grisard
Mr AS Hoffmann
Dr HL Hoffmann
Mr K Janjoeri
Mr Joseph Kanoui
Mr AM La Roche
Mr JJ La Roche
Ms Rosmarie Meier-Berchtold
Mr J Michalski
Mrs V Michalski-Hoffmann
Mr W Müller
Mrs Adrienne Oltramare
Mr Fernand Oltramare
Mr BM Otto
Mr Yves G Piaget
Mr G Pictet
Mrs B Pudel
Ms Helma Reiche
Mr A Reinhart
Mr G Reinhart
Mr M Reinhart
Ms M Reinhart
Dr Thomas CD Renz
Dr DF Rochat
Dr MA Ros
Mr H Saager
Mrs RFJ Saager
Miss A Savoretti
Mr Amedeo Andrea Savoretti
Mr Arnaldo Ildebrando Savoretti
Mr M Savoretti
Mr CARC Schlettwein
Mr Carl RL Schlettwein-Jarchow
Mrs D Schlettwein-Gsell
Dr J Schlettwein-Jarchow
Ms Pierrette Schlettwein, PS Publishing
Dr N Senn
Mr HAH
Sijthoff; Mr PC Steinlin
Ms Marie L Sulzer
Mr Peter G Sulzer
Mr Simon Uhlmann
Zimbabwe
Dr CR Saunders, Malilangwe Conservation Trust.
By: Joël van der Reijden
Written: August 20, 2005