The International Monetary Fund was planned at the Bretton Woods conference in New Hampshire in July 1944, where representatives of forty-four Allied nations designed a stable financial order for the postwar world. The economists Harry Dexter White of the United States and John Maynard Keynes of Britain were the principal architects. The agreement entered into force in 1945, and the fund began operations in 1947, with the aim of supporting stable exchange rates and helping countries with balance-of-payments difficulties. When the system of fixed exchange rates tied to the dollar broke down in the early 1970s, the IMF turned mainly to lending to countries in financial crisis, usually with conditions attached. Based in Washington, it is frequently criticised for the austerity measures that accompany its loans.
Before and after
- 4 July 1944Founding of World Bank Group
- 20 July 194420 July plot
- 22 July 1944Bretton Woods system
- from 22 July 1944 to 31 December 1989Polish People's Republic
- 22 July 1944Founding of International Monetary Fund
- from 24 July 1944 to 1 August 1944Battle of Tinian
- 31 July 1944Death of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
- from 1 August 1944 to 2 October 1944Warsaw Uprising
- from 1 August 1944 to 10 August 1944Battle of Radzymin
More in Society, economy & sport
- 22 March 1928Founding of Muslim Brotherhood
- 1929Origins of Serie B
- from 1932 to 1933Holodomor
- 4 March 1933Roosevelt's New Deal begins
- 28 August 1937Founding of Toyota
- 7 December 1944Founding of International Civil Aviation Organization
The era
This moment belongs to the Modern era (1914 CE to 1945 CE), world wars and a changing world. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.