World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum is an international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer Klaus Schwab. The foundation's stated mission is "improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic, and other leaders of society to shape global, regional, and industry agendas".
The WEF is mostly known for its annual meeting at the end of January in Davos, a mountain resort in the Swiss canton of Graubünden, in the eastern Alps region. The meeting brings together some 3,000 paying members and selected participants – among whom are investors, business leaders, political leaders, economists, celebrities and journalists – for up to five days to discuss global issues across 500 sessions. The foundation is mostly funded by its 1,000-member multi-national companies.
Aside from Davos, the organization convenes regional conferences, it produces a series of reports, engages its members in sector-specific initiatives and provides a platform for leaders from selected stakeholder groups to collaborate on projects and initiatives.
The World Economic Forum and its annual meeting in Davos have received criticism over the years, including allegations of the organization's corporate capture of global and democratic institutions, institutional whitewashing initiatives, the public cost of security, the organization's tax-exempt status, unclear decision processes and membership criteria, a lack of financial transparency, and the environmental footprint of its annual meetings.
History
The WEF was founded in 1971 by Klaus Schwab, a business professor at the University of Geneva. First named the European Management Forum, it changed its name to the World Economic Forum in 1987 and sought to broaden its vision to include providing a platform for resolving international conflicts.In February 1971, Schwab invited 450 executives from Western European firms to the first European Management Symposium held in the Davos Congress Centre under the patronage of the European Commission and European industrial associations, where Schwab sought to introduce European firms to American management practices. He then founded the WEF as a nonprofit organization based in Geneva and drew European business leaders to Davos for the annual meetings each January.
The second European Management Forum in 1972 was the first meeting where a head of government featured as a speaker, Prime Minister Pierre Werner of Luxembourg.
Events in 1973, including the collapse of the Bretton Woods fixed-exchange rate mechanism and the Yom Kippur War, saw the annual meeting expand its focus from management to economic and social issues, and, for the first time, political leaders were invited to the annual meeting in January 1974.
Through the forum's first decade, it maintained a playful atmosphere, with many members skiing and participating in evening events. Appraising the 1981 event, one attendee noted that "the forum offers a delightful vacation on the expense account."
Political leaders soon began to use the annual meeting as venue for promoting their interests. The Davos Declaration was signed in 1988 by Greece and Turkey, helping them turn back from the brink of war. In 1992, South African president F. W. de Klerk met with Nelson Mandela and Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi at the annual meeting, their first joint appearance outside South Africa. At the 1994 annual meeting, Israeli foreign minister Shimon Peres and PLO chairman Yasser Arafat reached a draft agreement on Gaza and Jericho. The "Davos Pact" of 1996 saw the forum's elite help Boris Yeltsin retain power as president of the Russian Federation over the then-presumptive favorite Gennady Zyuganov, leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation.
After 9/11, the WEF was held in the US, in New York City, for the first time. And in January 2003, US secretary of state Powell went to the forum to drum up sympathy for the global war on terrorism and the US's impending invasion of Iraq.
In October 2004, the World Economic Forum gained attention through the resignation of its CEO and executive director José María Figueres over the undeclared receipt of more than US$900,000 in consultancy fees from the French telecommunications firm Alcatel. Transparency International highlighted this incident in their Global Corruption Report two years later in 2006.
In January 2006, the WEF published an article in its Global Agenda magazine titled "Boycott Israel", which was distributed to all 2,340 participants of the annual meeting. Following the publication, Klaus Schwab described the publication as "an unacceptable failure in the editorial process".
In late 2015, the invitation was extended to include a North Korean delegation for the 2016 WEF, "in view of positive signs coming out of the country", the WEF organizers noted. North Korea has not been attending the WEF since 1998. The invitation was accepted. However, WEF revoked the invitation on 13 January 2016, after the 6 January 2016 North Korean nuclear test, and the country's attendance was made subject to "existing and possible forthcoming sanctions". Despite protests by North Korea calling the decision by the WEF managing board a "sudden and irresponsible" move, the WEF committee maintained the exclusion because "under these circumstances there would be no opportunity for international dialogue".
In 2017, the WEF in Davos attracted considerable attention when, for the first time, a head of state from the People's Republic of China was present at the alpine resort. With the backdrop of Brexit, an incoming protectionist US administration and significant pressures on free-trade zones and trade agreements, Paramount leader Xi Jinping defended the global economic scheme, and portrayed China as a responsible nation and a leader for environmental causes. He sharply rebuked the current populist movements that would introduce tariffs and hinder global commerce, warning that such protectionism could foster isolation and reduced economic opportunity.
In 2018, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi gave the keynote speech, becoming the first head of government from India to deliver the inaugural keynote for the annual plenary at Davos. Modi highlighted global warming, terrorism and protectionism as the three major global challenges, and expressed confidence that they can be tackled with collective effort.
In 2019, Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro gave the keynote address at the plenary session of the conference. On his first international trip to Davos, he emphasized liberal economic policies despite his populist agenda, and attempted to reassure the world that Brazil is a protector of the rainforest while utilizing its resources for food production and export. He stated that "his government will seek to better integrate Brazil into the world by mainstreaming international best practices, such as those adopted and promoted by the OECD". Environmental concerns like extreme weather events, and the failure of climate change mitigation and adaptation were among the top-ranking global risks expressed by WEF attendees. On 13 June 2019, the WEF and the United Nations signed a "Strategic Partnership Framework" in order to "jointly accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development."
The 2021 World Economic Forum was due to be held from 17 to 20 August in Singapore. However, on 17 May, the forum was cancelled; with a new meeting to take place in the first half of 2022 instead with a final location and date to be determined later in 2021.
In late December 2021, the World Economic Forum said in a release that pandemic conditions had made it extremely difficult to stage a global in-person meeting the following month; transmissibility of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant and its impact on travel and mobility had made deferral necessary, with the meeting in Davos eventually rescheduled for 22 to 26 May 2022.
File:Ilham Aliyev met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Davos - 2025.jpg|thumb|German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in January 2025
Topics in the 2022 annual meeting included the Russian invasion of Ukraine, climate change, energy insecurity and inflation. Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave a special address at the meeting, thanking the global community for its efforts but also calling for more support. The 2022 forum was marked by the absence of a Russian delegation for the first time since 1991, which The Wall Street Journal described as signalling the "unraveling of globalization." The former Russia House was used to present Russia's war crimes.
The 2023 annual meeting of the World Economic Forum took place in Davos, Switzerland, from 16–20 January under the theme "Cooperation in a fragmented world".
On 21 April 2025 Klaus Schwab, Chairman of the Board of the World Economic Forum, informed the Board: "Following my recent announcement and as I enter my 88th year, I have decided to step down from my position as Chair and as a member of the Board of Trustees, with immediate effect."
In August 2025, the Forum faced renewed scrutiny after whistleblowers alleged financial irregularities and a toxic work environment. Interim chair Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, former CEO of Nestlé, resigned citing his personal observations of such conditions. Although an internal investigation by the Zurich-based law firm Homburger and US firm Covington & Burling found no evidence of "material wrongdoing" by Schwab or his wife Hilde, the Board pledged to strengthen governance structures. At the same time, the Forum appointed Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, and André Hoffmann, vice-chair of Roche Holding, as interim co-chairs of its board.
Organization
Headquartered in Cologny, the WEF also has offices in New York, Beijing, Tokyo and Seoul. In January 2015, it was designated an NGO with "other international body" status by the Swiss Federal Government under the Swiss Host-State Act.On 10 October 2016, the WEF announced the opening of its new Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in San Francisco. According to the WEF, the center will "serve as a platform for interaction, insight and impact on the scientific and technological changes that are changing the way we live, work and relate to one another". WEF has 19 such centers spread across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America.
The World Economic Forum declares that it is impartial and that it is not tied to any political, partisan, or national interests. Until 2012, it had observer status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council; it is under the supervision of the Swiss Federal Council. The foundation's highest governance body is the foundation board.
The managing board is chaired by the WEF's president and CEO, Børge Brende, and acts as the executive body of the World Economic Forum. Managing board members are Børge Brende, Julien Gattoni, Jeremy Jurgens, Adrian Monck, Sarita Nayyar, Olivier M. Schwab, Saadia Zahidi, and Alois Zwinggi.