Contents: African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) - African Development Bank (AfDB) - African Union  (AU) - Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) - Andean Community - Antarctic Treaty - Arab League - Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) - Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) - Asian Development Bank (ADB) - Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) - Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) - Caribbean Community (CARICOM) - Central American Integration System (SICA) - Central American Parliament (Parlacen) - Central Treaty Organization (CENTO) - Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) - Colombo Plan - Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) - The Commonwealth - Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) - Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) -  Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CRLP) - Council of Europe (CE) - Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON/CMEA) - Danube Commission - East African Community (EAC) - Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) - Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) - Eurasian Economic Community (EAEC) - European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) - European Free Trade Association (EFTA) - European Union (EU) - Food and Agriculture Organizations (FAO) - Group of 8 (G-8) - Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) - Ibero-American Cooperation Secretariat (SECIB) - Indian Ocean Commission (COI) - Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) - Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) - Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) - International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) - International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) - International Court of Justice (ICJ) - International Criminal Court (ICCt) - International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) - International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) - International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) - International Labor Organization (ILO) - International Maritime Organization (IMO) - International Mobile Satellite Organization (IMSO) - International Monetary Fund (IMF) - International Organization of Francophonie (OIF) - International Olympic Committee (IOC) -  International Organization of Space Communications (Intersputnik) - International Organization for Migration (IOM) - International Organization for Standardization (ISO) - International Telecommunication Union (ITU) - International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (ITSO) - Islamic Development Bank (IDB) - Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) - Latin American Parliament (Parlatino) - Latin Union (LU) - League of Nations -

African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States  (ACP)

 

ACP Website

Lomé and Cotonou Agreements

Headquarters: Brussels (Belgium)

28 Feb 1975                European Communities and ACP States sign First Lomé Convention
                             granting financial, technical assistance and trade concessions.
 6 Jun 1975                Georgetown Agreement formally creating the ACP Group signed.

Secretaries-general 
1976 - 1980                Tieoulé Konaté (Mali)              (b. 1933 - d. 1995)
1980 - 1985                Tom Okelo-Odongo (Kenya)           (b. 1927)
1985 - 1990                Edwin W. Carrington                (b. 1938)
                             (Trinidad and Tobago)
1990 - 1995                Ghebray Berhane (Ethiopia)         (b. 1938)
1995 - 1996                Carl B. Greenidge (Guyana)(interim)
16 Jul 1996 - 29 Feb 2000  Ng'andu Peter Magande (Zambia)     (b. 1947)
 1 Mar 2000 - 28 Feb 2005  Jean-Robert Goulongana (Gabon)     (b. 1953)
 1 Mar 2005 -              Sir John Kaputin                   (b. 1941)
                             (Papua New Guinea) 

ACP  membership (79)

Date of Admission	Member Nations
6 Jun 1975	The Bahamas, Barbados, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo (Brazzaville), Dahomey1, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Ivory Coast2, Jamaica, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, The Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, Upper Volta3, Western Samoa4, Zaire5, Zambia
8 Dec 1984	Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Cape Verde, Comoros, Djibouti, Dominica, Kiribati, Liberia, Mozambique, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, São Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, Suriname, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Zimbabwe
4 Nov 1995	Angola, Dominican Republic, Haiti
23 Jun 2000	Cook Islands, Eritrea, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Namibia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, South Africa
14 Dec 2000	Cuba
16 May 2003	East Timor
1from 30 Nov 1975 Benin. 2from 1985 Côte d'Ivoire. 3from 1984 Burkina Faso. 4from 1997 Samoa. 5from 1997 Congo (Kinshasa).

10 Sep 1964                African Development Bank (AfDB) founded.

Presidents
Nov 1964 - Aug 1970        Mamoun Beheiry (The Sudan)         (b. 1925 - d. 2002)
Aug 1970 - May 1976        Abdelwahab Labidi (Tunisia)        (b. .... - d. ....)
May 1976 - Jul 1979        Kwame Donkor Fordword (Ghana)      (b. 1933)
Jul 1979 - Jun 1980        Goodall Gondwe (Malawi) (interim)  (b. 1936)
Jun 1980 - May 1985        Wila D'Israeli Mung'omba (Zambia)  (b. 1939)
May 1985 - Aug 1995        Babacar Ndiaye (Senegal)
 1 Sep 1995 -  1 Sep 2005  Omar Kabbaj (Morocco)              (b. 1942)
 1 Sep 2005 -              Donald Kaberuka (Rwanda)           (b. 1951)

AfDB membership (77)

Date of Admission	Member Nations
10 Sep 1964	Algeria, Cameroon, Congo (Léopoldville)1, Dahomey2, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast3, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, The Sudan, Tanzania4, Togo, Uganda
11 Sep 1964	Senegal
14 Sep 1964	Egypt
22 Sep 1964	Upper Volta5
22 Oct 1964	Somalia
29 Oct 1964	Tunisia
18 Jan 1965	Rwanda
10 Feb 1965	Congo (Brazzaville)
25 Jul 1966	Malawi
1 Sep 1966	Zambia
2 Jan 1968	Burundi
26 Aug 1968	Chad
26 Aug 1970	Central African Republic
26 Jul 1971	Swaziland
31 Mar 1972	Botswana
21 Jul 1972	Libya
31 Dec 1972	Gabon
2 Jul 1973	The Gambia, Lesotho
1 Jan 1974	Mauritius
5 May 1975	Guinea-Bissau
30 Jun 1975	Equatorial Guinea
14 Apr 1976	São Tomé and Príncipe
15 Apr 1976	Cape Verde
3 May 1976	Comoros, Madagascar
4 Jun 1976	Mozambique
20 Sep 1977	Seychelles
12 Jul 1978	Djibouti
5 Sep 1980	Zimbabwe
9 Jan 1981	Angola
15 Dec 1982	Portugal
30 Dec 1982	Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Kuwait, Norway, South Korea, Sweden,  Switzerland, Yugoslavia6
31 Dec 1982	Italy
28 Jan 1983	The Netherlands
3 Feb 1983	Japan
8 Feb 1983	United States
18 Feb 1983	Federal Republic of Germany
15 Mar 1983	Belgium
30 Mar 1983	Austria
29 Apr 1983	United Kingdom
14 Jul 1983	Brazil
6 Dec 1983	India
15 Dec 1983	Portugal, Saudi Arabia
20 Mar 1984	Spain
10 May 1985	China
2 Jul 1985	Argentina
10 Apr 1994	Namibia
13 Dec 1995	South Africa
1996	Eritrea
11966-71 and from 1997 Congo (Kinshasa); 1971-97 Zaire. 2from 1975 Benin. 3from 1985 Côte d'Ivoire. 4United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, renamed Tanzania 1 Nov 1964. 5from 1984 Burkina Faso. 6expelled 31 Dec 1992.

25 May 1963                Organization of African Unity (OAU).
 9 Jul 2002                African Union (AU).

Secretaries-general
25 May 1963 - 21 Jul 1964  Kifle Wodajo (Ethiopia) (acting)   (b. 1936 - d. 2004)
21 Jul 1964 - 15 Jun 1972  Diallo Telli (Guinea)              (b. 1925 - d. 1977)
15 Jun 1972 - 16 Jun 1974  Nzo Ekangaki (Cameroon)            (b. 1934 - d. 2005)
16 Jun 1974 - 21 Jul 1978  William Eteki (Cameroon)           (b. 1933)
21 Jul 1978 - 12 Jun 1983  Edem Kodjo (Togo)                  (b. 1938)
12 Jun 1983 - 20 Jul 1985  Peter Onu (Nigeria) (acting)       (b. 1931 - d. 1997)
20 Jul 1985 - 19 Sep 1989  Ide Oumarou (Niger)                (b. 1937 - d. 2002)
19 Sep 1989 - 17 Sep 2001  Salim Ahmed Salim (Tanzania)       (b. 1942)
17 Sep 2001 -  9 Jul 2002  Amara Essy (Côte d'Ivoire)         (b. 1944)
Chairmen of the Commission
 9 Jul 2002 - 16 Sep 2003  Amara Essy (Côte d'Ivoire)         (s.a.)
                             (interim)
16 Sep 2003 -  1 Feb 2008  Alpha Oumar Konaré (Mali)          (b. 1946)
 1 Feb 2008 -              Jean Ping (Gabon)                  (b. 1942)

Chairmen
25 May 1963 - 17 Jul 1964  Haile Selassie (Ethiopia)          (b. 1892 - d. 1975)
                             (1st time) 
17 Jul 1964 - 21 Oct 1965  Gamal Abdel Nasser (Egypt)         (b. 1918 - d. 1970)
21 Oct 1965 - 24 Feb 1966  Kwame Nkrumah (Ghana)              (b. 1909 - d. 1972)
24 Feb 1966 -  5 Nov 1966  Joseph Arthur Ankrah (Ghana)       (b. 1915 - d. 1992)
 5 Nov 1966 - 11 Sep 1967  Haile Selassie (Ethiopia)          (s.a.)
                             (2nd time) 
11 Sep 1967 - 13 Sep 1968  Joseph-Désiré Mobutu (Congo [K.])  (b. 1930 - d. 1997)
13 Sep 1968 -  6 Sep 1969  Houari Boumedienne (Algeria)       (b. 1932? - d. 1978)
 6 Sep 1969 -  1 Sep 1970  Ahmadou Ahidjo (Cameroon)          (b. 1924 - d. 1989)
 1 Sep 1970 - 21 Jun 1971  Kenneth Kaunda (Zambia) (1st time) (b. 1924)
21 Jun 1971 - 12 Jun 1972  Moktar Ould Daddah (Mauritania)    (b. 1924 - d. 2003)
12 Jun 1972 - 27 May 1973  Hassan II (Morocco)                (b. 1929 - d. 1999)
27 May 1973 - 12 Jun 1974  Yakubu Gowon (Nigeria)             (b. 1934)
12 Jun 1974 - 28 Jul 1975  Muhammad Siad Barre (Somalia)      (b. 1919 - d. 1995)
28 Jul 1975 -  2 Jul 1976  Idi Amin (Uganda)                  (b. 1925? - d. 2003)
 2 Jul 1976 -  2 Jul 1977  Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam          (b. 1900 - d. 1985)
                             (Mauritius) 
 2 Jul 1977 - 18 Jul 1978  Omar Bongo (Gabon)                 (b. 1935 - d. 2009)
18 Jul 1978 - 12 Jul 1979  Gaafar Nimeiry (The Sudan)         (b. 1930 - d. 2009)
12 Jul 1979 - 12 Apr 1980  William R. Tolbert, Jr. (Liberia)  (b. 1913 - d. 1980)
28 Apr 1980 -  1 Jul 1980  Léopold Sédar Senghor (Senegal)    (b. 1906 - d. 2001)
                             (acting)
 1 Jul 1980 - 24 Jun 1981  Siaka Stevens (Sierra Leone)       (b. 1905 - d. 1988)
24 Jun 1981 -  6 Jun 1983  Daniel arap Moi (Kenya)            (b. 1924)
 6 Jun 1983 - 12 Nov 1984  Mengistu Haile Mariam (Ethiopia)   (b. 1937)
12 Nov 1984 - 18 Jul 1985  Julius Nyerere (Tanzania)          (b. 1922 - d. 1999)
18 Jul 1985 - 28 Jul 1986  Abdou Diouf (Senegal) (1st time)   (b. 1935)
28 Jul 1986 - 27 Jul 1987  Denis Sassou-Nguesso (Congo)       (b. 1943)
                             (1st time) 
27 Jul 1987 - 25 May 1988  Kenneth Kaunda (Zambia) (2nd time) (s.a.)
25 May 1988 - 24 Jul 1989  Moussa Traoré (Mali)               (b. 1936)
24 Jul 1989 -  9 Jul 1990  Hosni Mubarak (Egypt) (1st time)   (b. 1928)
 9 Jul 1990 -  3 Jun 1991  Yoweri Museveni (Uganda)           (b. 1944)
 3 Jun 1991 - 29 Jun 1992  Ibrahim Babangida (Nigeria)        (b. 1941)
29 Jun 1992 - 28 Jun 1993  Abdou Diouf (Senegal) (2nd time)   (s.a.)
28 Jun 1993 - 13 Jun 1994  Hosni Mubarak (Egypt) (2nd time)   (s.a.)
13 Jun 1994 - 26 Jun 1995  Zine El Abidine Ben Ali (Tunisia)  (b. 1936)
26 Jun 1995 -  8 Jul 1996  Meles Zenawi (Ethiopia)            (b. 1955)
 8 Jul 1996 -  2 Jun 1997  Paul Biya (Cameroon)               (b. 1933)
 2 Jun 1997 -  8 Jun 1998  Robert Mugabe (Zimbabwe)           (b. 1924)
 8 Jun 1998 - 12 Jul 1999  Blaise Compaoré (Burkina Faso)     (b. 1951)
12 Jul 1999 - 10 Jul 2000  Abdelaziz Bouteflika (Algeria)     (b. 1937)
10 Jul 2000 -  9 Jul 2001  Gnassingbé Eyadéma (Togo)          (b. 1937 - d. 2005)
 9 Jul 2001 -  2 Jan 2002  Frederick Chiluba (Zambia)         (b. 1943)
 2 Jan 2002 -  9 Jul 2002  Levy Mwanawasa (Zambia)            (b. 1948 - d. 2008)
 9 Jul 2002 - 10 Jul 2003  Thabo Mbeki (South Africa)         (b. 1942)
10 Jul 2003 -  6 Jul 2004  Joaquim Chissano (Mozambique)      (b. 1939)
 6 Jul 2004 - 24 Jan 2006  Olusegun Obasanjo (Nigeria)        (b. 1937)
24 Jan 2006 - 29 Jan 2007  Denis Sassou-Nguesso (Congo [B.])  (s.a.)
                             (2nd time) 
29 Jan 2007 - 31 Jan 2008  John Kufuor (Ghana)                (b. 1938)
31 Jan 2008 -  2 Feb 2009  Jakaya Kikwete (Tanzania)          (b. 1950)
 2 Feb 2009 -              Muammar al-Qaddafi (Libya)         (b. 1942)

Presidents of the Pan-African Parliament
18 Mar 2004 - 29 May 2009  Gertrude Ibengwe Mongella (f)      (b. 1955)
                             (Tanzania)
29 May 2009 -              Idriss Ndele Moussa (Chad)         (b. 1959) 

AU membership (53)

Date of Admission	Member Nations
25 May 1963	Algeria, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Léopoldville)1, Dahomey2, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea3, Ivory Coast4, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar5, Mali, Mauritania6, Morocco7, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, The Sudan, Tanganyika8, Togo9, Tunisia, Uganda, Upper Volta10, Zanzibar8
13 Dec 1963	Kenya
13 Jul 1964	Malawi
16 Dec 1964	Zambia
Oct 1965	The Gambia
31 Oct 1966	Botswana, Lesotho
Aug 1968	Mauritius
24 Sep 1968	Swaziland
12 Oct 1968	Equatorial Guinea
19 Nov 1973	Guinea-Bissau
11 Feb 1975	Angola
18 Jul 1975	Cape Verde, Comoros, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe
29 Jun 1976	Seychelles
27 Jun 1977	Djibouti
Jun 1980	Zimbabwe
22 Feb 1982	Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (Western Sahara)
Jun 1990	Namibia
24 May 1993	Eritrea
6 Jun 1994	South Africa
11966-71 and from 1997 Congo (Kinshasa); 1971-97 Zaire. 2from 1975 Benin. 3suspended from 29 Dec 2008. 4from 1985 Côte d'Ivoire. 5to 30 Dec 1975 Malagasy Republic; suspended Dec 2001 - 10 Jul 2003 and from 20 Mar 2009. 6suspended 4 Aug 2005 - 10 Apr 2007 and from 9 Aug 2008. 7withdrew 12 Nov 1984. 8Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged 26 Apr 1964 to form United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, renamed Tanzania 1 Nov 1964. 9suspended 25 Feb 2005 - 27 May 2005. 10from 1984 Burkina Faso.

 
 3 Jul 1978                Amazon Cooperation Treaty (ACT).
25 Feb 1995                Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO)
                             (Organización del Tratado de Cooperación Amazónica [OTCA]).
2003                       Permanent secretariat inaugurated.

               
              Adopted 12  Jul 2004 

26 May 1969                Andean Pact (Andean Group) established.
25 Oct 1979                Andean Parliament established.
10 Mar 1996                Renamed Andean Community of Nations (CAN).
 1 Aug 1997                Secretariat established.

Secretaries-general
 1 Aug 1997 -  7 Aug 2002  Sebastián Alegrett (Venezuela)     (b. 1942 - d. 2002)
19 Sep 2002 - 15 Jan 2004  Guillermo Fernández de Soto        (b. 1953)
                             (Colombia) 
15 Jan 2004 - 28 Jul 2006  Allan Wagner Tizón (Peru)          (b. 1942)
28 Jul 2006 -  1 Feb 2007  Alfredo Fuentes Hernández
                             (Colombia) (acting)
 1 Feb 2007 -              Freddy Ehlers Zurita (Ecuador)     (b. 1945)

Presidents of the Andean Parliament
Aug 1980 - Dec 1981        Héctor Echeverri Correa (Colombia) (b. 1937)
Dec 1981 - Mar 1983        Raúl Baca Carbo (Ecuador)          (b. 1931)
Mar 1983 - May 1984        Godofredo González (Venezuela)
May 1984 - Dec 1984        Ricardo Monteagudo (Peru)          (b. 1923 - d. 2005)
28 Jul 1985 - 11 Dec 1985  Jorge Tadeo Lozano Osorio          (b. 1936)
                             (Colombia)
Dec 1985 - Mar 1987        Julio Garrett Aillón (Bolivia)     (b. 1925)
Mar 1987 - Mar 1989        Humberto Pelaez Gutiérrez
                             (Colombia)
Mar 1989 - 1990            Wilfrido Lucero Bolaños (Ecuador)  (b. 1935)
1990 - Sep 1992            Romualdo Gustavo Biaggi Rodríguez  (b. 1923)
                             (Peru)
Sep 1992 - Sep 1994        Paciano José Padrón Valladares
                             (Venezuela)
Sep 1994 - Dec 1995        Victor Hugo Cárdenas Conde         (b. 1951)
                             (Bolivia)
Dec 1995 - Dec 1997        Julio César Turbay Quintero        (b. 1950)
                             (Colombia)
Dec 1997 - Dec 1999        Heinz Rodolfo Moeller Freile       (b. 1937)
                             (Ecuador)
Dec 1999 - May 2001        Oscar Andrés Reggiardo Sayán       (b. 1941)
                             (Peru)
May 2001 - Nov 2001        Luis Juan Alva Castro (Peru)       (b. 1942)
Nov 2001 - Nov 2003        Jhannett Maria Madriz Sotillo (f)
                             (Venezuela)
Nov 2003 - Nov 2005        Víctor Enrique Urquidi Hodgkinson
                             (Bolivia)
Nov 2005 - Nov 2007        Luis Fernando Duque García         (b. 1952)
                             (Colombia)              
26 Nov 2007 -              Ivonne Juez de Abdel Baki (f)
                             (Ecuador)  

Andean Community membership (4)

Date of Admission	Member Nations
26 May 1969	Bolivia, Chile1, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru2
13 Feb 1973	Venezuela3
1withdrew 30 Oct 1976. 2suspended Apr 1992-1997.   3withdrew 22 Apr 2006.
Date of Admission	Associate Members of CAN
7 Jul 2005	Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay
20 Sep 2006	Chile

                  Adopted 20 Sep 2002

 1 Dec 1959                Antarctic Treaty signed.
23 Jun 1961                Antarctic Treaty comes into effect.
 1 Sep 2004                Secretariat inaugurated.

Executive secretary
 1 Sep 2004 -              Johannes "Jan" Huber (Netherlands)

Antarctic Treaty membership (47) 

Dates of  Membership	Member Nations
23 Jun 1961	Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, South Africa, Soviet Union1, United Kingdom, United States
14 Jun 1962	Czechoslovakia2
20 May 1965	Denmark
30 Mar 1967	The Netherlands
15 Sep 1971	Romania
19 Nov 1974	East Germany3
16 May 1975	Brazil
11 Sep 1978	Bulgaria
5 Feb 1979	West Germany3
11 Jan 1980	Uruguay
16 Mar 1981	Papua New Guinea4
18 Mar 1981	Italy
10 Apr 1981	Peru
31 Mar 1982	Spain
8 Jun 1983	China
19 Aug 1983	India
27 Jan 1984	Hungary
24 Apr 1984	Sweden
15 May 1984	Finland
16 Aug 1984	Cuba
28 Nov 1986	South Korea
8 Jan 1987	Greece
21 Jan 1987	North Korea
25 Aug 1987	Austria
15 Sep 1987	Ecuador
4 May 1988	Canada
31 Jan 1989	Colombia
15 Nov 1990	Switzerland
31 Jul 1991	Guatemala
28 Oct 1992	Ukraine
1 Jan 1993	Czech Republic, Slovakia
24 Jan 1996	Turkey
24 Mar 1999	Venezuela
17 May 2001	Estonia
27 Dec 2006	Belarus
30 May 2008	Monaco
1Dissolved 25 Dec 1991, succeeded by Russia. 2Dissolved 31 Dec 1992. 3East and West Germany united 3 Oct 1990. 4Date of deposit of notification of succession by Papua New Guinea; effective 16 Sep 1975, the date of its independence.

                           Adopted 1945
 

Arab League website

Headquarters: Cairo (Egypt) (Tunis, Tunisia 1979-1990)

AL Day: 22 Mar (1945) Arab League Day

22 Mar 1945                League of Arab States (Arab League) founded.

Secretaries-general
22 Mar 1945 - Sep 1952     Abdel Rahman Azzam (Egypt)       (b. 1893 - d. 1976)
                             (from 27 Dec 1945, Abdel Rahman Azzam Pasha)
Sep 1952 -  1 Jun 1972     Abdel Khaliq Hassuna (Egypt)     (b. 1898 - d. 1992)
 1 Jun 1972 - Mar 1979     Mahmoud Riad (Egypt)             (b. 1917 - d. 1992)
Mar 1979 - Sep 1990        Chedli Klebi (Tunisia)           (b. 1925)
Sep 1990 - 15 May 1991     Assad al-Assad (Lebanon) (acting)(b. 1920)
15 May 1991 - 15 May 2001  Esmat Abdel Meguid (Egypt)       (b. 1923)
15 May 2001 -              Amr Moussa (Egypt)               (b. 1936)

Arab League membership (22)

Date of  Admission	Member Nations
22 Mar 1945	Egypt1, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria2, Transjordan3, Yemen (Sana)4
28 Mar 1953	Libya5
19 Jan 1956	The Sudan
1 Jan 1958	Tunisia
1 Oct 1958	Morocco
20 Jul 1961	Kuwait
16 Aug 1962	Algeria
12 Dec 1967	Yemen (Aden)4
11 Sep 1971	Bahrain, Qatar
29 Sep 1971	Oman
6 Dec 1971	United Arab Emirates
26 Nov 1973	Mauritania
14 Feb 1974	Somalia
9 Sep 1976	Palestine Liberation Organization
4 Sep 1977	Djibouti
20 Nov 1993	Comoros
1suspended 26 Mar 1979 - 23 May 1989. 2merged with Egypt to form United Arab Republic 22 Feb 1958; seceded from U.A.R. 28 Sep 1961 and rejoined Arab League 29 Oct 1961. 3from 1949 Jordan. 4Yemen (Aden) and Yemen (Sana) united in 1990 as Yemen. 5Libya announced its withdrawal 24 Oct 2002; this would be effective one year later; Libya canceled (16 Jan 2003), reaffirmed (3 Apr 2003), and again canceled (25 May 2003) the decision to withdraw.

                    Adopted 1990
 

AMU website

Headquarters: Rabat (Morocco)

17 Feb 1989                Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) formed.

Secretaries-general
23 Oct 1991 - 26 Feb 2002  Mohamed Amamou (Tunisia)           (b. 1933)
26 Feb 2002 -  1 Feb 2006  Habib Boularès (Tunisia)           (b. 1933)
 1 Feb 2006 -              Habib Ben Yahia (Tunisia)          (b. 1938)

AMU membership (5)

Date of  Admission	Member Nations
17 Feb 1989	Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia

                     Adopted 1991
 

APEC website

Headquarters: Singapore (Singapore)

 6 Nov 1989                Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) founded.
12 Feb 1993                Secretariat inaugurated.

Executive Directors
12 Feb 1993 - 1994         William Bodde, Jr. (United States)  (b. 1931)
1994 - 1995                Rusli Noor (Indonesia)              (b. 1927)
1995 - 1996                Shojiro Imanishi (Japan)            (b. 1940) 
1996 - 1997                Armando Q. Madamba (Philippines)    (b. 1941?)
1997 - 1998                Jack A. Whittleton (Canada)         (b. 1940?)
1998 -  4 Jan 1999         Dato' Noor Adlan (Malaysia)         (b. 1939)
 4 Jan 1999 -  4 Jan 2000  Timothy James Hannah (New Zealand)  (b. 1939)
 4 Jan 2000 -  1 Jan 2001  Serbini Ali (Brunei Darussalam)     (b. 1955)
 1 Jan 2001 -  1 Jan 2002  Zhang Yan (China)                   (b. 1950)
 1 Jan 2002 -  1 Jan 2003  Alejandro de la Peña Navarrete      (b. 1951)
                             (Mexico)
 1 Jan 2003 -  1 Jan 2004  Piamsak Milintachinda (Thailand)    (b. 1950)
 1 Jan 2004 -  1 Jan 2005  Mario Artaza (Chile)                (b. 1937)
 1 Jan 2005 -  1 Jan 2006  Choi Seok Young (South Korea)       (b. 1955)
 1 Jan 2006 -  1 Jan 2007  Tran Trong Toan (Vietnam)           (b. 1952)
 1 Jan 2007 -  1 Jan 2008  Colin S. Heseltine (Australia)      (b. 1947)
 1 Jan 2008 -  1 Jan 2009  Juan Carlos Capuñay (Peru)          (b. 1949)
 1 Jan 2009 -              Michael Tay (Singapore)             (b. 1959)   

APEC membership (21)

Date of  Admission	Member Nations
6 Nov 1989	Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, United States
12 Nov 1991	China, Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei (Taiwan)
17 Nov 1993	Mexico, Papua New Guinea
11 Nov 1994	Chile
14 Nov 1998	Peru, Russia, Vietnam

Asian Development Bank (ADB)

22 Aug 1966                Asian Development Bank (ADB) established.
19 Dec 1966                Operations begin.

Presidents (all from Japan)
24 Nov 1966 - 24 Nov 1972  Takeshi Watanabe                   (b. 1906)
25 Nov 1972 - 23 Nov 1976  Shiro Inoue                        (b. 1915)
24 Nov 1976 - 23 Nov 1981  Taroichi Yoshida                   (b. 1919)
24 Nov 1981 - 23 Nov 1989  Masao Fujioka                      (b. 1924)
24 Nov 1989 - 23 Nov 1993  Kimimasa Tarumizu                  (b. 1930)
24 Nov 1993 - 15 Jan 1999  Mitsuo Sato                        (b. 1933 - d. 2002)
16 Jan 1999 -  1 Feb 2005  Tadao Chino                        (b. 1934)
 1 Feb 2005 -              Haruhiko Kuroda                    (b. 1944)

ADB membership (67)

Date of  Admission	Member Nations
22 Aug 1966	Afghanistan, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, India, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Norway, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Thailand, United States, Western Samoa1
29 Aug 1966	The Netherlands
30 Aug 1966	Federal Republic of Germany, Laos
21 Sep 1966	Singapore
22 Sep 1966	Vietnam2, Taiwan3
26 Sep 1966	United Kingdom
29 Sep 1966	Ceylon4, Sweden
29 Sep 1966	Austria, New Zealand
30 Sep 1966	Cambodia, Italy
24 Nov 1966	Indonesia
19 Dec 1966	Australia
31 Dec 1967	Switzerland
27 Mar 1969	Hong Kong
2 Apr 1970	Fiji
27 Jul 1970	France
8 Apr 1971	Papua New Guinea
29 Mar 1972	Tonga
14 Mar 1973	Bangladesh
26 Apr 1973	Burma5
30 Apr 1973	Solomon Islands
28 May 1974	Gilbert and Ellice Islands6
20 Apr 1976	Cook Islands
14 Feb 1978	Maldives
15 Apr 1982	Bhutan, Vanuatu
14 Feb 1986	Spain
10 Mar 1986	China
4 Apr 1990	Marshall Islands
26 Apr 1990	Federated States of Micronesia
15 Apr 1991	Turkey
17 Sep 1991	Nauru
22 Feb 1991	Mongolia
3 May 1993	Tuvalu
19 Jan 1994	Kazakhstan
13 Apr 1994	Kyrgyzstan
31 Aug 1995	Uzbekistan
20 Apr 1998	Tajikistan
22 Dec 1999	Azerbaijan
31 Aug 2000	Turkmenistan
2 Apr 2002	Portugal
23 Jul 2002	East Timor
25 Sep 2003	Luxembourg
29 Dec 2003	Palau
20 Sep 2005	Armenia
27 Apr 2006	Brunei Darussalam
24 Jul 2006	Ireland
2 Feb 2007	Georgia
1from 1997 Samoa. 2Republic of Vietnam to 30 Apr 1975, then Republic of South Vietnam, from 2 Jul 1976 Socialist Republic of Vietnam; succession recognized by ADB on 23 Sep 1976, retroactive to 2 Jul 1976. 3upon the admission of the People's Republic of China on 10 Mar 1986, the Republic of China (Taiwan) is re-designated "Taipei, China" and continues its membership under that designation. 4from 1972 Sri Lanka. 5from 1989 Myanmar. 6in 1975 Ellice Islands (later Tuvalu) separated from the Gilbert Islands which alone remained a member of the Bank; from 1979 Gilbert Islands named Kiribati.

31 Jan 1961 - 1963         Association of Southeast Asia (ASA)(Malaysia, Philippines,
                             and Thailand).
 8 Aug 1967                ASEAN created.

Secretaries-general
 7 Jun 1976 - 18 Feb 1978  Hartono Dharsono (Indonesia)       (b. 1925 - d. 1996)
19 Feb 1978 -  1 Jul 1978  Umarjadi Njotowijono (Indonesia)
10 Jul 1978 -  1 Jul 1980  Datuk Ali bin Abdullah (Malaysia)
 1 Jul 1980 -  1 Jul 1982  Narciso G. Reyes (Philippines)     (b. 1914 - d. 1996)
18 Jul 1982 - 16 Jul 1984  Chan Kai Yau (Singapore)
16 Jul 1984 - 16 Jul 1986  Phan Wannamethee (Thailand)        (b. 1923)
16 Jul 1986 - 16 Jul 1989  Roderick Yong (Brunei Darussalam)
17 Jul 1989 -  1 Jan 1993  Rusli Noor (Indonesia)             (b. 1927)
 1 Jan 1993 -  5 Jan 1998  Datuk Ajit Singh (Malaysia)        (b. 1938)
 5 Jan 1998 -  6 Jan 2003  Rodolfo C. Severino (Philippines)  (b. 1936)
 6 Jan 2003 -  7 Jan 2008  Ong Keng Yong (Singapore)          (b. 1954)
 7 Jan 2008 -              Surin Pitsuwan (Thailand)          (b. 1949)

ASEAN membership (10)

Date of  Admission	Member Nations
8 Aug 1967	Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand
7 Jan 1984	Brunei Darussalam
28 Jul 1995	Vietnam
23 Jul 1997	Laos, Myanmar
30 Apr 1999	Cambodia

25 Jun 1992                Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) founded.
 1 May 1999                Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC).

               Adopted 4 Jul 1984
 

CARICOM website

Headquarters: Georgetown (Guyana)

CARICOM Day: 1st Monday in July CARICOM Day

15 Dec 1965                Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA) formed.
 1 Aug 1973                Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) inaugurated.

Secretaries-general
1973 - 1974                William Demas                      (b. 1929 - d. 1998)
                             (Trinidad and Tobago) 
1974 - Aug 1977            Sir Alister McIntyre (Grenada)     (b. 1932)
Aug 1977 - Aug 1978        Joseph Tyndall (Guyana) (acting)   (b. 1927)
 1 Nov 1978 - Sep 1983     Kurleigh King (Barbados)           (b. 1933 - d. 1998)
Sep 1983 -  1 Aug 1992     Roderick Rainford (Jamaica)        (b. 1940)
 1 Aug 1992 -              Edwin W. Carrington                (b. 1938)
                             (Trinidad and Tobago)

1999 - 30 Oct 2006

Adopted 30 Oct 2006

Parlacen website

Headquarters: Guatemala City (Guatemala)

28 Oct 1991                Parlacen established as the parliamentary assembly
                             of Central American Integration System (SICA).

Presidents
28 Oct 1991 - 28 Oct 1992  Roberto Vicente Carpio Nicolle
                             (Guatemala)
28 Oct 1992 - 28 Oct 1993  Ilsa Díaz Zelaya (f) (Honduras)    (b. 1942)
28 Oct 1993 - 28 Oct 1994  José Francisco Guerrero Munguía    (b. 1937 - d. 1994)
                             (El Salvador) 
28 Oct 1994 - 28 Oct 1995  Victor Augusto Vela Mena (Guatemala)
                             (1st time)
28 Oct 1995 - Nov 1995     Roland Valenzuela Oyuela (Honduras)(d. 1995)
Nov 1995 – 28 Oct 1996     Raul Zaldívar Guzmán (Honduras)  
28 Oct 1996 - 28 Oct 1997  Ernesto Lima Mena (El Salvador)
28 Oct 1997 - 28 Oct 1998  Marco Antonio Solares Pérez        (b. 1956)
                             (Guatemala)
28 Oct 1998 - 28 Oct 1999  Carlos Roberto Reina (Honduras)    (b. 1926 - d. 2003)
28 Oct 1999 - 28 Oct 2000  José Ernesto Somarriba Sosa
                             (Nicaragua)
28 Oct 2000 - 28 Oct 2001  Hugo Heberto Guiraud Gargano
                             (Panama)
28 Oct 2001 - 28 Oct 2002  José Rodrigo Samayoa Rivas
                             (El Salvador)
28 Oct 2002 - 28 Oct 2003  Victor Augusto Vela Mena (Guatemala)
                             (2nd time)
28 Oct 2003 - 28 Oct 2004  Mario Facussé Handal (Honduras)    (b. 1946)
28 Oct 2004 - 28 Oct 2005  Fabio Gadea Mantilla (Nicaragua)   (b. 1931)
28 Oct 2005 - 28 Oct 2006  Julio Enrique Palacios Sambrano
                             (Panama)
28 Oct 2006 - 26 Oct 2007  Ciro Cruz Cepeda Peña (El Salvador)(b. 1946)
26 Oct 2007 - 28 Oct 2008  Julio Guillermo González Gamarra
                             (Guatemala)
28 Oct 2008 -              Gloria Guadalupe Oquelí Solorzano
                             de Macotto (f)(Honduras)

PARLACEN membership (6)

Date of  Admission	Member Nations
28 Oct 1991	El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras
21 Jan 1997	Nicaragua
1 Sep 1999	Panama
30 Oct 2006	Dominican Republic

 

Text of the Baghdad Pact (4 Feb 1955)

Headquarters: Ankara (Turkey) (Baghdad, Iraq 1955-1958)

 4 Feb 1955                Pact of Mutual Cooperation "Baghdad Pact" signed.
15 Apr 1955                Middle East Treaty Organization (MENTO).
19 Aug 1959                Central Treaty Organization (CENTO).
26 Sep 1979                CENTO dissolved.

Secretaries-general
1955 - 31 Dec 1958         Awni Khalidy (Iraq)
 1 Jan 1959 - 1961         Mirza O.A. Baig (Pakistan)         (b. 1904)
1962 - Jan 1968            Abbas Ali Khalatbari (Iran)        (b. 1912 - d. 1979)
Jan 1968 -  1 Feb 1972     Turgut Menemencioglu (Turkey)
 1 Feb 1972 - Jan 1975     Nassir Assar (Iran)
Jan 1975 -  1 Aug 1977     Ümit Haluk Bayülken (Turkey)       (b. 1921)
Aug 1977 - Mar 1978        Sidar Hasan Mahmud (Pakistan) 
                             (acting)
31 Mar 1978 - 1979         Kamuran Gürün (Turkey)             (b. 1924)

CENTO membership 

Date of  Admission	Member Nations
15 Apr 1955	Iraq1, Turkey2, United Kingdom
23 Sep 1955	Pakistan3
23 Oct 1955	Iran4
1withdrew 24 Mar 1959. 2withdrew 15 Mar 1979. 3withdrew 12 Mar 1979. 4withdrew 13 Mar 1979. note: the United States was an observer from 5 Mar 1959.

               Adopted 15 May 1992

 

Colombo Plan website

Headquarters: Colombo (Sri Lanka)

28 Nov 1950                Colombo Plan for Co-operative Economic Development
                             in South and South-East Asia
 1 Jul 1951                Plan operations commence. 
Dec 1977                   Colombo Plan for Co-operative Economic and Social 
                             Development in Asia and the Pacific (CESDAP). 
Nov 1980                   Duration of the plan extended indefinitely.

Directors
Aug 1951 - Sep 1953        Geoffrey M. Wilson (U.K.)         (b. 1910 - d. 2004)
Sep 1953 - Feb 1956        P.W.E. Curtin (Australia)
Apr 1956 - Aug 1957        Nathan Keyfitz (Canada)           (b. 1913)
Aug 1957 - Jul 1959        R.H. Wade (New Zealand)
Jul 1959 - Dec 1961        J.K. Thompson (U.K.)              (b. 1913)
Dec 1961 - Jan 1964        S. Matsui (Japan)
Jan 1964 - Mar 1966        J.L. Allen (Australia)
Mar 1966 - Jun 1969        D. Alan Strachan (U.S.)
Jun 1969 - Aug 1973        A.B. Connelly (Canada)
Aug 1973 - Dec 1975        I.K. McGregor (New Zealand)
Jan 1976 - Feb 1979        Leonore E.T. Storar (f) (U.K.)
Feb 1979 - Feb 1982        Noboru Yabata (Japan)
Feb 1982 - Feb 1985        Erik Ingevics (Australia)
Feb 1985 - Jan 1986        Donald R. Toussaint (U.S.)        (b. 1927 - d. 1986)
Jul 1986 - Jul 1991        Gilbert H. Shinbaum (U.S.)
Jul 1991 - Dec 1994        John Ryan (New Zealand)
Secretaries-general
Jan 1995 - Mar 1999        Hak-Su Kim (South Korea)          (b. 1938)
Apr 1999 - Jun 2003        U. Sarat Chandran (India)
Jun 2003 - Aug 2007        Kittipan Kanjanapipatkul
                             (Thailand)
Aug 2007 -                 Patricia Yoon-Moi Chia (f)        (b. 1952)
                             (from Feb 2009, Dato' Patricia
                             Yoon-Moi Chia)(Malaysia)

Colombo Plan membership (26)

Date of  Admission	Member Nations
28 Nov 1950	Australia, Canada1, Ceylon2, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, United Kingdom3
1951	Cambodia4, Laos, South Vietnam5, United States
Mar 1952	Burma6, Nepal
Feb 1953	Indonesia
5 Oct 1954	Japan, Philippines, Thailand
7 Oct 1957	Malaya7
1959	Singapore
Nov 1962	Bhutan, South Korea
12 Nov 1963	Afghanistan, Maldives
1966	Iran
1972	Bangladesh, Fiji
1973	Papua New Guinea
May 1998	Mongolia8
5 Nov 2001	Vietnam8
1withdrew 1992. 2from 1972 Sri Lanka. 3withdrew 1991. 4withdrew 2004. 5from 2 Jul 1976 succeeded by Socialist Republic of Vietnam which withdrew 1978. 6from 1989 Myanmar. 7from 1963 Malaysia. 8provisional members to 18 Nov 2003.

 

COMESA website

Headquarters: Lusaka (Zambia)

COMESA Day:  8 Dec (1994) COMESA Day

21 Dec 1981                Preferential Trade Area for Eastern and Southern Africa 
                             (PTA).
 8 Dec 1994                Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).

Secretaries-general
1981 - 1983                Simeon Kingi
1983 - 1990                Bax Dale Nomvete (South Africa)    (b. 19.. - d. 2001)
1990 - 17 Apr 1997         Bingu wa Mutharika  (Malawi)       (b. 1934)
17 Apr 1997 - Jun 1998     Sindiso Ndema Ngwenya (Zimbabwe)   (b. 1951)
                             (1st time)(acting)
Jun 1998 - Feb 2008        Erastus Joel O. Mwencha (Kenya)    (b. 1947) 
May 2008 -                 Sindiso Ndema Ngwenya (Zimbabwe)   (s.a.)
                             (2nd time)(acting to 30 Jun 2008)

COMESA membership (19)

Date of  Admission	Member Nations
21 Dec 1981	Angola1, Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho2, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique3, Rwanda, The Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania4, Uganda, Zambia, Zaire5, Zimbabwe
1991	Namibia6
1994	Eritrea
6 Jan 1999	Egypt
1 Jun 2001	Seychelles
3 Jun 2005	Libya
1withdrew 2007. 2withdrew 1997. 3withdrew Dec 1997. 4withdrew 2 Sep 2000. 5from 1997 Congo (Kinshasa). 6withdrew 15 May 2004

31 Dec 1931                Statute of Westminster creates the British 
                             Commonwealth of Nations.
27 Apr 1949                Renamed The Commonwealth.
Jul 1965                   Commonwealth secretariat created.

Secretaries-general
Jun 1965 - 30 Jun 1975     Arnold Smith (Canada)              (b. 1915 - d. 1994)
 1 Jul 1975 - 30 Jun 1990  Sir Shridath Ramphal (Guyana)      (b. 1928)
 1 Jul 1990 -  3 Apr 2000  Emeka Anyaoku (Nigeria)            (b. 1933)
 3 Apr 2000 -  1 Apr 2008  Don McKinnon (New Zealand)         (b. 1939)
 1 Apr 2008 -              Kamalesh Sharma (India)            (b. 1941)

Commonwealth membership (53)

Date of Admission	Member Nations
11 Dec 1931	Australia, Canada, Ireland1, New Zealand, Newfoundland2, South Africa3,  United Kingdom
15 Oct 1947	India, Pakistan4
4 Feb 1948	Ceylon5
6 Mar 1957	Ghana
31 Aug 1957	Malaya6
1 Oct 1960	Nigeria7
13 Mar 1961	Cyprus
27 Apr 1961	Sierra Leone
9 Dec 1961	Tanganyika8
6 Aug 1962	Jamaica
31 Aug 1962	Trinidad and Tobago
9 Oct 1962	Uganda
12 Dec 1963	Kenya
6 Jul 1964	Malawi
21 Sep 1964	Malta
24 Oct 1964	Zambia
18 Feb 1965	The Gambia
15 Oct 1965	Singapore
26 May 1966	Guyana
30 Sep 1966	Botswana
4 Oct 1966	Lesotho
30 Nov 1966	Barbados
12 Mar 1968	Mauritius
6 Sep 1968	Swaziland
29 Nov 1968	Nauru9
4 Jun 1970	Tonga
28 Aug 1970	Western Samoa10
10 Oct 1970	Fiji11
18 Apr 1972	Bangladesh
10 Jul 1973	The Bahamas
7 Feb 1974	Grenada
16 Sep 1975	Papua New Guinea
28 Jun 1976	Seychelles
7 Jul 1978	Solomon Islands
1 Oct 1978	Tuvalu12
3 Nov 1978	Dominica
22 Feb 1979	Saint Lucia
12 Jul 1979	Kiribati
27 Oct 1979	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines13
18 Apr 1980	Zimbabwe14
30 Jul 1980	Vanuatu
21 Sep 1981	Belize
1 Nov 1981	Antigua and Barbuda
9 Jul 1982	Maldives13
19 Sep 1983	Saint Kitts and Nevis
1 Jan 1984	Brunei Darussalam
21 Mar 1990	Namibia
1 Nov 1995	Cameroon
12 Nov 1995	Mozambique
1withdrew 18 Apr 1949. 2became a colony in 1934. 3withdrew 31 May 1961, rejoined 1 Jun 1994. 4withdrew 30 Jan 1972, rejoined 1 Oct 1989; suspended from councils 18 Oct 1999 - 22 May 2004 and 22 Nov 2007 - 12 May 2008. 5from 1972 Sri Lanka. 6from 1963 Malaysia. 7suspended 11 Nov 1995 - 29 May 1999. 8from 1964 Tanzania. 9special member to 1 May 1999 and from 9 Jan 2006. 10from 1997 Samoa. 11withdrew 15 Oct 1987, rejoined 30 Sep 1997; suspended from councils 6 Jun 2000 - 20 Dec 2001 and from 8 Dec 2006. 12special member to 1 Sep 2000. 13special member to 20 Jun 1985. 14suspended from councils 19 Mar 2002, withdrew 7 Dec 2003.
Date of Admission	Associate Members of Commonwealth
4 Aug 1965	Cook Islands
19 Oct 1974	Niue

 8 Dec 1991                Commonwealth of Slavic States (Belarus, Russia and Ukraine).
21 Dec 1991                Commonwealth of Independent States.

Coordinator of the Working Group for Organization
16 Jan 1992 - May 1993     Ivan Mikhailovich Korotchenya       (b. 1948)
                             (Belarus)
Executive Secretaries
May 1993 - 29 Apr 1998     Ivan Mikhailovich Korotchenya       (s.a.) 
                             (1st time)(Belarus)
29 Apr 1998 -  4 Mar 1999  Boris Abramovich Berezovsky         (b. 1946)
                             (Russia)
 4 Mar 1999 -  2 Apr 1999  Ivan Mikhailovich Korotchenya       (s.a.)
                             (2nd time)(acting) (Belarus)
 2 Apr 1999 - 14 Jun 2004  Yury Fyodorovich Yarov (Russia)     (b. 1942)
14 Jun 2004 -  5 Oct 2007  Vladimir Borisovich Rushailo        (b. 1953) 
                             (Russia)
 5 Oct 2007 -              Sergey Nikolayevich Lebedev (Russia)(b. 1948)

CIS membership (11)

Date of  Admission	Member Nations
21 Dec 1991	Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Tukmenistan1, Ukraine, Uzbekistan
9 Dec 1993	Georgia2
1withdrew 26 Aug 2005. 2Georgia announced its withdrawal 18 Aug 2008; this will become effective one year later (18 Aug 2009).
Date of  Admission	Associate Member of CIS
26 Aug 2006	Turkmenistan

 

Comintern Constitution (4 Mar 1919)

Headquarters: Moscow (Soviet Union) (Belgrade, Yugoslavia) 1947-1948; Bucharest, Romania 1948-1956)

 4 Mar 1919                Communist International ("Comintern").
15 May 1943                Comintern dissolved.
22 Sep 1947 - 17 Apr 1956  Information Bureau of the Communist and Workers' Parties
                             (Communist Information Bureau)("Cominform").

Chairmen of the Executive Committee
 6 Mar 1919 - 1926         Grigory Yevseyevich Zinoviev    (b. 1883 - d. 1936)
                             (Soviet Union)
1926 - 1929                Nikolay Ivanovich Bukharin      (b. 1888 - d. 1938)
                             (Soviet Union)
1929 - 1934                Secretaries
                           ([de facto] acting)
                           - Dmitry Zakharovych Manuilskiy (b. 1883 - d. 1959)
                             (Soviet Union)(from 1931)
                           - Otto Ville Kuusinen (Finland) (b. 1881 - d. 1964) 
                             (to 1931)
                           - Georgi Mikhailov Dimitrov     (b. 1882 - d. 1949)
                             (Bulgaria)
1934 - 15 May 1943         Georgi Mikhailov Dimitrov       (s.a.)
                             (Bulgaria)
Chief Redactors
(only permanent structure formed was the redaction committee of Cominform publications)
1947 - 1950                Pavel Fyodorovich Yudin         (b. 1899 - d. 1968)
                             (Soviet Union)
1950 - 1953                Mark Borisovitch Mitin          (b. 1901 - d. 1987)
                             (Gershkovich)(Soviet Union)

17 Jul 1996 - 1 Aug 2002

Adopted 1 Aug 2002

17 Jul 1996                Community of Portuguese Language Countries
                             (Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa) constituted.

Executive Secretaries
17 Jul 1996 - Jul 2000     Marcolino José Carlos Moco (Angola) (b. 1953)
Jul 2000 -  1 Aug 2002     Dulce Maria Pereira (f) (Brazil)    (b. 1954)
 1 Aug 2002 - Apr 2004     João Augusto de Médicis (Brazil)    (b. 1936)
Apr 2004 - 27 Jul 2004     Zeferino Martins (Mozambique)
                             (interim)
27 Jul 2004 - 25 Jul 2008  Luís de Matos Monteiro da Fonseca   (b. 1944)
                             (Cape Verde)
25 Jul 2008 -              Domingos Simões Pereira             (b. 1963)
                             (Guinea-Bissau)

Director-general
 1 Feb 2008 -              Hélder Jorge Vaz Gomes Lopes
                             (Guinea-Bissau)
     

CPLP membership (8)

Date of  Admission	Member Nations
17 Jul 1996	Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé e Principe
1 Aug 2002	East Timor (Timor-Leste)
Date of  Admission	Associate Observers of CPLP
16 Jul 2006	Equatorial Guinea, Mauritius
24 Jul 2008	Senegal

                Adopted 9 Dec 1955

 5 May 1949                Council of Europe

Secretaries-general
11 Aug 1949 - 17 Sep 1953  Jacques Camille Paris (France)     (b. 1902 - d. 1953)
21 Sep 1953 - 24 Sep 1956  Léon Marchal (France)              (b. 1900 - d. 1956)
15 Sep 1957 - 15 Mar 1964  Lodovico Benvenuti (Italy)         (b. 1899 - d. 1966)
16 Mar 1964 - 15 Sep 1969  Peter Smithers (U.K.)              (b. 1913 - d. 2006)
16 Sep 1969 - 16 Sep 1974  Lujo Toncic-Sorinj (Austria)       (b. 1915 - d. 2005)
17 Sep 1974 - 17 Sep 1979  Georg Kahn-Ackermann (W.Ger.)      (b. 1918 - d. 2008)
 1 Oct 1979 -  1 Oct 1984  Franz Karasek (Austria)            (b. 1924 - d. 1986)
 1 Oct 1984 -  1 Jun 1989  Marcelino Oreja Aguirre (Spain)    (b. 1935)
 1 Jun 1989 - 31 May 1994  Catherine Lalumière (f) (France)   (b. 1935)
20 Jun 1994 -  1 Sep 1999  Daniel Tarschys (Sweden)           (b. 1943)
 1 Sep 1999 -  1 Sep 2004  Walter Schwimmer (Austria)         (b. 1942)
 1 Sep 2004 -              Terry Davis (U.K.)                 (b. 1938)

Presidents of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
1949                       Édouard Herriot (France) (interim) (b. 1872 - d. 1957)  SLib
1949 - 1951                Paul-Henri Spaak (Belgium)         (b. 1899 - d. 1972)  Soc
1952 - 1954                François de Menthon (France)       (b. 1900 - d. 1984)  CD
1954 - 1956                Guy Mollet (France)                (b. 1905 - d. 1975)  Soc
1956 - 1959                Fernand Dehousse (Belgium)         (b. 1906 - d. 1976)  Soc
1959 - 23 Nov 1959         John Edwards (U.K.)                (b. 1904 - d. 1959)  CD
1960 - 1963                Per Federspiel (Denmark)           (b. 1905 - d. 1994)  Lib
1963 - 1966                Pierre Pflimlin (France)           (b. 1907 - d. 2000)  CD
1966 - 1969                Sir Geoffrey de Freitas (U.K.)     (b. 1913 - d. 1982)  SD
1969 - 1972                Olivier Reverdin (Switzerland)     (b. 1913 - d. 2000)  Lib
1972 - 1975                Giuseppe Vedovato (Italy)          (b. 1912)            CD
1975 - 1978                Karl Czernetz (Austria)            (b. 1924)            SD
1978 - 1981                Henri J. de Koster (Netherlands)   (b. 1914 - d. 1992)  Lib
1981 - 1982                José Maria de Areilza (Spain)      (b. 1909 - d. 1988)  Cen
1983 - 1986                Karl Ahrens (Germany)              (b. 1924)            SD
1986 - 1989                Louis Jung (France)                (b. 1917)            Cen
1989 - 1992                Andres Björck (Sweden)             (b. 1944)            Lib
1992                       Geoffrey Finsberg (U.K.)           (b. 1926 - d. 1996)  Con
1992 - 1995                Miguel Angel Martínez Martínez     (b. 1940)            Soc
                             (Spain)
1996 - 1999                Leni Fischer (f)(Germany)          (b. 1935)            CD
1999 - 21 Jan 2002         Russell Johnston, Baron            (b. 1932 - d. 2008)  Lib
                             Russell-Johnston (U.K.)
21 Jan 2002 - 24 Jan 2005  Peter Schieder (Austria)           (b. 1941)            SD
24 Jan 2005 - 21 Jan 2008  René van der Linden (Netherlands)  (b. 1943)            CD
21 Jan 2008 -              Lluís Maria de Puig (Spain)        (b. 1945)            Soc

Commissioners for Human Rights
15 Oct 1999 -  1 Apr 2005  Álvaro Gil-Robles (Spain)          (b. 1944)
 1 Apr 2005 -              Thomas Hammarberg (Sweden)         (b. 1942)

CE membership (47) 

Date of Admission	Member Nations
5 May 1949	Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom
9 Aug 1949	Greece1
3 Mar 1950	Iceland
13 Apr 1950	Turkey
13 Jul 1950	Federal Republic of Germany, Saarland2
16 Apr 1956	Austria
24 May 1961	Cyprus
6 May 1963	Switzerland
29 Apr 1965	Malta
22 Sep 1976	Portugal
24 Nov 1977	Spain
23 Nov 1978	Liechtenstein
16 Nov 1988	San Marino
5 May 1989	Finland
6 Nov 1990	Hungary
29 Nov 1991	Poland
7 May 1992	Bulgaria
14 May 1993	Estonia, Lithuania, Slovenia
30 Jun 1993	Czech Republic, Slovakia
7 Oct 1993	Romania
10 Oct 1994	Andorra
10 Feb 1995	Latvia
13 Jul 1995	Albania, Moldova
9 Nov 1995	Macedonia (Former Yugoslav Republic of), Ukraine
28 Feb 1996	Russia
6 Nov 1996	Croatia
27 Apr 1999	Georgia
25 Jan 2001	Armenia, Azerbaijan
24 Apr 2002	Bosnia and Hercegovina
3 Apr 2003	Serbia and Montenegro3
5 Oct 2004	Monaco
11 May 2007	Montenegro
1withdrew 12 Dec 1969, rejoined 28 Nov 1974. 2withdrew 31 Dec 1956, united with Federal Republic of Germany on 1 Jan 1957. 3from 5 Jun 2006, Serbia.

                       Adopted 25 Jan 1949
 

Headquarters: Moscow (Soviet Union)

CMEA Charter (1959)

25 Jan 1949                Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA or COMECON)
                             established by Soviet Union and other communist nations.
28 Jun 1991                COMECON dissolved.

Secretaries-general (all from Soviet Union)
1949 - May 1958            Aleksandr Pavlov 
May 1958 - Oct 1983        Nikolay Vasilyevich Faddeyev 
Oct 1983 - 28 Jun 1991     Vyacheslav Vladimirovich Sychev    (b. 1933)

COMECON membership 

Date of Admission	Member Nations
25 Jan 1949	Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Soviet Union
21 Feb 1949	Albania1
29 Sep 1950	East Germany2
7 Jun 1962	Mongolia
11 Jul 1972	Cuba
29 Jun 1978	Vietnam
1inactive since Dec 1961, but did not formally withdraw. 2withdrew 2 Oct 1990.
Date of Admission	Associate Member of Comecon
17 Sep 1964	Yugoslavia

1856 - 1938                (First) Danube Commission formed.
18 Aug 1948                Danube Commission created by Belgrade Convention
                             (enters into force 11 May 1949). 

Directors-general
1949 - 1990                ....
1990 - 2000                Hellmuth Strasser (Austria)
 1 Jul 2000 - 2007         Danail Nedialkov (Bulgaria)
2007 -                     István Valkár (Hungary)

Presidents
1949 - 1950                Teodor Rudenco (Romania)
1950 – 1953                Grigore Preotease (Romania)
1954 – 1957                Endre Sik (Hungary)
1957 – 1960                Karel Stekl (Czechoslovakia)
1960 – 196.                Slavoljub Petrovic (Yugoslavia)
196. - 1963                Mustafa Vilovic (Yugoslavia)
1963 – 1965                Georgy Apollinaryevich Denisov     (b. 1909 - d. 19..) 
                             (Soviet Union)
1965 - 1966                Fyodor Yegorovich Titov            (b. 1910 - d. 1989) 
                             (Soviet Union)
1966 – 1969                Vassil Bogdanov (Bulgaria)
1969 - 1972                Kurt Enderl (Austria)              (d. 1985)
1972 – 1975                Ioan Cotot (Romania)
1975 – 1978                Václav Motavec (Czechoslovakia)
1978 – 1981                István Roska (Hungary)
1981 – 1984                Radovan Urosev (Yugoslavia)
1984 – 1987                Vladimir Nikolayevich Bazovsky     (b. 1917 - d. 1993)
                             (Soviet Union)
1987 – 1990                Veneline Kotzev (Bulgaria)
1990 - 1999?               ....
1999? - 2000               Eva Mitrová (f)(Slovakia)
2000 - 2002                Hellmuth Strasser (Austria)
2002 - 2005?               Stanko Nick (Croatia)
May 2005 - 2008            Milovan Bozinovic (Serbia)
2008 -                     Igor Sergeyevich Savolsky
                             (Russia)

Danube Commission membership (11)

Date of  Admission	Member Nations
11 May 1949	Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia1, Hungary, Romania, Soviet Union2, Ukrainian S.S.R.3, Yugoslavia4
7 Jan 1960	Austria
26 Mar 1998	Croatia, Germany, Moldova
1dissolved 31 Dec 1992, succeeded by Slovakia. 2dissolved 25 Dec 1992, succeeded by Russia. 3from 1991 Ukraine. 4from 4 Feb 2003 called Serbia and Montenegro; on 5 Jun 2006 succeeded by Serbia.

 9 Dec 1961                East African Common Services Organization (EACSO).
 6 Jun 1967                East African Community (EAC) established.
 1 Jul 1977                Dissolved.
30 Nov 1993                Agreement establishing the Permanent Commission for
                             East African Co-operation signed.
14 Mar 1996                East African Cooperation secretariat inaugurated.
15 Jan 2001                East African Community re-established.
29 Nov 2001                East African Legislative Assembly established.

Secretaries-general
1964 - 1968                Dunstan Omari (Kenya) 
1968 - Mar 1971            Zerubaberi H.K. Bigirwenkya        (b. 1926?)
                             (Uganda)
Jun 1971 - Apr 1974        Charles Maina (Kenya) 
1974 - 1977                Edwin I. Mtei (Tanzania)           (b. 1932)
14 Mar 1996 - 24 Apr 2001  Francis Muthaura (Kenya)           (b. 1946) 
24 Apr 2001 - 24 Apr 2006  Nuwe Amanya Mushega (Uganda)       (b. 1946) 
25 Apr 2006 -              Juma Volter Mwapachu (Tanzania)    (b. 1942)

Speakers of the East African Legislative Assembly
29 Nov 2001 -  5 Jun 2007  Abdulrahman Kinana (Tanzania)      (b. 1951)
 5 Jun 2007 -              Abdirahin Haithar Abdi (Kenya)     (b. 1967?) 

EAC membership (5)

Date of  Admission	Member Nations
6 Jun 1967	Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda
1 Jul 2007	Burundi, Rwanda

 

ECOWAS website

Headquarters: Abuja (Nigeria) (Lagos, Nigeria 1975-1991)

ECOWAS Day: week of 28 May (1975) ECOWAS Day

28 May 1975                Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) established.
14 Mar 2002                ECOWAS Parliament established.

Executive secretaries
Nov 1976 - Nov 1984        Aboubakar Diaby Ouattara           (b. 1938)
                             (Côte d'Ivoire)
Nov 1984 - Nov 1988        Momodu Munu (Sierra Leone)         (b. 1938)
Nov 1988 - Feb 1989        Vacant
Feb 1989 - Sep 1993        Abass Bundu (Sierra Leone)         (b. 1948)
Sep 1993 - Sep 1997        Edouard Benjamin (Guinea)          (b. 1941)
Sep 1997 -  6 Feb 2002     Lansana Kouyate (Guinea)           (b. 1950)
 6 Feb 2002 -  1 Jan 2007  Mohamed Ibn Chambas (Ghana)        (b. 1950)
President of the Commission
 1 Jan 2007 -              Mohamed Ibn Chambas (Ghana)        (s.a.)

Chairmen
1977 - 1978                Gnassingbé Eyadéma (Togo)          (b. 1937 - d. 2005)
                             (1st time) 
1978 - 1979                Olusegun Obasanjo (Nigeria)        (b. 1937)
1979 - 1980                Léopold Sédar Senghor (Senegal)    (b. 1906 - d. 2001)
1980 - 1981                Gnassingbé Eyadéma (Togo)          (s.a.)
                             (2nd time) 
1981 - 1982                Siaka Stevens (Sierra Leone)       (b. 1905 - d. 1988)
1982 - 1983                Mathieu Kérékou (Benin)            (b. 1933)
1983 - 1984                Ahmed Sékou Touré (Guinea)         (b. 1922 - d. 1984)
1984 - 1985                Lansana Conté (Guinea)             (b. 1934 - d. 2008)
1985 - 27 Aug 1985         Mohammadu Buhari (Nigeria)         (b. 1942)
27 Aug 1985 - 1989         Ibrahim Babangida (Nigeria)        (b. 1941)
1989 - 1990                Sir Dawda Jawara (The Gambia)      (b. 1924)
                             (1st time)
1990 - 1991                Blaise Compaoré (Burkina Faso)     (b. 1951)
                             (1st time)
1991 - 1992                Sir Dawda Jawara (The Gambia)      (s.a.)
                             (2nd time) 
1992 - 1993                Abdou Diouf (Senegal)              (b. 1935)
1993 - 1994                Nicéphore Soglo (Benin)            (b. 1934)
1994 - 27 Jul 1996         Jerry John Rawlings (Ghana)        (b. 1947)
27 Jul 1996 -  8 Jun 1998  Sani Abacha (Nigeria)              (b. 1943 - d. 1998)
 9 Jun 1998 - 1999         Abdulsalami Abubakar (Nigeria)     (b. 1942)
1999                       Gnassingbé Eyadéma (Togo)          (s.a.)
                             (3rd time) 
1999 - 21 Dec 2001         Alpha Oumar Konaré (Mali)          (b. 1946)
21 Dec 2001 - 31 Jan 2003  Abdoulaye Wade (Senegal)           (b. 1926)
31 Jan 2003 - 19 Jan 2005  John Agyekum Kufuor (Ghana)        (b. 1938)
19 Jan 2005 - 19 Jan 2007  Mamadou Tandja (Niger)             (b. 1938)
19 Jan 2007 - 19 Dec 2008  Blaise Compaoré (Burkina Faso)     (s.a.)
                             (2nd time) 
19 Dec 2008 -              Umaru Musa Yar'Adua (Nigeria)      (b. 1951)

Speakers of the ECOWAS Community Parliament
May 2002 - 14 Nov 2006     Ali Nouhoum Diallo (Mali)
14 Nov 2006 -              Mahamane Ousmane (Nigeria)         (b. 1950)

ECOWAS membership (15)

Date of  Admission	Member Nations
28 May 1975	Benin, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea1, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast2, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania3, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo4, Upper Volta5
1977	Cape Verde
1suspended from 10 Jan 2009. 2from 1985 Côte d'Ivoire. 3withdrew 26 Dec 1999 (effective 31 Dec 2000). 4suspended 19 Feb - 25 Feb 2005. 5from 1984 Burkina Faso.

 
                Adopted 13 May 2002
 

EAEC website

Headquarters: Alma Ata (Kazakhstan) and Moscow (Russia)

31 May 2001                Eurasian Economic Community ("Eurasec")(EAEC).

Secretaries-general
29 Oct 2001 -  6 Oct 2007  Grigory Alekseyevich Rapota (Russia)(b. 1944)
 6 Oct 2007 -              Tair Aymukhametovich Mansurov       (b. 1948)
                             (Kazakhstan)

Chairmen of the Interstate Council
May 2002 - 21 Jun 2005     Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev       (b. 1940)
                             (Kazakhstan)  
22 Jun 2005 - 23 Jun 2006  Aleksandr Grigoryevich Lukashenko   (b. 1954)  
                             (Belarus)
23 Jun 2006 - Oct 2007     Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin        (b. 1952)
                             (Russia)
Oct 2007 -                 Imomali Sharipovich Rakhmonov       (b. 1952)
                             (Tajikistan) 

EAEC  membership (6)

Date of Admission	Member Nations
31 May 2001	Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan
25 Jan 2006	Uzbekistan

 

EBRD website

Headquarters: London (United Kingdom)

29 May 1990                European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
                             (EBRD) founded.
15 Apr 1991                Inauguration of the EBRD.

Presidents
15 Apr 1991 - 16 Jul 1993  Jacques Attali (France)            (b. 1943)
16 Jul 1993 - 27 Sep 1993  Ron Freeman (U.S.) (acting)        (b. 1939)
27 Sep 1993 - 31 Jan 1998  Jacques de Larosière (France)      (b. 1929)
31 Jan 1998 -  1 Sep 1998  Charles Frank (U.S.) (1st time)    (b. 1937)
                             (acting)
 1 Sep 1998 - 18 Apr 2000  Horst Köhler (Germany)             (b. 1943)
18 Apr 2000 -  3 Jul 2000  Charles Frank (U.S.) (2nd time)    (s.a.)
                             (acting)
 3 Jul 2000 -  3 Jul 2008  Jean Lemierre (France)             (b. 1950)
 3 Jul 2008 -              Thomas Mirow (Germany)             (b. 1953)

EBRD membership (63)

Date of Admission	Members
29 May 1990	Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Cyprus, Czechoslovakia1, Denmark, Egypt, European Community, European Investment Bank, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Morocco, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Soviet Union2, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Yugoslavia3
18 Dec 1991	Albania
28 Feb 1992	Estonia
5 Mar 1992	Lithuania
18 Mar 1992	Latvia
9 Apr 1992	Russia
30 Apr 1992	Uzbekistan
5 May 1992	Moldova
1 Jun 1992	Turkmenistan
5 Jun 1992	Kyrgyzstan
10 Jun 1992	Belarus
27 Jul 1992	Kazakhstan
13 Aug 1992	Ukraine
4 Sep 1992	Georgia
25 Sep 1992	Azerbaijan
16 Oct 1992	Tajikistan
7 Dec 1992	Armenia
23 Dec 1992	Slovenia
1 Jan 1993	Czech Republic and Slovakia
15 Apr 1993	Croatia
21 Apr 1993	Macedonia (Former Yugoslav Republic of)
17 Jun 1996	Bosnia and Hercegovina
9 Oct 2000	Mongolia
19 Jan 2001	Serbia and Montenegro3
25 Oct 2006	Montenegro
1dissolved 31 Dec 1992. 2dissolved 25 Dec 1991. 3broke up in 1992, from Jul 1994 the EBRD did not recognize the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia as its successor and ruled that it had to apply anew for membership; the smaller Yugoslavia joined anew 31 Oct 2001; from 4 Feb 2003 called Serbia and Montenegro; on 5 Jun 2006 succeeded by Serbia.

 3 May 1960                European Free Trade Association (EFTA) established.

Secretaries-general
 1 Sep 1960 - 31 Oct 1965  Frank E. Figgures (U.K.)           (b. 1910 - d. 1990)
 1 Nov 1965 -  5 May 1972  Sir John Coulson (U.K.)            (b. 1909 - d. 1997)
 6 May 1972 - 30 Nov 1975  Bengt Rabaeus (Sweden)             (b. 1917)
 1 Dec 1975 - 31 Dec 1975  Cornelio Sommaruga (Switzerland)   (b. 1932)
                             (interim)
 1 Jan 1976 - 31 Sep 1981  Charles Müller (Switzerland)       (b. 1922)
 1 Oct 1981 - 30 Nov 1981  Magnus Vahlquist (Sweden)
                             (interim)
 1 Dec 1981 - 15 Apr 1988  Per Kleppe (Norway)                (b. 1923)
16 Apr 1988 - 31 Aug 1994  Georg Reisch (Austria)             (b. 1930)
 1 Sep 1994 - 31 Aug 2000  Kjartan Jóhannsson (Iceland)       (b. 1939)
 1 Sep 2000 - 31 Aug 2006  William Rossier (Switzerland)      (b. 1942)
 1 Sep 2006 -              Kåre Bryn (Norway)                 (b. 1944)

EFTA membership (4)

Date of  Admission	Member Nations
3 May 1960	Austria1, Denmark2, Norway, Portugal3, Sweden1, Switzerland,  United Kingdom2
1 Mar 1970	Iceland
1 Jan 1986	Finland1
1 Sep 1991	Liechtenstein
1withdrew 1 Jan 1995. 2withdrew 1 Jan 1973. 3withdrew 1 Jan 1986.

18 Apr 1951                European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) founded.
10 Sep 1952                European Parliamentary Assembly (from Mar 1962, European
                             Parliament) opens.
 1 Jan 1958                European Economic Community (EEC) founded.
 1 Jul 1967                EEC joined with European Coal and Steel Community and European
                             Atomic Community to form the European Communities (from
                             the 1980's usually known as European Community [EC]).
 1 Nov 1993                European Union (EU)
 1 Jan 1999                European monetary union, conversion to the Euro begins
                             (introduced into circulation 1 Jan 2002).

Presidency of the European Council
 1 Jul 1987 - 31 Dec 1987  Denmark
 1 Jan 1988 - 30 Jun 1988  West Germany
 1 Jul 1988 - 31 Dec 1988  Greece
 1 Jan 1989 - 30 Jun 1989  Spain
 1 Jul 1989 - 31 Dec 1989  France
 1 Jan 1990 - 30 Jun 1990  Ireland
 1 Jul 1990 - 31 Dec 1990  Italy
 1 Jan 1991 - 30 Jun 1991  Luxembourg
 1 Jul 1991 - 31 Dec 1991  Netherlands
 1 Jan 1992 - 30 Jun 1992  Portugal
 1 Jul 1992 - 31 Dec 1992  United Kingdom
 1 Jan 1993 - 30 Jun 1993  Denmark
 1 Jul 1993 - 31 Dec 1993  Belgium
 1 Jan 1994 - 30 Jun 1994  Greece
 1 Jul 1994 - 31 Dec 1994  Germany
 1 Jan 1995 - 30 Jun 1995  France
 1 Jul 1995 - 31 Dec 1995  Spain
 1 Jan 1996 - 30 Jun 1996  Italy
 1 Jul 1996 - 31 Dec 1996  Ireland
 1 Jan 1997 - 30 Jun 1997  Netherlands
 1 Jul 1997 - 31 Dec 1997  Luxembourg
 1 Jan 1998 - 30 Jun 1998  United Kingdom
 1 Jul 1998 - 31 Dec 1998  Austria
 1 Jan 1999 - 30 Jun 1999  Germany
 1 Jul 1999 - 31 Dec 1999  Finland
 1 Jan 2000 - 30 Jun 2000  Portugal
 1 Jul 2000 - 31 Dec 2000  France
 1 Jan 2001 - 30 Jun 2001  Sweden
 1 Jul 2001 - 31 Dec 2001  Belgium
 1 Jan 2002 - 30 Jun 2002  Spain
 1 Jul 2002 - 31 Dec 2002  Denmark
 1 Jan 2003 - 30 Jun 2003  Greece
 1 Jul 2003 - 31 Dec 2003  Italy
 1 Jan 2004 - 30 Jun 2004  Ireland
 1 Jul 2004 - 31 Dec 2004  Netherlands
 1 Jan 2005 - 30 Jun 2005  Luxembourg
 1 Jul 2005 - 31 Dec 2005  United Kingdom
 1 Jan 2006 - 30 Jun 2006  Austria
 1 Jul 2006 - 31 Dec 2006  Finland
 1 Jan 2007 -  1 Jul 2007  Germany
 1 Jul 2007 - 31 Dec 2006  Portugal
 1 Jan 2008 - 30 Jun 2008  Slovenia
 1 Jul 2008 - 31 Dec 2008  France
 1 Jan 2009 - 30 Jun 2009  Czech Republic
 1 Jul 2009 -              Sweden

Presidents of the European Commission
31 Jan 1958 - 30 Jun 1967  Walter Hallstein (West Germany)    (b. 1901 - d. 1982)
 1 Jul 1967 -  1 Jul 1970  Jean Max Georges Rey (Belgium)     (b. 1902 - d. 1983)
 2 Jul 1970 - 22 Mar 1972  Franco Maria Malfatti (Italy)      (b. 1927 - d. 1991)
22 Mar 1972 -  5 Jan 1973  Sicco Leendert Mansholt            (b. 1908 - d. 1995)
                             (Netherlands) 
 9 Jan 1973 -  5 Jan 1977  François-Xavier Ortoli (France)    (b. 1925 - d. 2007)
11 Jan 1977 -  5 Jan 1981  Roy Harris Jenkins (U.K.)          (b. 1920 - d. 2003)
12 Jan 1981 -  5 Jan 1985  Gaston Thorn (Luxembourg)          (b. 1928 - d. 2007)
 5 Jan 1985 -  5 Jan 1995  Jacques Lucien Jean Delors (France)(b. 1925)
24 Jan 1995 - 14 Jul 1999  Jacques Santer (Luxembourg)        (b. 1937)
14 Jul 1999 - 15 Sep 1999  Manuel Marín (Spain) (acting)      (b. 1949)
15 Sep 1999 - 22 Nov 2004  Romano Prodi (Italy)               (b. 1939)
22 Nov 2004 -              José Manuel Durão Barroso          (b. 1956)
                             (Portugal)

Presidents of the Parliamentary Assembly
19 Mar 1958 - 28 Mar 1960  Robert Schuman (France)            (b. 1886 - d. 1963)  CD
28 Mar 1960 - 27 Mar 1962  Hans Furler (W. Germany)           (b. 1904 - d. 1975)  CD
27 Mar 1962 - 30 Mar 1962  Gaetano Martino (Italy)            (b. 1900 - d. 1967)  Lib
Presidents of the European Parliament
30 Mar 1962 - 21 Mar 1964  Gaetano Martino (Italy)            (s.a.)               Lib
21 Mar 1964 - 24 Sep 1965  Jean Pierre Duvieusart (Belgium)   (b. 1900 - d. 1977)  CD
24 Sep 1965 -  7 Mar 1966  Victor Leemans (Netherlands)       (b. 1901 - d. 1971)  CD
 7 Mar 1966 - 11 Mar 1969  Alain Émile Louis Poher (France)   (b. 1909 - d. 1996)  CD
11 Mar 1969 -  9 Mar 1971  Mario Scelba (Italy)               (b. 1901 - d. 1991)  CD
 9 Mar 1971 - 13 Mar 1973  Walter Behrendt (W. Germany)       (b. 1914 - d. 1997)  CD
13 Mar 1973 - 11 Mar 1975  Cornelis Berkhouwer (Netherlands)  (b. 1919 - d. 1992)  Lib
11 Mar 1975 -  8 Mar 1977  Georges Spénale (France)           (b. 1913 - d. 1983)  Soc
 8 Mar 1977 - 17 Jul 1979  Emilio Colombo (Italy)             (b. 1920)            CD
17 Jul 1979 - 19 Jan 1982  Simone Veil (f) (France)           (b. 1927)            LDR
19 Jan 1982 - 24 Jul 1984  Piet Dankert (Netherlands)         (b. 1934 - d. 2003)  PES
24 Jul 1984 - 20 Jan 1987  Pierre Pflimlin (France)           (b. 1907 - d. 2000)  PPE
20 Jan 1987 - 25 Jul 1989  Henry Plumb, Baron Plumb (U.K.)    (b. 1925)            PDE
25 Jul 1989 - 14 Jan 1992  Enrique Barón Crespo (Spain)       (b. 1934)            PES
14 Jan 1992 - 19 Jul 1994  Egon Klepsch (Germany)             (b. 1930)            PES
19 Jul 1994 - 14 Jan 1997  Klaus Hänsch (Germany)             (b. 1938)            PES
14 Jan 1997 - 20 Jul 1999  José María Gil-Robles Delgada      (b. 1935)            PPE
                             (Spain) 
20 Jul 1999 - 15 Jan 2002  Nicole Fontaine (f) (France)       (b. 1942)            EPP
15 Jan 2002 - 20 Jul 2004  Pat Cox (Ireland)                  (b. 1952)            EDLR
20 Jul 2004 - 16 Jan 2007  Josep Borrell Fontelles (Spain)    (b. 1947)            PES
16 Jan 2007 -              Hans-Gert Pöttering (Germany)      (b. 1945)            EPP

Presidents of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community
10 Aug 1952 -  1 Jun 1955  Jean Monnet (France)               (b. 1888 - d. 1979)
 1 Jun 1955 -  7 Jan 1958  René Mayer (France)                (b. 1895 - d. 1972)
 7 Jan 1958 - 11 Sep 1959  Paul Finet (Belgium)               (b. 1897 - d. 1965)
11 Sep 1959 -  5 Nov 1963  Piero Malvestiti (Italy)           (b. 1899 - d. 1964)
 5 Nov 1963 - Mar 1967     Dino Del Bo (Italy)                (b. 1916 - d. 1991)
Mar 1967 - 30 Jun 1967     Albert Coppé (Belgium) (acting)    (b. 1911 - d. 1999)

Presidents of the Commission of the European Atomic Community
 7 Jan 1958 -  2 Feb 1959  Louis Armand (France)              (b. 1905 - d. 1971)
 2 Feb 1959 - 10 Jan 1962  Étienne Hirsch (France)            (b. 1901 - d. 1994)
10 Jan 1962 - 30 Jun 1967  Pierre Chatenet (France)           (b. 1917 - d. 1997)

High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy 
18 Oct 1999 -              Javier Solana Madariaga (Spain)    (b. 1942)

Presidents of the European Monetary Institute
 1 Jan 1994 - 30 Jun 1997  Alexandre Lamfalussy (Belgium)     (b. 1929)
 1 Jul 1997 - 31 May 1998  Wim Duisenberg (Netherlands)       (b. 1935 - d. 2005)
Presidents of the European Central Bank
 1 Jun 1998 - 31 Oct 2003  Wim Duisenberg (Netherlands)       (s.a.)
 1 Nov 2003 -              Jean-Claude Trichet (France)       (b. 1942)

EU membership (27)

Date of  Accession	Member Nations
1 Jan 1958	Belgium, France, Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands
1 Jan 1973	Denmark¹, Ireland, United Kingdom
1 Jan 1981	Greece
1 Jan 1986	Portugal, Spain
1 Jan 1995	Austria, Finland, Sweden
1 May 2004	Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia
1 Jan 2007	Bulgaria, Romania
¹Greenland, which joined as part of Denmark and was never recognized as a separate member, withdrew 1 Feb 1985.

Party abbreviations: EDLR = European Liberal, Democrat and Reform Party (liberal and centrist); EPP = European People's Party/European Democrats (christian-democratic and conservative); EUL = European Unitary Left (socialist and communist)/Nordic Green Left (socialist and communist); GR/EFA = European Federation of Green Parties (ecologist)/European Free Alliance (regionalist); PDE = European Democratic Party (conservatives); PES = Party of European Socialists (social-democratic and socialist); PPE = European Popular Party (Christian democrats, popular); UEN = Union for a Europe of Nations (euro-sceptic);
- Former groupings: CD = Christian Democrat; Lib = Liberal; LDR = Liberal-Democratic;
Soc = Socialist

Note: Two parts of the treaty of the European Community deal with special relationships: Article 299 which sets out the territories to which the treaty applies, supplemented by the accession treaties; and Articles 182-188 and Annex II on association with the non-European countries and territories which have special relations with the member states.

European Territories part of the EU (with exemptions): Aland Islands, Azores, Canary Islands, Ceuta, French Guiana, Gibraltar, Guadeloupe, Madeira, Martinique, Melilla, and Réunion.

European Territories not part of the EU: Greenland (Danish locals are EU citizens, 
but do not vote at EU elections); French Polynesia, French Southern Territories, Mayotte, 
New Caledonia, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, Wallis and Futuna (EURATOM Treaty does apply,
French locals are EU citizens, and do vote at EU elections); Aruba and Netherlands Antilles (Dutch locals are EU citizens, but do not vote at EU elections, EURATOM Treaty?); Anguilla, Bermuda, British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena and Dependencies, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands (UK locals are not EU citizens); Channel Islands and the Isle of Man (UK locals are EU citizens, but do not vote 
at EU elections), UK sovereign bases in Cyprus (UK locals are not EU citizens);  Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (locals are EU citizens, but do not vote at EU elections, EU law is applied only in southern Cyprus); Faroe Islands (Danish locals are not EU citizens).

Status Unclear: Buffer Zone in Cyprus, Clipperton Island and Scattered islands in the Indian Ocean (Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova Island and Tromelin Island).

Territorial Disputes: As a political union, the EU has no border disputes with neighboring countries, but Estonia has no land boundary agreements with Russia, Slovenia disputes its land and maritime boundaries with Croatia, and Spain has territorial and maritime disputes with Morocco and with the U.K. over Gibralter; the EU has set up a Schengen area - consisting of 22 EU member states that have signed the convention implementing the Schengen agreements or "acquis" (1985 and 1990) on the free movement of persons and the harmonization of border controls in Europe; these agreements became incorporated into EU law with the implementation of the 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam on 1 May 1999; in addition, non-EU states Iceland and Norway (as part of the Nordic Union) have been included in the Schengen area since 1996 (full members in 2001), and Switzerland (since 2008) bringing the total current membership to 25; the U.K. (since 2000) and Ireland (since 2002) take part in only some aspects of the Schengen area, especially with respect to police and criminal matters; nine of the 12 new member states that joined the EU in 2004 joined Schengen on 21 Dec 2007; of the three remaining EU states, Cyprus is expected to join by 2009, while Romania and Bulgaria continue to enhance their border security systems.

Adopted 16 Oct 1945

FAO Logo

FAO website

Headquarters: Rome (Italy)(Washington , DC 1946-1951)

FAO Day: 16 Oct (1945) World Food Day

16 Oct 1945                FAO established as a specialized agency of the United Nations.

Directors-general
Oct 1945 - 14 Apr 1948     Sir John Boyd Orr (U.K.)           (b. 1880 - d. 1971)
14 Apr 1948 - 31 Dec 1953  Norris E. Dodd (U.S.)              (b. 1879 - d. 1968)
 1 Jan 1954 - Apr 1956     Philip V. Cardon (U.S.)            (b. 1889 - d. 1965)
Apr 1956 - Nov 1956        Sir Herbert Broadley (U.K.)        (b. 1892 - d. 1983)
                             (acting)
Nov 1956 - 31 Dec 1967     Binay Ranjan Sen (India)           (b. 1898 - d. 1993)
 1 Jan 1968 - 31 Dec 1975  Addeke Hendrik Boerma (Netherlands)(b. 1912 - d. 1992)
 1 Jan 1976 - 31 Dec 1993  Edouard Saouma (Lebanon)           (b. 1926)
 1 Jan 1994 -              Jacques Diouf (Senegal)            (b. 1938)
 

FAO membership (192)

Date of  Admission	Member Nations
16 Oct 1945	Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, China1, Czechoslovakia2, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, France, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Iceland, India, Iraq, Liberia, Luxembourg, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Philippines, Poland3, South Africa4, United Kingdom, United States, Venezuela, Yugoslavia5
17 Oct 1945	Colombia
19 Oct 1945	Cuba
27 Oct 1945	Lebanon, Syria6
30 Oct 1945	Paraguay
30 Nov 1945	Uruguay
17 May 1946	Chile
3 Sep 1946	Ireland
11 Sep 1946	Portugal, Switzerland
12 Sep 1946	Italy
30 Dec 1946	Hungary7
19  Aug 1947	El Salvador
27 Aug 1947	Austria, Finland, Thailand
7 Sep 1947	Pakistan
11 Sep 1947	Burma8
1 Jan 1948	Ethiopia
6 Apr 1948	Turkey
7 Apr 1948	Costa Rica
21 May 1948	Ceylon9
23 Nov 1948	Israel, Saudi Arabia
25 Nov 1949	South Korea
28 Nov 1949	Indonesia
1 Dec 1949	Afghanistan
13 Feb 1950	Sweden
11 Nov 1950	Cambodia, Vietnam10
27 Nov 1950	Federal Republic of Germany
23 Jan 1951	Jordan
5 Apr 1951	Spain
21 Nov 1951	Japan, Laos
27 Nov 1951	Argentina, Nepal
17 Jun 1952	Peru
24 Nov 1953	Libya
1 Dec 1953	Iran
9 Dec 1953	Yemen (Sana)11
25 Nov 1955	Tunisia
13 Sep 1956	Morocco, The Sudan
9 Nov 1957	Ghana, Malaya12
5 Nov 1959	Guinea
22 Mar 1960	Cameroon
23 May 1960	Togo
14 Sep 1960	Cyprus
11 Oct 1960	Nigeria
17 Nov 1960	Somalia
9 Nov 1961	Central African Republic, Chad, Dahomey13, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Kinshasa)14, Gabon, Ivory Coast15, Kuwait, Madagascar16, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Romania, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Upper Volta17
8 Feb 1962	Tanganyika18
13 Mar 1963	Jamaica
19 Nov 1963	Algeria, Burundi, Rwanda, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda
27 Jan 1964	Kenya
5 Oct 1964	Malta
22 Nov 1965	The Gambia, Malawi, Zambia
22 Aug 1966	Guyana
1 Nov 1966	Botswana
7 Nov 1968	Lesotho
6 Nov 1967	Barbados, Bulgaria
12 Mar 1968	Mauritius
10 Nov 1969	Yemen (Aden)11
8 Nov 1971	Bahrain, Fiji, Maldvies, Oman, Qatar, Swaziland
12 Nov 1973	Albania, Bangladesh, Mongolia, United Arab Emirates
26 Nov 1973	Guinea-Bissau
8 Nov 1975	The Bahamas, Cape Verde, Grenada, Papua New Guinea
26 Nov 1975	Suriname
14 Nov 1977	Angola, Comoros, Djibouti, Mozambique, Namibia19, North Korea, São Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles
12 Nov 1979	Dominica, Western Samoa20
26 Nov 1979	Saint Lucia
7 Nov 1981	Bhutan, Equatorical Guinea, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tonga, Zimbabwe
7 Nov 1983	Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Vanuatu
11 Nov 1985	Cook Islands, Solomon Islands
11 Nov 1991	Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania
26 Nov 1991	European Community
8 Nov 1993	Armenia, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia (former Yugoslav Republic of), Slovakia, Slovenia
20 Oct 1995	Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan
7 Nov 1997	Kazakhstan
12 Nov 1999	Marshall Islands, Niue, Palau, San Marino
15 Nov 1999	Kiribati
2 Nov 2001	Monaco, Nauru, Serbia and Montenegro5, Uzbekistan
29 Nov 2003	East Timor, Federated States of Micronesia, Tuvalu, Ukraine
19 Nov 2005	Belarus
11 Apr 2006	Russia
17 Nov 2007	Andorra, Montenegro
1the Republic of China (Taiwan) withdrew 21 Jul 1952; China (People's Republic) rejoined on 1 Apr 1973. 2withdrew 27 Dec 1950, rejoined 10 Nov 1969; dissolved 31 Dec 1992.  3withdrew 25 Apr 1951, rejoined 9 Nov 1957. 4withdrew 18 Dec 1964, rejoined 9 Nov 1993. 5on 20 Nov 1992 the FAO ruled that Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) could not continue automatically the membership of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and that it had to apply anew for membership, which it did and was readmitted 2 Nov 2001; from 4 Feb 2003 called Serbia and Montenegro; on 5 Jun 2006 succeeded by Serbia. 61958-1961 part of the United Arab Republic, union of Egypt and Syria. Syria left FAO on 11 Apr 1958; On 28 Sep 1961 Syria seceded from the U.A.R. and resumed its separate membership on 4 Nov 1961. 7withdrew 26 Jan 1952, rejoined 6 Nov 1967. 8from 1989 Myanmar. 9from 1972, Sri Lanka. 10Republic of Vietnam to 30 Apr 1975, then Republic of South Vietnam, from 2 Jul 1976 Socialist Republic of Vietnam; succession recognized by FAO council on 2 Dec 1976.  11Yemen (Aden) and Yemen (Sana) merged 22 May 1990 as Yemen. 12from 1963, Malaysia. 13from 1975 Benin. 14Congo (Léopoldville) to 1966; 1966-71 and from 1997 Congo (Kinshasa); 1971-97 Zaire.15from 1985 Côte d'Ivoire. 16to 30 Dec 1975 Malagasy Republic. 17from 1984 Burkina Faso. 18Tanganyika merged with Zanzibar 26 Apr 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, which was renamed Tanzania 1 Nov 1964. 19to 21 Mar 1990 as United Nations Council for Namibia. 20from 1997 Samoa. 21dissolved 31 Dec 1963. 22withdrew 21 Dec 1996.
Date of  Admission	Associate Members of FAO
5 Nov 1959	Rhodesia and Nyasaland21
19 Nov 1963	Zanzibar18
11 Nov 1991	Puerto Rico22
17 Nov 2007	Faroe Islands