2. Proceedings of the Session

Editorial Note

The Seventh Session of the North Atlantic Council, which began meeting in Ottawa on Saturday, September 15, was the first Council Meeting of 1951, following by 9 months the previous session in Brussels in December 1950. Many of the Cabinet Ministers who attended these meetings were also involved in the ceremonies surrounding the signing of the Treaty of Peace with Japan in San Francisco, September 4–8; the meetings of the Boards of the International Bank and the International Monetary Fund, in Washington, September 10–14; and the bipartite and tripartite Foreign Ministers Meeting in Washington, September 10–14.

More than 30 Ministers were present for the 5 days of meetings. The leading representatives of the NATO countries were as follows:

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Belgium	Paul van Zeeland, Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean van Houtte, Minister of Finance Colonel E. R. V. G. A. DeGreef, Minister of Defense Andre de Staercke. Council Deputy
Canada	Lester B. Pearson, Secretary of State for External Affairs Brooke Claxton, Minister of National Defense Douglas C. Abbott, Minister of Finance L. Dana Wilgress, Council Deputy
Denmark	Ole Bjørn Kraft, Minister of Foreign Affairs Thorkil Kristensen, Minister of Finance Erhard J. C. Quistgaard, Chief of Defense V. de Steensen-Leth, Council Deputy
France	Robert Schuman, Minister of Foreign Affairs René Mayer, Minister of Finance Georges Bidault, Minister of National Defense Hervé Alphand, Council Deputy
Iceland	Bjarni Benediktsson, Minister of Foreign Affairs Gunnlauger Pétursson, Council Deputy
Italy	Alcide De Gasperi, Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Giuseppe Pella, Minister of the Budget Randolfo Pacciardi, Minister of Defense Alberto Rossi-Longhi, Council Deputy
Luxembourg	Pierre Dupong, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Labor Victor H. J. Bodson, Minister of Justice, Public Works, Transportation and Touring André Clasen, Council Deputy
Netherlands	Dirk U. Stikker, Minister for Foreign Affairs Cornelius Staf, Minister for Defense Pieter Lieftinck, Minister of Finance Johannes R. M. van den Brink, Minister of Economic Affairs Jonkheer A. W. L. Tjarda van Starkenborgh-Stachouwer, Council Deputy
Norway	Halvard Lange, Minister of Foreign Affairs Jens Hauge. Minister of Defense Eric Brofoss, Minister of Trade Johann Georg Raider, Minister in the Norwegian Foreign Office Dag Bryn, Council Deputy
Portugal	Joao Pinto da Costa Leite, Minister of the Presidency Paulo Cunha, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ruy Ennes Ulrich, Council Deputy
United Kingdom	Herbert S. Morrison, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Hugh Todd Gaitskell, Chancellor of the Exchequer Emanuel Shinwell, Minister of Defense Frederick R. Hoyer-Millar, Council Deputy
United States1	Dean Acheson, Secretary of State John W. Snyder. Secretary of the Treasury William C. Foster, Administrator for Economic Cooperation Frank H. Pace. Jr., Secretary of the Army Charles M. Spofford, Council Deputy

In the compilation that follows, the telegraphic reports of all the Council meetings are printed with the exception of the first formal opening ceremony. The main indicator series of telegrams sent from Ottawa during the Council meetings were Sectos and Tosecs which were normally sent from and to members of the United States Delegation. Deptos and Todeps are the series indicators for telegrams from and to the United States Deputy Representative on the North Atlantic Council. The United States minutes of the Council meetings are not printed but are in the Conference files, lot 59 D 95, CF 92 and CF 93, and the CFM files, lot M–88, boxes 159 and 253. Both of these files also contain the preparatory papers which were written as background papers for the United States Delegation by a Steering Group within the Department of State as well as other miscellaneous supporting materials.

An attempt has been made in this compilation to note all the formal actions of the Council including a reference to the Council Document involved. The texts of the most important resolutions approved by the Council are included as they were transmitted to the Department of State in telegrams.

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