International Bank for Reconstruction and Development; Inaugural Meetings Savannah, Georgia, U.S.A. March 8th to 18th 1946

London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1946. First Edition. Very good. The first European announcement detailing the foundational inaugural meetings that formally established the operational structure of the IMF and World Bank. Original printed stapled wrappers with minor rubbing and toning, staple rust, else very good. 12 pp. Very good. Following the December 27, 1945 ratification threshold, the Savannah meetings a few months later involved significant organizational decisions including the election of executive directors, the controversial decision to locate both institutions in Washington D.C., establishment of the fiscal year structure, and determination of executive director functions and compensation. The meetings were marked by disagreements between British economist Lord Keynes and American Harry Dexter White over fundamental governance questions, particularly whether executive directors should serve full-time or part-time and how much operational control they should exercise. Keynes advocated for part-time directors who would focus on high-level policy while leaving operational matters to professional staff, while White insisted on full-time directors with comprehensive oversight responsibilities. A notable absence was the Soviet Union, which had signed the original Bretton Woods Final Act but subsequently declined to ratify the agreements, citing objections to the inclusion of the U.S. dollar alongside gold in the new monetary system. The meetings transformed the theoretical frameworks established at Bretton Woods into functioning institutions with concrete operational structures, governance mechanisms, and policy frameworks that would define international monetary cooperation for decades.