| 1944 |
| 1944 | International events | Leaders of French West and Equatorial Africa meet with de Gaulle in Brazzaville and issue the Brazzaville Declaration, which reaffirms continuance of French empire and rejects the possibility of independence, but which also calls for democratic reforms in the colonies. Â |
| 1944 | July 1Â - 22 | IBRD Articles of Agreement of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Monetary Fund drawn up and adopted at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, in a conference of forty-five governments. Â |
| 1945 |
| 1945 | International events | World War II ends in European theater. Potsdam Conference deals with issues of post-war Germany and Eastern Europe. US drops atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, effectively ending war in the Pacific theater. UN Charter drafted in San Francisco. US President Roosevelt dies and is succeeded by Harry S Truman. Negotiations begin for Indian independence. Fighting breaks out between Nationalists and Communists in North China. Republic of Yugoslavia established under Marshall Tito. U.S. President Truman announces end of Lend-Lease, precipitating a financial crisis in Britain, and eventual extension of American loan of $3.75 billion (August) Nuremberg tribunals begin trials of Nazi leaders for war crimes. Pan-African Congress held in Manchester, England. Â |
| 1945 | December 27 | IBRD Articles of Agreement signed by Belgium, Bolivia, Canada, China, Czechoslovakia, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Honduras, Iceland, India, Iraq, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Philippines, South Africa, Egypt, United Kingdom, United States, Yugoslavia. |
| 1945 | December 28 | IBRD Articles of Agreement signed by Paraguay, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Ecuador. |
| 1945 | December 29 | IBRD Articles of Agreement signed by Iran. |
| 1945 | December 31 | IBRD Articles of Agreement signed by Peru, Mexico, Chile. Â |
| 1946 |
| 1946 | International events | International Military Tribunal at Tokyo begins trials of Japanese war criminals. Juan Peron becomes President of Argentina. Winston Churchill denounces the "Iron Curtain" (March 5). Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry on Palestine recommends allowing 100,000 Jewish refugees into mandate, but envisages a single, secular, democratic Palestinian state. Transjordan becomes independent (renamed Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in 1949). U.S. recognizes Philippine independence, Manuel Roxas becomes President. Italy becomes a republic. War breaks out in French Indochina between Communist forces led by Ho Chi Minh and French occupying forces (November). Â |
| 1946 | January 8 | IBRD Articles of Agreement signed by Costa Rica. |
| 1946 | January 10 | IBRD Articles of Agreement signed by Poland. |
| 1946 | January 14 | IBRD Articles of Agreement signed by Brazil. |
| 1946 | March 1Â - 18 | Inaugural meeting of the boards of governors of the IBRD and the IMF held at Savannah, Georgia. Bylaws are adopted, executive directors are elected, and Washington, D.C. is chosen as the site for the two new institutions. The Bank's prescribed capital stands at $7.67 billion. |
| 1946 | March 11 | IBRD Articles of Agreement signed by Uruguay. |
| 1946 | March 14 | IBRD Articles of Agreement signed by Nicaragua, Panama, and El Salvador. |
| 1946 | March 30 | IBRD Articles of Agreement signed by Denmark. |
| 1946 | May 6 | First meeting of the executive directors is held. Emilio Collado, executive director for the United States, is appointed temporary chairman. |
| 1946 | June 18 | Eugene Meyer takes office as the first president of the Bank. |
| 1946 | June 19 | Harold D. Smith appointed vice president. |
| 1946 | June 20 | Calls for capital announced (2 percent portion plus 3 percent in national currencies). |
| 1946 | June 25 | The World Bank formally begins operations. Bank's initial authorized capital is $12 billion. |
| 1946 | July 12 | Chester A., McLain appointed general counsel. |
| 1946 | August 13 | Morton M. Mendels appointed secretary. |
| 1946 | August 28 | Leonard B. Rist appointed research director. |
| 1946 | September 20 | Daniel Crena de Iongh appointed treasurer. |
| 1946 | September 27 | First Annual Meeting of governors convenes in Washington, with thirty-eight member nations and a staff of seventy-two. |
| 1946 | September 27 | Five percent of capital subscription called. |
| 1946 | October 14 | Announcement made of loan applications from Chile, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, and Poland. |
| 1946 | October 14 | J. W. Beyen, Executive Director, speaks to the Annual Meeting of Savings Bank Association of NY, in Quebec. |
| 1946 | October 21 | Announcement made of $500 million loan application from France. |
| 1946 | October 30 | Announcement made of $250 million loan application from Iran. |
| 1946 | October 31 | Charles C. Pineo appointed loan director. |
| 1946 | December 4 | President Eugene Meyer submits his resignation to the Board of Executive Directors. |
| 1946 | December 18 | Harold D. Smith submits resignation, to become effective once the new president takes over. |
| 1946 | December 24 | IBRD Articles of Agreement signed by Colombia. |
| 1946 | December 30 | IBRD Articles of Agreement signed by Venezuela  |
| 1947 |
| 1947 | International events | Britain announces plans to return Palestine mandate to United Nations; the UN Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP) proposes the partition into a Jewish state, an Arab state, and an internationally administered zone (February). U. S. Secretary of State George C. Marshall proposes the "Marshall Plan" for European recovery (June 5). Dutch launch a "police action" against Indonesian Nationalist Party led by Achmad Sukarno (July); the brutality of the campaign precipitates debate in United Nations and a subsequent truce in December. August 15, the last Viceroy Lord Mountbatten presides over the partition of India and the creation of independent states of India and Pakistan. Hundreds of thousands die in the communal strife attending the partition. In October, armed conflict breaks out between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, which is effectively partitioned between the two. Greek civil war breaks out, precipitating the Truman Doctrine. Cominform established at the Warsaw Conference. Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg establish the Benelux customs union. Montenegro Bay Conference on the Federation of British West Indies. General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) signed in Geneva. Â |
| 1947 | January 23 | Harold D. Smith dies. Emilio Collado selected Temporary Chairman of the Executive Directors to serve in the absence of a President and Vice President of the Bank. |
| 1947 | February 28 | John J. McCloy named as president of Bank; takes office March 17. |
| 1947 | February 28 | Robert L. Garner appointed vice president; takes office March 17. |
| 1947 | March 11 | IBRD Articles of Agreement signed by Turkey. |
| 1947 | March 14 | Eugene R. Black becomes U.S. executive director. |
| 1947 | March 17 | John J. McCloy and Robert L. Garner take office. |
| 1947 | March 26 | E. Fleetwood Dunstan appointed Director of Marketing. |
| 1947 | March 27 | IBRD Articles of Agreement signed by Italy. |
| 1947 | April 3 | Chauncey G. Parker appointed Director of Administration. |
| 1947 | April 10 | IBRD Articles of Agreement signed by Syria. |
| 1947 | April 14 | IBRD Articles of Agreement signed by Lebanon. |
| 1947 | April 29 | Announcement made of applications from Mexico and the Netherlands for loans of $208,875,000 and $535,000,000 respectively. |
| 1947 | May 9 | Executive directors approve the Bank's first loan, to Credit National of France in the amount of $250 million for reconstruction purposes, one of the largest loans in real terms made by the Bank in its first fifty years. First funding for France. |
| 1947 | May 21 | Leonard Rist, Research Director, travels to London, Paris, Holland, Switzerland, and other European centers to discuss research problems with bankers and government officials. |
| 1947 | May 24 | Daniel Crena de Iongh, Treasurer, travels to European capitals. |
| 1947 | June 10 | Small fact-finding mission to Poland announced (the Bank's first mission.) |
| 1947 | July 15 | IBRD enters the bond market for the first time with an offering of $250 million. E. F. Dunstan, director of marketing, announces that the offering is substantially oversubscribed, and the bonds immediately sell at a premium over the public offering price. |
| 1947 | July 16 | Mission to Brazil departs (first mission to Brazil). |
| 1947 | August 6 | IBRD Articles of Agreement signed by Australia, becoming the 44th member of the Bank. |
| 1947 | August 7 | First funding for Netherlands: Loan 0002 – Post-War Reconstruction Project. Bank lends $195 million to the Netherlands. It is the second loan made by the Bank. |
| 1947 | August 11 | English language classes for Bank staff are announced. |
| 1947 | August 22 | First funding for Denmark: Loan 0003 – Post War Reconstruction Project for $40 million. It is the third loan made by the Bank. |
| 1947 | August 28 | Announcement of $250 million loan application from Italy. |
| 1947 | August 28 | First funding for Luxembourg: Loan 0004 – Steel Mill and Railway Project, for $12 million. |
| 1947 | September 1 | World Bank's first Group Health Program becomes effective. |
| 1947 | September 11 | Second annual governors meeting convenes in London. |
| 1947 | October 13 | Bank staff are requested to comply with the US food conservation program designed to conserve food for export to food-deficient countries. One slice of bread per day should be saved, Tuesdays should be meatless, Thursdays should be egg-less and fowl-less. |
| 1947 | October 24 | Charles C. Pineo resigns as loan director, and his duties are assumed by Mr. A. S. G. Hoar and Mr. Walter Hill. |
| 1947 | November 15 | The United Nations General Assembly approves an agreement formalizing its relationship with the IBRD. |
| 1947 | November 26 | W. A. B. Iliff appointed loan director; assumes duties on February 9, 1948. |
| 1947 | December 5 | Mission to Chile announced (first mission to Chile). |
| 1947 | December 11 | Director of Administration Chauncey Parker announces that the Community Chest drive realized $6,385.75 in donations from 321 staff members, almost doubling the quota requested. |
| 1947 | December 31 | Mission to Philippines announced (first mission to Philippines). Â |
| 1948 |
| 1948 | International events | Gandhi is assassinated in India (January); Count Folke Bernadotte, UN mediator in Palestine, is assassinated; Liberal leader Jorge Gaitan is assassinated in Bogota. Colombia, precipitating violent riots and the beginning of the Colombian "Violencia". Soviet-backed coup establishes Communist government in Czechoslovakia. Britain leaves Palestine and the State of Israel is proclaimed. Arab armies invade, precipitating the first Arab-Israeli war. Cease-fire proclaimed in Kashmir. Burma and Ceylon become independent. Communist insurgencies occur in East Java (quickly suppressed by Sukarno) and Malaya (British forces lead the combat). Berlin blockade and airlift intensify Cold War tensions. Organization of American States established at the Pan-American Convention in Bogota. Afrikaner-dominated National Party accedes to power in South Africa and begins the institution of apartheid laws. Â |
| 1948 | January 7 | Announcement made of $500 million loan application from Yugoslavia. |
| 1948 | January 14 | IBRD Articles of Agreement signed by Finland, becoming the 45th member of the Bank. |
| 1948 | March 10 | Mission to Peru and Bolivia announced (first mission to each country). |
| 1948 | March 25 | First funding for Chile: Loan 0005 – Power and Irrigation Project. Bank lends $13.5 million to Fomento for hydroelectric development and $2.5 million to Endesa of Chile (first development loans and first loans in Latin America.) |
| 1948 | April 1 | President McCloy travels to Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Uruguay and Venezuela, accompanied by Luis Machado, Chester McLain, and others. |
| 1948 | May 19 | Bank holds its second annual picnic and field day for Bank staff members and their families at Rock Creek Park. |
| 1948 | May 21 | Vice President Garner leaves on the Queen Mary to Europe for six weeks, accompanied by A. S. G. Hoar, Leonard Rist, and others, to visit Brussels, The Hague, Amsterdam, Basle, Milan, Rome, Paris and London. |
| 1948 | June 4 | Visit by Eugene Black (then U.S. executive director) to Netherlands East Indies announced. |
| 1948 | July 16 | Memo to staff sent requesting staff members to dial their own phone calls instead of having their secretaries do it for them. |
| 1948 | July 19 | Disbursement of Dutch loan proceeds completed. |
| 1948 | July 19 - 23 | Advisory Council holds first annual meeting. |
| 1948 | July 26 | Grant Forbes appointed to act as the Bank's liaison with the ECA and OEEC in Paris. |
| 1948 | August 2 | Davidson Sommers is appointed Assistant General Counsel, sharing the same title with Ansel F. Luxford. |
| 1948 | August 9 | Bank lends $12 million to four Dutch shipping companies (first post-reconstruction loans in Europe). |
| 1948 | August 16 | Walter Hill appointed assistant in Paris office. |
| 1948 | August 27 | IBRD Articles of Agreement signed by Austria, becoming the 46th member of the Bank. |
| 1948 | September 15 | The Philippines applies for a loan. |
| 1948 | September 27 | Third Annual Governors meeting convenes in Washington. |
| 1948 | September 29 | First funding for India: Loan 0019 - Agricultural Machinery Project. |
| 1948 | November 10 | Visit by President McCloy to Central America announced. McCloy will be joined by Luis Machado, Chester A. McLain, and others. |
| 1948 | November 22 | Memo sent to staff explaining first Home Leave policy. |
| 1948 | December 14 | Banks staff Christmas cocktail party held at Hall of Nations at the Washington Hotel. Â |
| 1949 |
| 1949 | International events | Germany splits into the Federal German Republic of West Germany and the German Democratic Republic of East Germany. Ireland leaves the British Commonwealth as an independent republic. India becomes a republic, but remains within the British Commonwealth. Dutch military action in Indonesia causes international outrage and leads to a conference at The Hague; Indonesia becomes independent in December. North Atlantic Treaty Organization established. Chinese Communists drive the Nationalists off the mainland to island of Taiwan; Mao Tse Tung proclaims the People's Republic of China (PRC). Communist rule established in Hungary. Â |
| 1949 | January 5 | The Bank announces that William L. Bennett is appointed to the Public Relations Staff. |
| 1949 | January 7 | First funding for Mexico: Loan 0012 – Electric Power Development Project. This is the Bank's first sector loan. |
| 1949 | January 10 | Missions to India, Turkey, Colombia, and Peru announced (first missions to India, Turkey and Colombia). |
| 1949 | January 12 | Dollar Savings Bank buys $1million Dutch Shipping Notes (the first portfolio sale). |
| 1949 | January 16 | Bank's first training course for positions on the permanent staff announced. Six men and one woman from Guatemala, France, the Netherlands, Greece, Belgium, Australia, and Canada are the first trainees. |
| 1949 | January 27 | First funding for Brazil: Loan 0011 – Power and Telephone Project. |
| 1949 | January 31 | General R. A. Wheeler appointed engineering adviser. |
| 1949 | February 16 | Visit by Robert L. Garner and party to France, Greece, Turkey, Iran, Egypt, the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Algeria, and Morocco announced. The party flies to Paris from LaGuardia Field, and returns via the Queen Elizabeth. |
| 1949 | March 1 | First funding for Belgium: Loan 0014 – Steel and Power Equipment Project. |
| 1949 | March 25 | Bank mission to Egypt, led by F. Dorsey Stephens, to study general economic situation, with a view to financing economic development, and to study a proposed irrigation project (first survey mission to Egypt). |
| 1949 | March 28 | Norman M. Tucker is appointed Director of Marketing, replacing E. F. Dunstan, who resigned at the end of 1948. |
| 1949 | May 3 | IBRD Articles of Agreement signed by Thailand, becoming the 47th member of the Bank. |
| 1949 | May 16 | Mission to El Salvador, led by Federico A. Consolo and Albert Waterston, to study economic prospects and possible financing of hydro-electric development (first mission to El Salvador). |
| 1949 | May 18 | President John J. McCloy resigns as president of the Bank to become US High Commissioner for Germany. |
| 1949 | May 27 | Mission to Iraq, to investigate flood control projects in the Tigris and Euphrates valleys (first mission to Iraq). |
| 1949 | June 2 | World Bank announces that it will cooperate with UN and other international agencies in expanded program of technical assistance activities. |
| 1949 | June 30 | Mission to Colombia (first comprehensive economic survey mission) announced. Mission is headed by Lauchlin Currie. |
| 1949 | July 1 | Eugene R. Black becomes third president of the Bank. |
| 1949 | July 26 | First funding for Finland: Loan 0016 - Electric Power and Industrial Project. |
| 1949 | July 29 | Announcement of a Bank mission to Yugoslavia to study the country's economy. Mission party includes A. S. G. Hoar, S. R. Cope, and Martin M. Rosen, among others. (first Bank mission to Yugoslavia). |
| 1949 | August 18 | Bank lends $34 million to India for railway reconstruction and development (first Asian loan). |
| 1949 | August 19 | First funding for Colombia: Loan 0018 – Agricultural Machinery Project. |
| 1949 | August 31 | Davidson Sommers succeeds Chester A. McLain as general counsel of Bank. |
| 1949 | October 1 | First funding for Yugoslavia: Loan 0020 – Agriculture Timber Equipment Project. |
| 1949 | October 17 | Walter Hill appointed special representative in Paris office. |
| 1949 | October 17 | Bank lends $2.7 million to Yugoslavia and $2.3 million to Finland for timber-producing equipment (the Bank's first – and only – short-term loans; repaid September 1951). |
| 1949 | December 2 | J. Burke Knapp appointed assistant director of Economic Department. |
| 1949 | December 5 | Bank mission to the Philippines, Thailand, India and Pakistan. Mission is headed by Joseph Rucinski, and is expected to last about two months. First mission to Thailand and Pakistan. Trip to Pakistan is to discuss impending membership of Pakistan in the Bank. |
| 1949 | December 14 | First funding for El Salvador: Loan 0022 – Rio Lempa Hydroelectric Project. |
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