Yalta Conference, meeting (Feb. 4-11, 1945), at Yalta, Crimea, USSR, of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin. Most of the important decisions made remained secret until the end of World War II for military or political reasons; the complete text of all the agreements was not disclosed until 1947. The Yalta conferees confirmed the policy adopted at the Casablanca Conference of demanding Germany's unconditional surrender. Plans were made for dividing Germany into four zones of occupation (American, British, French, and Soviet) under a unified control commission in Berlin, for war crimes trials, and for a study of the reparations question. Agreement was also reached on reorganizing the Polish Lublin government (supported by Stalin) "on a broader democratic basis" that would include members of Poland's London government-in-exile, which the Western Allies had supported. The conferees decided to ask China and France to join them in sponsoring the founding conference of the United Nations to be convened in San Francisco on Apr. 25, 1945; agreement was reached on using the veto system of voting in the projected Security Council. Future meetings of the foreign ministers of the "Big Three" were planned. The USSR secretly agreed to enter the war against Japan within three months of Germany's surrender and was promised S Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands, and an occupation zone in Korea. The secret agreement respecting the disposal of Japan's holdings also provided that the port of Dalian (Dairen) should be internationalized, that Port Arthur should be restored to its status before the 1904-5 Russo-Japanese War as a Russian naval base, and that the Manchurian railroads should be under joint Chinese-Soviet administration. China later protested that it was not informed of these decisions concerning its territory and that its sovereignty was infringed. The United States and Great Britain also agreed to recognize the autonomy of Outer Mongolia, and to admit Ukraine and Belorussia (Belarus) to the United Nations as full members. The Yalta agreements were disputed even before the Potsdam Conference later in 1945. The subsequent outbreak of the cold war and Soviet successes in Eastern Europe led to much criticism in the United States of the Yalta Conference and of Roosevelt, who was accused of delivering Eastern Europe to Communist domination.

Westminster Conference, 1866-67, held in London to settle the plan for confederation of the Canadian provinces. The resolutions on confederation that had been framed at the Quebec Conference (1864) were the basis for those promulgated at the Westminster Conference and incorporated in the British North America Act (1867), under which the dominion of Canada was created.

Washington Conference: see naval conferences.

United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) or Earth Summit, an 11-day meeting held in June, 1992, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to discuss the global conflict between economic development and environmental protection. Representatives of 172 nations agreed to work toward the sustainable development of the planet, although most of the agreements were not legally binding. Sustainable development is the growth of population, industry, and agriculture in a way that will allow the present generation to meet its own needs without damaging those of future generations. Two binding declarations-to minimize global climate change (see global warming) and to stem the depletion of the world's inventory of biological diversity were signed by more than 150 countries at the conference, with others expected to sign later. Other documents concerned the financing of environmental and forest protection, technology transfer, and such diverse subjects as desertification and atmospheric pollution; the responsibilities and rights of nations in development-environment issues; and the sustainable management of the earth's forests.

See acid rain; air pollution; conservation of natural resources; ecology; environmentalism; pollution; solid waste; toxic waste; water pollution.

Tehran Conference, Nov. 28-Dec. 1, 1943, meeting of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Premier Joseph Stalin at Tehran, Iran. The conference was held to strengthen the cooperation of the United States, Great Britain, and the USSR in World War II. It followed the Cairo Conference with Chiang Kai-Shek and was the first three-power war conference attended by Stalin. Agreement was reached on the scope and timing of operations against Germany, including plans for the Allied invasion of France. Stalin reaffirmed his pledge to commit Soviet forces against Japan after the defeat of Germany. The final communiqué also stressed the need for cooperation through the United Nations in meeting the problems of peace. A separate protocol pledged the three powers to maintain the independence of Iran.

Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), civil-rights organization founded in 1957 by Martin Luther King, Jr., and headed by him until his assassination in 1968. Composed largely of African-American clergy from the South and an outgrowth of the Montgomery, Ala., bus boycott that King had led, it advocated nonviolent passive resistance as the means of securing equality for African Americans. It sponsored the massive march on Washington in 1963. Ralph Abernathy headed (1968-77) the SCLC after King's death, but it since has become less prominent. The SCLC continues to sponsor a number of programs, including voter registration and education and the Truth and Justice Campaign.

Savoy Conference: see Savoy, the.

San Remo, Conference of, 1920, meeting with the purpose of ratifying decisions made at the Paris peace conference of May, 1919. Representatives of Great Britain, France, Italy, Japan, Greece, and Belgium met at San Remo, Italy, in Apr., 1920, to discuss problems arising from World War I. Members of the supreme council of the Allies took leading parts. Methods of executing the Treaty of Versailles (1919) were discussed, the basic features of a peace treaty with Turkey (see Sèvres, Treaty of) were adopted, and Class A mandates in the Middle East were allotted.

Quebec Conference, name of two meetings held in Quebec, Canada, in World War II. The first meeting (Aug., 1943) was attended by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt of the United States, Prime Minister Winston Churchill of Great Britain, Prime Minister W. L. Mackenzie King of Canada, and Foreign Minister T. V. Soong of China. An important step toward unified Allied command was taken when the China-Burma-India theater of operations was created under the command of Lord Mountbatten. The United States extended limited recognition to Charles de Gaulle's French Committee of National Liberation. Approval was accorded to the Allied military plans for a landing in France; these plans were communicated to Marshal Stalin later in the year at the Tehran Conference. The second Quebec Conference (Sept., 1944), attended by Roosevelt, Churchill, and their chief military advisers, was concerned with the broad strategy of the war and with the future of Germany.

Potsdam Conference, meeting (July 17-Aug. 2, 1945) of the principal Allies in World War II (the United States, the USSR, and Great Britain) to clarify and implement agreements previously reached at the Yalta Conference. The chief representatives were President Truman, Premier Stalin, Prime Minister Churchill, and, after Churchill's defeat in the British elections, Prime Minister Attlee. The foreign ministers of the three nations were also present. The so-called Potsdam Agreement transferred the chief authority in Germany to the American, Russian, British, and French military commanders in their respective zones of occupation and to a four-power Allied Control Council for matters regarding the whole of Germany. The Allies set up a new system of rule for Germany, aimed at outlawing National Socialism and abolishing Nazi ideology, at disarming Germany and preventing its again becoming a military power, and at fostering democratic ideals and introducing representative and elective principles of government. The German economy was to be decentralized, and monopolies were to be broken up; the development of agriculture was to be emphasized in reorganizing the German economy. All former German territory E of the Oder and Neisse rivers was transferred to Polish and Soviet administration, pending a final peace treaty. The German population in these territories and in other parts of Eastern Europe was to be transferred to Germany. A mode for German reparations payments was outlined. A Council of Foreign Ministers was established to consider peace settlements. The so-called Potsdam Declaration issued (July 26) by the conference presented an ultimatum to Japan, offering that nation the choice between unconditional surrender and total destruction. (The atom bomb was not actually mentioned.) Rarely was any agreement so consistently breached as was the Potsdam Agreement. The work of the Allied Control Council for Germany was at first blocked by France, which did not feel bound by an agreement to which it had not been party; the council had not even begun to function when the rift caused by the cold war broke it up. The vague wording and tentative provisions of the Potsdam Agreement, allowing a wide range of interpretation, have been blamed for its failure.

Paris Peace Conference, 1919: see Versailles, Treaty of.

London Conference, several international conferences held at London, England, in the 19th and 20th cent. The following list includes only the most important of these meetings. At the London Conference of 1830-31 the chief powers of Europe met to discuss the status of Greece. It was decided that Greece should be a fully independent principality, instead of an autonomous state as had been provided in the London Protocol of 1829. The territory of Greece was, however, considerably reduced from that provided in the London Protocol, and the decision was rejected by the Greeks. A new protocol (1831) that restored the 1829 border but retained the sovereign status of Greece was accepted. While the Greek problem was under discussion, the Belgians revolted against the Dutch king. The matter was taken up at the conference, which ordered (Nov., 1830) an armistice between the Dutch and the Belgians. The first draft for a treaty of separation of Belgium and the Netherlands was rejected by the Belgians. A new draft (June, 1831) was rejected by William I of the Netherlands, who resumed hostilities. Franco-British intervention compelled the Dutch to evacuate their forces from Belgium late in 1831, and in 1833 an armistice of indefinite duration was concluded. William's designs to recover Luxembourg and Limburg led to renewed tension, and the London Conference of 1838-39 followed. This prepared the final Dutch-Belgian separation treaty of 1839 and divided Luxembourg and Limburg between the Dutch and Belgian crowns. The neutrality of Belgium was guaranteed. For the London Conference of 1852, see Schleswig-Holstein; for the London Conference of 1867, see Luxembourg, duchy; for the London Conference of 1908, see London, Declaration of. The London Conference of 1933 was the World Monetary and Economic Conference, which had as its object the checking of the world depression by means of currency stabilization and economic agreements. Unbridgeable disagreements among the participants and the attitude of the United States made the meeting a total failure; customs and currency restrictions instead became increasingly stringent throughout the world. After World War II several meetings of the Council of Foreign Ministers took place at London. For the London Conference of 1954, see Paris Pacts.

Lancaster House conference, series of three meetings (1960, 1962, 1963) in which Kenya's constitutional framework and independence were negotiated. In 1960 lack of agreement led Colonial Secretary McLeod to issue an interim constitution. In 1962 a framework for self-government was negotiated, and the 1963 conference in London finalized constitutional arrangements for Kenya's independence as a dominion. The constitution included entrenched provisions for citizenship, fundamental rights, and composition of the bicameral legislature.

Lambeth Conference, convocation at Lambeth Palace, London, that brings together all the bishops in the Anglican Communion. It meets about every 10 years at the invitation of the archbishop of Canterbury and is the principal instrument of international Anglican life, although it has no legislative authority over the national churches. The first convocation was held in 1867, the thirteenth in 1991.

Imperial Conference, assembly of representatives of the self-governing members of the British Empire, held about every four years until World War II. The meetings prior to 1911—in 1887, 1897, 1902, and 1907—were known as Colonial Conferences, and were chiefly concerned with defense problems and the possibility of imperial tariff preference. Relatively informal, they were held when colonial representatives came to Great Britain for royal celebrations. More formalized meetings were held in 1907, 1911, 1917-18, 1921, 1923, 1926, 1930, 1936, and 1937. The conferences were designed to strengthen imperial ties by exchange of ideas, but their decisions had no legal effect. The two main focal points of discussion remained defense and economic policy. In 1917-18 the Imperial War Conference acknowledged the importance of the whole empire in defense policy by admitting India, not yet self-governing, to the conference. There was an acknowledged need on the part of Britain for practical support from the dominions in military and naval resources, and a parallel desire for participation in the decision-making initiative on the part of the dominions. The dominions also wanted to be able to pursue independent foreign policies, within the bounds of imperial cooperation. The constitution of the conferences themselves and the status of the dominions were the chief problems discussed at meetings during the 1920s. The resolutions of the conferences were given legal effect by the Statute of Westminster (1931; see Westminster, Statute of), which declared the legislatures of the several dominions on an equal footing with that of Great Britain. A standing Imperial Economic Committee concerned itself with coordination of economic matters. After World War II, it was replaced by the biennial Conference of Commonwealth Prime Ministers and yearly meetings of finance ministers.

Helsinki Conference: see Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Hampton Roads Peace Conference, meeting held on Feb. 3, 1865, on board the Union transport River Queen in Hampton Roads, Va., with the object of ending the Civil War. President Lincoln and Secretary of State William H. Seward represented the Union, and A. H. Stephens, R. M. T. Hunter, and J. A. Campbell, the Confederacy. The meeting was brought about through the efforts of Francis P. Blair (1791-1876). Unofficially, but with Lincoln's knowledge, Blair had discussed the possibility with Jefferson Davis of restoring peace through a united opposition to European intervention in Mexico. Lincoln's terms—reunion, acceptance of emancipation, immediate cessation of hostilities, and the disbanding of all Confederate forces—proved unacceptable to the South, and the conference failed.

Hampton Court Conference and Hampton Court Palace: see under Hampton, England; James I.

Genoa, Conference of, 1922, at Genoa, Italy. Representatives of 34 nations convened on Apr. 10 to attempt the reconstruction of European finance and commerce. It was the first conference after World War I in which Germany and the Soviet Union were accepted on a par with other nations. The USSR, despite its repudiation of the czarist national debt, had offered to discuss the question at an international assembly. This offer marked the first Soviet attempt to enter the European diplomatic circle after the Russian Revolution. At Genoa the creditor nations—all represented except the United States—demanded recognition of the czarist debt, compensation for confiscated property, and guarantees for future contracts. The Russians, headed by Georgi Chicherin, offered to recognize the debt in return for cancellation of the Russian war debt, compensation for damages inflicted by Allied forces in their intervention after the revolution, and extensive credit for the Soviet government. The divergent purposes of the former Allies and the distrust caused by the announcement of the Treaty of Rapallo (see Rapallo, Treaty of, 1922) between Germany and the USSR made agreement impossible, and the conference adjourned on May 19.

Geneva Conference, any of various international meetings held at Geneva, Switzerland. Some of the more important ones are discussed here. 1 International conference held Apr.-July, 1954, to restore peace in Korea and Indochina. The chief participants were the United States, the Soviet Union, Great Britain, France, the People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea, Vietnam, the Viet Minh party, Laos, and Cambodia. No agreement was reached on transforming the Korean armistice into a permanent peace, but three agreements were reached providing for an armistice and political settlement in Indochina. (For the main terms, see Vietnam; Cambodia; Laos.) 2 The so-called Summit Conference, held in July, 1955, was an attempt to restore mutual trust between East and West. President Dwight D. Eisenhower (United States), Premier Nikolai Bulganin and First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev (Soviet Union), Prime Minister Anthony Eden (Great Britain), and Premier Edgar Faure (France) discussed German reunification, European security, disarmament, and cultural and economic interchange. Although no substantive agreements were reached, the meeting closed on a note of optimism. Directives were issued for a meeting of the foreign ministers of the four countries to be held later that year to reach agreement on German reunification, disarmament, and other issues. For the Geneva conferences of foreign ministers in 1955 and 1959, see Foreign Ministers, Council of. 3 Conference beginning Oct., 1958, between Great Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union, held in an attempt to reach an accord on banning tests of nuclear weapons. Since then, most international meetings held at Geneva have concerned the basic problems of the limitation of nuclear arms and provisions for international inspection and control. The UN Disarmament Commission, which began meeting in Geneva in 1960, has met there permanently since 1962. See disarmament, nuclear.

Dumbarton Oaks Conference: see United Nations.

Disarmament Conference, 1932-37, meeting for the discussion of general disarmament. The first systematic efforts to limit armaments on an international scale, in either a quantitative or a qualitative sense, occurred at the Hague Conferences of 1899 and 1907. Although those efforts were unsuccessful, the Allied Powers (with the exception of the United States) after World War I committed themselves to disarmament in the Treaty of Versailles and in the Covenant of the League of Nations. The United States participated in the limitation of naval armaments by the Washington Conference (1921-22) and the London Naval Conference (1930; see naval conferences). In 1925 the League of Nations set up a preparatory commission to determine what arms should be limited and how this could be accomplished. By 1931 several points of agreement had been reached and a draft for discussion at the Disarmament Conference drawn up. The conference opened in Geneva in Feb., 1932, and was attended by League of Nations members, as well as by the United States and the Soviet Union. Disagreements over the definition of categories of war materials, which had obstructed the progress of the preparatory commission, continued to hinder the conference. Intent on maintaining its security against Germany, France was particularly reluctant to agree to any type of military limitation. Germany, whose military power had been severely limited by the Treaty of Versailles, responded by claiming that if world disarmament to the German level was not accomplished, Germany had the right to rearm and achieve military equality. Deadlock ensued. The conference was in adjournment from June to Oct., 1933. When it reassembled, Germany, now under the control of Adolf Hitler and already preparing to rearm, withdrew (Oct. 14) from the conference and from the League of Nations. The conference again adjourned, and reconvened only sporadically thereafter. It ceased to meet after May 1, 1937. By this time the general expansion of armaments that preceded World War II was already under way, and any hope for disarmament was unrealistic.

Conference of Commonwealth Prime Ministers: see Imperial Conference.

Colonial Conference, British: see Imperial Conference.

Churches of God, General Conference, conservative evangelical Christian bodies, Arminian in faith (see Jacobus Arminius), with certain Baptist doctrines. The movement originated during revivals held in Harrisburg, Pa., by John Winebrenner, a minister in the German Reformed Church. In 1830 the first cooperative "eldership" was organized by the independent congregations of Winebrenner's founding; a General Eldership of the Churches of God in North America followed in 1845. In 1975 its name became Churches of God, General Conference. The church polity is presbyterial. The Bible is the sole rule of faith and practice. Additional congregations have spread westward into adjoining states; there are mission ministries among Native Americans in the Southwest, in Bangladesh, Haiti, and India. They have about 31,000 members (1997).

Casablanca Conference, Jan. 14-24, 1943, World War II meeting of U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill at Casablanca, French Morocco. A joint declaration pledged that the war would end only with the unconditional surrender of the Axis states. No agreement was reached on the claims for leadership of the rival French generals, Henri H. Giraud and Charles de Gaulle, who also attended the conference.

Cairo Conference, Nov. 22-26, 1943, World War II meeting of U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek of China at Cairo, Egypt. A joint declaration pledged continuation of the war against Japan until unconditional Japanese surrender, forswore territorial ambitions, and promised to strip Japan of all territory acquired since 1895. Korea was to receive independence "in due course." The Tehran Conference was held immediately afterward.

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.

Berlin, Conference of, 1884-85, international meeting aimed at settling the problems connected with European colonies in Africa. At the invitation of the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck, representatives of all European nations, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire met at Berlin to consider problems arising out of European penetration of W Africa. The stated purpose of the meeting was to guarantee free trade and navigation on the Congo and on the lower reaches of the Niger. In fact, the territorial adjustments made among the powers were the important result. The sovereignty of Great Britain over S Nigeria was recognized. The claims of the International Association, a private corporation controlled by King Leopold II of Belgium, were more or less recognized; these applied to the greater part of the Congo. These territorial awards ignored French claims to parts of the Congo and of Nigeria and the historical claim of Portugal to the mouth of the Congo. The attempts to guarantee free trade and the neutrality of the region in wartime and to set up rules for future colonial expansion in Africa were hailed, but soon the agreements proved too vague to be workable.

Bandung Conference, meeting of representatives of 29 African and Asian nations, held at Bandung, Indonesia, in 1955. The aim—to promote economic and cultural cooperation and to oppose colonialism—was more or less achieved in an atmosphere of cordiality. China played a prominent part and strengthened its friendly relations with other Asian nations. Not invited to the conference were South Africa, Israel, Taiwan, South Korea, and North Korea. The conference ultimately led to the establishment of the Nonaligned Movement in 1961. In later years, conflicts between the nonaligned nations eroded the solidarity expressed at Bandung. See also Third World.

Algeciras Conference: see Morocco.

(Feb. 4–11, 1945) Conference of Allied leaders at Yalta to plan Germany's defeat in World War II. Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin discussed the postwar occupation of Germany, postwar assistance to the German people, German disarmament, war-crimes trials, the fate of the defeated or liberated states of eastern Europe, voting in the future United Nations Security Council, and German reparations. Stalin agreed to enter the war against Japan after the German surrender. Roosevelt died two months later, and Stalin broke his promise to allow democratic elections in eastern Europe. Seealso Potsdam Conference; Tehrān Conference.

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officially International Conference on Naval Limitation

Conference held in Washington, D.C. (1921–22), to limit the naval arms race and negotiate Pacific security agreements. Several major and minor treaty agreements were drafted and signed: the Four-Power Pact (signed by Britain, Japan, France, and the U.S.) stipulated mutual consultation regarding any issue in the Pacific and affirmed respect for the Pacific territories of signatory nations. The Five-Power Naval Limitation Treaty (which Italy also signed) imposed proportional limits on the number of warships each signatory nation could maintain and mandated some actual disarmament; it lapsed in 1936 when Japan was refused equality with the U.S. and Britain. Another agreement regulated the use of submarines and outlawed poison gas in warfare. A Nine-Power Pact (with The Netherlands, Portugal, Belgium, and China) affirmed China's sovereignty.

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officially United Nations Conference on Environment and Development

Conference held in Rio de Janeiro (June 3–14, 1992) to reconcile worldwide economic development with environmental protection. It was the largest gathering of world leaders in history, with 117 heads of state and representatives of 178 countries. Biodiversity, global warming, sustainable development, and preservation of tropical rain forests were among the topics discussed. Five international agreements were signed amid tensions between the industrialized countries of the North and the poorer developing states of the South, who were reluctant to accept environmental restrictions without increased Northern economic aid. Follow-up meetings were held in 1997 at the UN General Assembly in New York and in 2002 in Johannesburg, S.Af. Seealso Rio Treaty.

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(Nov. 28–Dec. 1, 1943) Meeting of Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin in Tehrān during World War II to discuss military strategy and political issues. Stalin agreed to launch a military offensive from the east to coincide with a planned invasion of German-occupied France from the west. Also discussed but not settled were eastern Europe's postwar borders, including Poland's postwar status, and a postwar international organization.

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U.S. nonsectarian agency founded by Martin Luther King, Jr., and others in 1957 to assist local organizations working for equal rights for African Americans. Operating primarily in the South, it conducted leadership-training programs, citizen-education projects, and voter-registration drives. It played a major role in the historic March on Washington in 1963 and in the campaigns to urge passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. After King's assassination in 1968, Ralph Abernathy became president. In the early 1970s the SCLC was weakened by several schisms, including the departure of Jesse Jackson, who founded Operation PUSH in Chicago.

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(July 17–Aug. 2, 1945) Allied conference held in the Berlin suburb of Potsdam after Germany's surrender in World War II. Harry Truman, Joseph Stalin, and Winston Churchill (later replaced by Clement R. Attlee) met to discuss European peace settlements, the administration of defeated Germany, the demarcation of the boundaries of Poland, the occupation of Austria, the definition of the Soviet Union's role in eastern Europe, the determination of reparations, and the further prosecution of the war against Japan. The four occupation zones of Germany conceived at the Yalta Conference were set up, each to be administered by the commander-in-chief of the Soviet, British, U.S., or French army of occupation. Poland's boundary became the Oder and Neisse rivers in the west, and the country received part of former East Prussia. Stalin refused to let the Western powers interfere with his control of eastern Europe.

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(1919–20) Meeting that inaugurated the international settlement after World War I. It opened on Jan. 12, 1919, with representatives from more than 30 countries. The principal delegates were France's Georges Clemenceau, Britain's David Lloyd George, the U.S.'s Woodrow Wilson, and Italy's Vittorio Emanuele Orlando, who with their foreign ministers formed a Supreme Council. Commissions were appointed to study specific financial and territorial questions, including reparations. The major products of the conference were the League of Nations; the Treaty of Versailles, presented to Germany; the Treaty of Saint-Germain, presented to Austria; and the Treaty of Neuilly, presented to Bulgaria. The inauguration of the League of Nations on Jan. 16, 1920, brought the conference to a close. Treaties were subsequently concluded with Hungary (Treaty of Trianon, 1920) and Turkey (Treaties of Sèvres, 1920, and Lausanne, 1923).

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(1922) Post–World War I meeting at Genoa, Italy, to discuss the economic reconstruction of Central and Eastern Europe and to improve relations between Soviet Russia and Western Europe. Representatives of 30 European countries sought ways to enlist foreign capital for the “restoration of Russia.” Negotiations broke down when France and Belgium, Russia's main creditors, insisted on repayment of prewar loans and restitution of confiscated foreign-owned property in Russia. Announcement of the German-Soviet Treaty of Rapallo further strained relations.

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(Jan. 12–23, 1943) Meeting during World War II at Casablanca, Morocco, between Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill. They planned future global military strategy for the Western allies, reaching agreement on such issues as the invasion of Sicily, operations in the Pacific theatre, and the concentrated bombing of Germany. Most importantly, they issued a demand for an “unconditional surrender” from Germany, Italy, and Japan.

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(November–December 1943) Two meetings held in Cairo during World War II. At the first, Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt discussed plans for the Normandy Invasion (see Normandy Campaign). With Chiang Kai-shek, they announced their goal of stripping Japan of all the territories it had seized since 1914 and of restoring Korea to independence. At the second conference, Churchill and Roosevelt tried unsuccessfully to persuade Turkey's Pres. Ismet Inönü to bring his country into the war on the side of the Allies.

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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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(Jan. 16–April 7, 1906) Conference held at Algeciras, Spain, that resolved the first of the Moroccan crises. In 1905 William II objected to France's efforts to exert influence in Morocco, prompting a conference of the European powers and the U.S. Superficially, the Act of Algeciras (1906) seemed to limit French penetration, but the conference's real significance was the diplomatic support that Britain and the U.S. gave France, foreshadowing their roles in World War I.

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