Gold Mercury International – Making History

A pioneering global governance think tank and Award organisation founded in 1961. 
The Beginnings of Modern Corporate Responsibility and Planetary Governance

Eduardo De Santis, an Italian movie producer and business entrepreneur with interests in Italy, the United States and Europe starts to discuss with businesses, journalists, academics and governments the effects of global trade in society and the need to improve ethical governance and corporate responsibility. Policy areas proposed included improving industrial workers’ safety, including women in upper management, the proper disposal of industrial waste and better labour relations. ‘Corporate Governance’ is a new term by Richard Eells to denote “the structure and functioning of the corporate polity”. Eduardo De Santis formed Gold Mercury International in 1961 with a Founding Charter as an independent think tank and international organisation for better governance, economic cooperation and trade. Gold Mercury begins organising international conferences to bring together world leaders, businesses and governments to discuss better governance practices and policies and advance economic trade.


Creating the First ‘Global Governance’ Awards

Eduardo De Santis creates the Gold Mercury International Awards to recognise positive global governance and long-range vision. The first Gold Mercury Awards were presented in Rome in November 1961 under the auspices of Italian President Giuseppe Saragat. The key motivation for granting the Awards was to recognise the initiatives of companies and governments towards promoting peace and cooperation, good governance practices and international trade. Today, the Gold Mercury International Award has achieved global recognition as a symbol of foresight in advancing Global Governance and ethical leadership. Over the years, Gold Mercury International has been honoured by the patronage and participation in its Award ceremonies and conferences by many world leaders and historical figures, including US President Ronald Reagan, H.M. King Juan Carlos I of Spain, H.E. Anwar Sadat, President of Egypt, United Nations Secretary-General Dr Boutros Boutros Ghali, Italian Presidents H.E. Giovanni Leone and H.E. Giuseppe Saragat, Sheikh Khalifa bin Sulman Al-Khalifia of Bahrain and Leonid Brezhnev, Supreme Leader of the Soviet Union.



50th Anniversary and Accolades

Gold Mercury celebrated its historic 50th anniversary in 2011 (1961-2011). Eduardo De Santis, our Chairman, was Honoured by the Italian Republic in 2013 with the ‘Order of the Italian Star’ (Ordine della Stella d’Italia – OSI) for his services to the nation from the President of Italy, Giorgio Napolitano. The ‘Order of the Italian Star’ is Italy’s oldest national honour and was established by the Italian Republic in 1947 soon after the end of the Second World War.


Launch of GLOGO®
The Global Governance Monitoring System

Our President & Secretary General Nicolas De Santis launches GLOGO® – The Global Governance Monitoring System, a unique framework to frame global governance and make sense of complexity. GLOGO includes a global alert system to understand the impact of decision-making on critical issues about our world’s sustainable future.

More on our GLOGO Monitoring System


Gold Mercury Charter
Sustainable vision for a complex world

Gold Mercury is governed by its original charter, which is based on PEACE and COOPERATION as an international organisation. Gold Mercury works with key global governance stakeholders to create and promote sustainable global policies, ideas, and agendas that guarantee and protect our common public goods while fostering peaceful and sustainable development for our planet.

Download our charter!

The ‘Gold Mercury Statue’, the Symbol of the Organisation

The Gold Mercury International Award adopted the Roman and Greek God Mercury (Hermes) as its symbol. Mercury (Hermes) was the mythological messenger of the gods and patron of trade and commerce. Mercury was regarded as a great mediator and could reconcile disparate or contradictory beliefs by amalgamating various schools of thought. The Flemish sculptor Jean Boulogne designed the original Gold Mercury statue (circa 1564). The symbol represents our values of visionary leadership, excellence in governance and peace through cooperation and commerce.

The Gold Mercury Symbol and Award Statue: Symbolizing Excellence in Visionary Governance® and Ethical Leadership
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