Supreme Economic Council

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The Supreme Economic Council was created on February 8, 1919 by the Allied Supreme War Council at the suggestion of US President Wilson on the occasion of the Paris Peace Conference . It combined the roles of the Allied Maritime Transport Council , the Inter-Allied Food Council , the Supreme Council of Supply and Relief, and the Superior Blockade Council , which were converted into sections of the Supreme Economic Council, and was intended to oversee the economic action of the Coordinate allies in war-torn Europe during the period of the armistice up to the signing of the peace treaties. He himself was not involved in drawing up the economic provisions of the peace treaties.

organization

After a rotation between representatives of the various states had originally been agreed, the presidency of the council was effectively held by the British Lord Cecil . The victorious powers of the world war (Great Britain, France, Italy, USA, later Belgium) had the right to send up to five members each to the council. The working sections where the actual work was done and their chairs were:

  • Food and Relief Section: Mr. Herbert Hoover (USA)
  • Finance Section: Mr. Norman Davis (USA)
  • Communications Section: General Mance (United Kingdom)
  • Raw Materials Section: M. Louis Loucheur (France)
  • Blockade Section: Mr. Vance McCormick (USA)
  • Shipping Section: Sir Basil Kemball Cook (United Kingdom)

Except for the Shipping Section, which was based in London, all the sections worked at the Council's headquarters in Paris.

Relations with Germany

The Council's relations with German representatives were initially limited to the German Armistice Commission in Spa. In March 1919, the German side also set up a finance commission near Paris, and on April 14 a special subcommittee of the Council for Germany was formed.

The End

The Supreme Economic Council continued to exist after the peace treaty with Germany and the League of Nations Act were signed in June 1919. Among other things, he decided to continue the trade blockade against Soviet Russia . The US representatives who did not ratify the treaty were gradually withdrawn from the commissions. The last meeting of the council took place in March 1920, the sections were partially transferred to organizations of the League of Nations .

See also

literature

  • Bob Reinalda: Routledge History of International Organizations: From 1815 to the Present Day. Routledge, 2009, ISBN 978-0-415-47624-9 .
  • HWV Temperley (Ed.): A History of the Peace Conference of Paris, Volume 1. London 1920 ( online version ).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Supreme War Council continued to exist after the Compiègne armistice of November 1918. He prepared the Paris Peace Conference .
  2. ^ Hurley EN: The Bridge to France . Retrieved February 8, 2014. (English).