Club of Madrid
Club de Madrid is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit organization created to promote democracy and change in the international community. It is composed of 127 regular members from 74 countries, including 5 Nobel Peace Prize laureates and 23 first female heads of state or government. Club de Madrid is the world's largest forum of former heads of state and government.
The organisation has six honorary members, which include Aung San Suu Kyi, Ban Ki-moon, Ángel Gurría, Enrique Iglesias, Javier Solana, and Juan Somavía.
Among its main goals are the strengthening of democratic institutions and counseling on the resolution of political conflicts in two key areas: democratic leadership and governance, and response to crisis and post-crisis situations.
History and actions
Club de Madrid was founded in October 2001 as a result of the Conference on Democratic Transition and Consolidation held in Madrid with the objective of creating a permanent forum for governments to consult, and "be able to access expert's opinions". The event was organized by the think tank FRIDE.The Conference was attended by 32 current and former heads of state and government, who discussed their ideas and conclusions with over 100 experts. Among the attendees were former President of the USSR Mikhaíl Gorbachov, former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell, King Juan Carlos I of Spain, former democratic Prime Ministers of Spain Adolfo Suárez, Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo, Felipe González and José María Aznar, former Prime Minister of the Central African Republic Martin Ziguele, and US President Bill Clinton.
The Club's first Secretary General was the co-founder of FRIDE, Antonio Álvarez-Couceiro, and its first President was former President of Brasil Fernando Henrique Cardoso, who held that post until 2006. In 2004, former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell became Secretary General until 2006, when the Spanish diplomat Fernando Perpiñá-Robert took the post. Former President of Chile Ricardo Lagos was elected as the organization's President in 2006, until 2010, when he ceded the position to former Prime Minister of the Netherlands Wim Kok. Also in 2010, Carlos Westendorp, Spanish diplomat and politician, became Secretary General.
Former President of Latvia Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga was elected President of the Club in 2014. In 2016, María Elena Agüero became Secretary General and, in 2019, former President of Slovenia Danilo Türk was elected President, posts they both still hold.
The Club's first General Assembly was held in Madrid in October 2002 approved the organization's first Annual Policy Dialogue, year-long initiatives that involve members, other organizations, and experts in working groups to formulate policy recommendations on the decided topic. The results of some Annual Policy Dialogues and other programs have been echoed and supported in national and international legislation and pacts.
| Year | Topic | Place |
| 2002 | Democracy | Palace Hotel, Madrid |
| 2003 | The Role of the IMF and its Contribution to Democratic Governance | Palace Hotel, Madrid |
| 2004 | Democracies in Danger: Diagnoses and Prescriptions | Parliament, Madrid |
| 2005 | Democracy in the Post Communist World: Unfinished Business | Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Prague |
| 2005 | International Summit on Democracy, Security and Terrorism | Madrid, Spain |
| 2006 | Challenges of Energy and Democratic Leadership | Palace of the Senate, Madrid |
| 2007 | Democratizing Energy: Geopolitics and Power | Instituto Cervantes, Madrid |
| 2008 | Leadership for Shared Societies | Rotterdam, Netherlands |
| 2009 | Political Dimensions of the World Economic Crisis | Palacio de Congresos, Madrid |
| 2010 | Reconstruction and Democratic Development: the Case of Haiti | Representation of the European Commission in Spain, Madrid |
| 2011 | Digital Technologies for 21st Century Democracy | New York, USA |
| 2012 | Asia Pacific Forum: Building a More Resilient Pacific in the 21st Century World Order | Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia |
| 2012 | Harnessing 21st Century Solutions: a Focus on Women | Little Rock, Arkansas, USA |
| 2013 | South Caucasus Forum | Ganja and Baku, Azerbaijan |
| 2014 | Societies that Work: Jobs for Inclusive Growth | Coolum Beach, Queensland, Australia |
| 2014 | II Global Shared Societies Forum | Baku, Azerbaijan |
| 2014 | Democracy and Human Rights: a Call to Action | Florence, Italy |
| 2015 | Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism | Madrid, Spain |
| 2016 | Inclusive, Sustainable and Resilient Cities in the Belt and Road Initiative | Guangzhou, China |
| 2018 | Education for Shared Societies | Lisbon, Portugal |
| 2019 | Digital Transformation and the Future of Democracy | Madrid, Spain |
| 2020 | Multilateralism that Delivers | Online |
| 2021 | Rethinking Democracy | Online |
| 2022 | Leading in a World of Converging Crises | Berlin, Germany |
| 2023 | Rethinking Social Development for People and Planet | Brazil |
| 2025 | Driving Sustainable Futures for All | Nairobi, Kenya |
The Club de Madrid pushed for a constitutional reform in Haiti and promoted the adoption of a National Pact in 2014 to reach a democratic consensus.
With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Club de Madrid called for international cooperation, solidarity, and policies such as the "creation of an international fund for assistance to the Global South to deal with the consequences of COVID-19" and supported "the IMF’s call for coordinated fiscal stimuli to mitigate against long-lasting economic damage". The organization called on the World Bank to support the coordinated purchase of pandemic response equipment.
Club de Madrid issued a statement in support of the 2020 International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, endorsing practices of restorative justice and highlighting the cosmovision of numerous indigenous peoples towards nature. Also in 2020, the organization appealed to the authorities of Belarus to "stop detentions and the use of force against unarmed demonstrators" after the presidential elections in the country.
Club de Madrid also condemned the 2021 coup d'état in Myanmar and called for the "immediate and unconditional release of President Win Myint, State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, members of government, of the National League for Democracy and of civil society activists who have been detained". Also in 2021, the organization and 46 of its members publicly supported the suspension of the WTO's intellectual property rules towards COVID-19 vaccines to make vaccination more accessible.
In June 2022, the Club de Madrid called on the Tunisian President Kais Saied to release the politician Hamadi Jebali. Club de Madrid has also repeatedly called for the release of opposition leader Alexei Navalny and other political prisoners in Russia, and for the end of the Russian invasion of Ukraine through dialogue and diplomacy.
In response to the 8 January Brasília attacks, Club de Madrid condemned the event.
In 2024, the Club of Madrid sent an open letter to the G20 group in which it supported Brazil's proposal to tax the super-rich to alleviate "extreme" inequality and raise the money needed for investment in industry and the green transition. In the letter, they warned that taxes are the foundation of a civilized, enterprising and prosperous society. The Club of Madrid pointed out that the Super Rich have unproductively accumulated trillions of dollars that could have been productively invested in communities, education, health and infrastructure. The result is extreme inequality, which is why 19 members of Club of Madrid believe that a new international agreement on the taxation of the super-rich is necessary. The letter was signed by, among others, former President of Chile Michelle Bachelet, former Slovenian President Danilo Tuerk, former Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, former Spanish Prime Ministers Felipe Gonzalez and Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin.
Composition and structure
As of May 2025, there are 127 full members, all of whom are previous government officials with full voting rights. The Club also has institutional members and foundations – private and public organizations that share similar democratic objectives, including FRIDE, the Gorbachev Foundation of North America, both original sponsors of the founding conference in 2001, the Madrid City Council, the Regional Government of Madrid, and the Government of Spain. Additionally, there are six honorary members and several fellows, who are experts on democratic change.Full members, representatives of the constituent foundations, the Secretary General of the organization, and honorary members form the General Assembly, the highest representative and governing body of Club de Madrid. The General Assembly meets at least once a year to vote on the organization's activities and reports, the proposal of new members, and the designation of the Secretary General, Board of Directors and President, among other activities.
The Board of Directors manages the interests of the organization according to the directives of the General Assembly. The body is composed of the President, currently Danilo Türk, two Vice-Presidents, currently former South Korean Prime Minister Han Seung-soo and former President of Chile Michelle Bachelet, one member from each constituent foundation, the Secretary General, and up to six other members.
The President represents the organization and is elected for a term of three years, renewable once. The Vice-Presidents are also elected for three years, renewable once, and they work closely with the President.
Club de Madrid has two advisory bodies, the President's Circle, made up of individuals and organizations that support the Club's objectives, and the Advisory Committee, composed of fellows who are experts in their fields. The Secretariat, under the direction of the Secretary General, is responsible for the daily management of the Club de Madrid.