1 : League of Nations
2 : Structure of the League
3 : General Secretaries of the League
4 : Reasons for perceiving the League as a failure
5 : See also
6 : External Links
The League of Nations was an international organization founded with the intention of reducing armaments, settling disputes between countries and maintaining living conditions. The idea appears to have originated with British Foreign Secretary Edward Grey, but was enthusiastically adopted by American President Woodrow Wilson and his advisor, Colonel Edward House, as a means of avoiding future bloodshed as had been seen during World War I. Wilson was a strong advocate of including the League in the Treaty of Versailles, and it was established on January 25, 1919 by part I of that treaty.
The League held its first meeting on January 10, 1920 and on the same day ratified the Treaty of Versailles thus officially ending World War I. The first general assembly of the League was held in Geneva on November 15, 1920. The League was successful in dealing with minor throughout the 1920s. However, it proved unable to prevent the larger crises of the 30s, or World War II. The League formally dissolved itself on April 18, 1946 and transferred its mission to the United Nations.
Structure of the League
The League had a Council, which began with four permanent members, United Kingdom, France, Italy and Japan and non-permanent members. It had an Assembly in which each member was represented. Both of these required unanimous votes for any action to be taken; the members were not always represented in Geneva. The League was also involved in many other agencies and the Permanent Court of International Justice which later became the International Court of Justice.
Eamon de Valera was the President of Council of the League of Nations at its 68th and Special Sessions, September and October 1932 and President of the Assembly of the League of Nations, 1938.
General Secretaries of the League
- Sir James Eric Drummond (U.K.) 1920 - 1933
- Joseph Avenol (France) 1933 - 1940
*Seán Lester (Ireland) 1940 - 1946
Reasons for perceiving the League as a failure
- It lacked any armed forces.
- Unanimous vote was required.
- A number of major countries were not included:
- Ineffectuality in specific situations, notably the mid-1930s crisis over Italy's invasion of Abyssinia.
- A non-permanent council and assembly made for slow decisions.
- The most important members protected their respective self-interests.
See also
External Links
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