Exhibition Panels:
A Time of Crisis and Change
Atlantic City to Bretton Woods
The Founding Fathers
From Around the World
Breaking the Mold
Laying the Foundation
Setting the Pace
Toward the Future
Links of interest
| Joint Statement by Mr. de Rato & Mr. Wolfensohn |
 What is Bretton Woods? |
What is Bretton Woods? |
The "Bretton Woods Conference," as it has come to be known, was officially called the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference. Bretton Woods, New Hampshire refers to the Mount Washington Hotel where the Conference was held on July 1-22, 1944. Preliminary drafting for the Conference had been undertaken at a meeting in Atlantic City in June of the same year. The Conference operated through plenary sessions, commissions and committees. Commission I on the International Monetary Fund was headed by Harry D. White of the United States. Commission II on the Bank for Reconstruction and Development was led by Lord Keynes of the United Kingdom. Commission III on Other Means of International Financial Cooperation was the responsibility of Eduard Suárez of Mexico. The first two Commissions were further divided into Committees where most of the substantive work of the Conference was accomplished. |
| Commission I on the International Monetary Fund | |
| Committees | Chairs |
| Purposes, Policies, and Quotas of the Fund | Tingfu F. Tsiang of China |
| Operations of the Fund | N.A. Maletin of USSR |
| Organization and Management of the Fund | Arthur de Souza Costa of Brazil |
| Form and Status of the Fund | Manuel B. Llosa of Peru |
| Commission II on the Bank for Reconstruction and Development | |
| Committees | Chairs |
| Purposes, Policies, and Quotas of the Bank | J. W. Beyen of the Netherlands |
| Operations of the Bank | E. I. Montoulieu of Cuba |
| Organization and Management of the Bank | Miguel López Pumarejo of Columbia |
| Form and Status of the Bank | Sir Chintaman D. Deshmukh of India |
| Fittingly, Arthur de Souza Costa, in his address to Conference President Henry Morgenthau at the conclusion of the meetings, said: "the two institutions which will result from our labors at Bretton Woods are the expression of a success attained by concerted effort, inspired by a single ideal-that happiness be distributed throughout the face of the earth." |
