Formation of the Western Union | 17 MAR 1948

The Brussels Treaty is signed, 17 March 1948, to form the Western Union.
Extract from Alliance for Peace, 1951.
Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom signed the Brussels Treaty on 17 March 1948, creating the Western Union. While a defence treaty, the Brussels Treaty also aimed to strengthen economic, social and cultural ties.
In September 1948, within the framework of the Brussels Treaty, a military agency was created under the name of the Western Union Defence Organisation, with its headquarters in Fontainebleau, France. Field Marshall Montgomery (United Kingdom) was appointed Chairman of the Land, Naval and Air Commanders-in-Chief Committee. Later, once NATO was created and to avoid duplication, the Western Union Defence Organisation transferred its responsibilities to NATO’s Supreme Allied Headquarters, Europe (SHAPE) and was dissolved. Field Marshal Montgomery then became NATO’s first Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe (D-SACEUR).
Meanwhile, the Western Union was expanded in 1954 when Germany and Italy joined. From then on, it was renamed the “Western European Union”. Its operational role was eventually assumed by the European Union in 1999 and the organisation was dissolved completely in 2011.