Bretton Woods Conference, name commonly given to the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference, held (July 1-22, 1944) at Bretton Woods, N.H. The conference resulted in the creation of the International Monetary Fund, to promote international monetary cooperation, and of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. By Dec., 1945, the required number of governments had ratified the treaties creating the two organizations, and by the summer of 1946 they had begun operation.

officially United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference

(July 1–22, 1944) Meeting held at Bretton Woods, N.H., to make financial arrangements for the postwar era after the expected defeat of Germany and Japan. Representatives of 44 countries, including the Soviet Union, agreed to create the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) and the International Monetary Fund. Seealso John Maynard Keynes.

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