Foreign Relations of the United States, 1955–1957, Western European Security and Integration, Volume IV

70. Editorial Note

The Heads of Government of the 15 members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization met in Paris from December 16 to 19, 1957, to attend the regular meeting of the North Atlantic Council. It was the first top-level meeting of the NAC since the Alliance was created 8 years earlier. The leaders came together because they wished to increase the effectiveness of NATO in relation to current international political, military, and economic problems stemming from the policies of the Soviet Union. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, Secretary of Defense Neil H. McElroy, and Secretary of the Treasury Robert B. Anderson headed the United States Delegation. A list of the principal members of the delegation, including advisers from the Departments of State and Defense, is in Department of State Bulletin, January 6, 1957, page 16. A complete list of the members of all the delegations is in North Atlantic Treaty Organization: Meeting of Heads of Government, Paris, December 1957 (Washington, 1958), pages ix-xx.

President Eisenhower arrived at Orly Field, Paris, on December 14, 1957. In his arrival statement, the President outlined the purpose of the meeting and said “We shall be striving not only to strengthen the NATO shield, but we shall also address ourselves to other aspects of our alliance. We all are confident that in the supreme strength of balanced unity we can move together toward security and peace.” For complete text of this statement, see Department of State Bulletin, January 6, 1958, page 15.

The most extensive body of documentation on this meeting is in Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 63 D 123, CF 931–953. CF 931 and 932 contain position papers and memoranda of conversation preparatory to the Heads of Government meeting. CF 933 contains records of the conversations and correspondence Dulles had with Governor Adlai Stevenson in an attempt to secure bipartisan support for United States policies presented at this NATO meeting. CF 934 contains briefing papers on the NATO issues to be discussed at the meeting and 935 has briefing papers on the individual country issues for possible discussion in bilateral talks. CF 936 contains the Secretary’s briefing book, while CF 937 includes many of the working papers submitted both by the delegations and by the Secretariat or working groups of the Council. CF 938, 939, 942, 943, and 947A contain administrative and miscellaneous files. CF 940 and 941 include summary and verbatim records of the Heads of Government meetings. CF 944, 945, and 946 contain copies of Polto–Topol, Secto–Tosec, and Dulte–Tedul telegrams, respectively, which summarize the meetings and bilateral talks and include the exchanges between the United States Delegation and the Department of State. CFs 948, 948A, 949, 950, 951, 952, and 953, which contain the schedule of bilateral talks and the Heads of Government meetings for December 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19, respectively, also have copies of the summary and verbatim records of these meetings and the telegrams and memoranda of conversation summarizing talks held on these days. General documentation on United States policy toward NATO, including copies of telegrams, reports, and correspondence, is ibid., Central Files, 740.5. Telegrams and documentation on this Heads of Government meeting are ibid., 396.1–PA.

Secretary Dulles and the President met with individual leaders during their stay in Paris and discussed problems of mutual concern with them. At 4 p.m. on Friday, December 13, the day of his arrival in Paris, Dulles met with Secretary General Spaak to discuss organizational details of the meeting and the timing of the main United States statement. A copy of the December 15 memorandum of conversation, USDel/MC/3, which summarizes this conversation is ibid., Conference Files: Lot 63 D 123, CF 948. That evening, Dulles met privately with Prime Minister Gaillard and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pineau. Summaries of their discussion are in Dulte 1 (ibid.) and Secto 4 (ibid., Central Files, 711.11–EI/12–1457), both dated December 13. After this meeting, the United States and French leaders met in the presence of their advisers to discuss NATO matters. This conversation is summarized in Polto 1758, infra.

On Saturday morning, December 14, Dulles met with Prime Minister Macmillan and Foreign Secretary Lloyd. For the December 14 memorandum of their conversation, see Document 72. Talks between the United States and British Delegations about the draft IRBM agreement are summarized in Polto 1821, December 19. (Department of State, Central Files, 396.1–PA/12–1957) That same morning, Secretary of Defense McElroy met with Secretary General Spaak. For the memorandum of their conversation, see Document 73.

At 5 p.m. that day, Dulles called on Chancellor Adenauer at the Hotel Bristol. That same afternoon, McElroy called on French Defense Minister Chaban-Delmas. A summary of their talk was transmitted in telegram 2984, December 13. (Department of State, Central Files, 711.56300/12–1357)

On Sunday morning, December 15, General Norstad called on the President. No record of this conversation has been found in Department of State files. After the President and Dulles attended church services at the American Cathedral, Jean Monnet called on the Secretary of State. In the memorandum of their conversation, USDel/MC/12, dated December 15, Dulles wrote that Monnet’s main point was that “Germany was not in his opinion evolving in a very satisfactory way. He felt that Adenauer personally was the great advocate of Europe, but that those surrounding him and who would be his successor did not have the same dedication. He felt that it was very important to push hard for increased integration while Adenauer was still at the helm. He feared otherwise West Germany might fall into the control of those who would tend to build up Germany as an independent bargaining power between the East and the West.” (Ibid., Conference Files: Lot 63 D 123, CF 949)

Late that afternoon. Gaillard called on the President and discussed North Africa.

On Monday, December 16, Dulles met with Macmillan. After they discussed procedures for the Heads of Government meeting, summarized in a December 16 memorandum of conversation meeting, USDel/MC/13, Dulles asked about Indonesia and Singapore. Macmillan said he did not know what had been done but he would try to get a report for the Secretary very soon. This brief discussion is summarized in the December 16 memorandum of conversation, USDel/MC/15. Copies of these memoranda are ibid., CF 950. Dulles and Macmillan next discussed support costs. For a memorandum of this conversation, see Document 74.

According to the United States Delegation’s chronology for December 16, Macmillan called on the President after the British Prime Minister’s talks with Dulles, but no record of this conversation was made. That same morning, General Norstad called on Chancellor Adenauer. USDel/MC/25, December 19, summarizes their conversation. (Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 63 D 123, CF 950)

At noon, the Heads of Government opened their meeting with a public session. After Prime Minister Bech of Luxembourg, President of the NAC, and Gaillard welcomed the leaders, President Eisenhower gave the opening address. For text of his speech, see Department of State Bulletin, January 6, 1958, pages 3–6. The verbatim record of the opening session, C–VR(57)81, is in Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 63 D 123, CF 950.

At 3:30 p.m., the Heads of Government held their first closed session. The discussion is summarized in Document 75.

On Tuesday morning, December 17, the President met first with Prime Minister Zoli of Italy. For a memorandum of their conversation, see Document 76. Eisenhower next met with Chancellor Adenauer; the memorandum of their conversation is scheduled for publication in a forthcoming Foreign Relations volume. After that, the President met with Foreign Minister Luns from the Netherlands, but no record of this conversation has been found in Department of State files.

Dulles met with Foreign Minister Lange of Norway on the morning of December 17. A copy of this memorandum is in Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 63 D 123, CF 951.

At 10:30 a.m., the Foreign Ministers met at the Palais de Chaillot. Poltos 1790 (Document 77) and 1791 (Department of State, Central Files, 396.1–PA/12–1757), both dated December 17, summarize the discussions.

At 4 p.m. that afternoon, the Heads of Government met in their first restricted session. Poltos 1796 (Document 78) and 1797 (Department of State, Central Files, 396.1–P A/12–1857) summarize the discussion at this session.

After a dinner given by President Coty at the Elysee Palace for the Heads of Government and their Ministers, Defense Minister Sandys of the United Kingdom met with Dulles. The Secretary then met with Chaban-Delmas. The Secretary later met with Macmillan and Lloyd, but no record of that conversation has been found in Department of State files.

On Wednesday morning, December 18, Dulles talked with Prime Minister Hansen of Denmark. The Secretary expressed his appreciation for the helpful arrangement that had been made for United States establishments in Greenland. Hansen accepted the gratitude, but expressed displeasure over recent criticisms of his country by United States officials for its inadequate defense effort. A copy of the December 18 memorandum of conversation, USDel/MC/17, is in Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 63 D 123, CF 952.

That morning, Prime Minister Karamanlis and Foreign Minister Averoff of Greece called on the President. They discussed Cyprus and Greek relations with Yugoslavia. Karamanlis said that as a member of the Balkan Pact and of NATO, Greece intended to follow an entirely independent policy in foreign affairs. He knew Yugoslavia intended to follow an independent policy as well. Averoff added that Greece believed Yugoslavia was sincerely attempting to follow a policy independent of Moscow and desired relation with non-Communist states to prove this. The President commented that he thought the Balkan Pact was helpful in keeping Yugoslavia independent. A copy of the December 18 memorandum of their conversation, USDel/MC/23, is ibid.

At 9:30 that morning and again at 4 p.m., the Foreign and Defense Ministers met at the Palais de Chaillot. Documents 79 and 80 summarize their discussions.

At 10:30 that morning, Turkish Prime Minister Adnan Menderes called on President Eisenhower. The discussions about Cyprus and the Baghdad Pact are recorded in December 18 memoranda of conversation scheduled for publication in a forthcoming Foreign Relations volume. Memoranda of their discussions about Syria, USDel/MC/33, and Egypt, USDel/MC/31, both dated December 18, are in Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 63 D 123, CF 952.

A summary of the conversation at a luncheon given by Chaban-Delmas for McElroy, Deputy Secretary of Defense Quarles, and Assistant Secretary of Defense Sprague is scheduled for publication in a forthcoming Foreign Relations volume.

At 6 p.m. the NAC met with the Heads of Government in a restricted session at the Palais de Chaillot where they discussed and amended the draft declaration and the draft declaration and the draft communiqué. Document 81 summarizes this session.

On December 19 at 10:45 p.m., the President and Dulles met with Macmillan.

The NAC met with the Heads of Government for their final meetings at 11 a.m. A summary of that session is in Document 82. After this session, Dulles delivered an address at a luncheon given by the French Association for the Atlantic Community and the Association France–États Unis. The text of this address is printed in North Atlantic Treaty Organization: Meeting of Heads of Government, Paris, December 1957, Department of State Publication 6606 (Washington, 1958), pages 111–115.

At 3 p.m., the Secretary talked to Karamanlis about Cyprus at the Hotel Bristol. The Secretary then talked with Menderes at the Turkish Delegation Office about the Baghdad Pact and economic assistance to Turkey. A copy of the December 19 memorandum of conversation, USDel/MC/36, which briefly summarizes a request from the Shah of Iran for more military aid relayed by Menderes, is in Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 63 D 123, CF 953.

The Heads of Government Meeting followed the agenda below:

I. Opening Ceremony a public session with press present at noon

• Plenary Sessions
• 3 p.m. session

II. The Principal Problems Facing the Alliance

III. Interdependence and the Better Utilization of NATO Resources

IV. Declaration by Heads of Government/Communiqué

Upon his departure for Orly Field at 6 p.m. for Washington, President Eisenhower made a statement about the importance of the NATO Heads of Government meeting. For text of this statement, see Department State Bulletin, January 6, 1958, pages 15–16.

Dulles left France on December 20 and flew to Madrid where he conferred with General Franco. For the Secretary’s statement made upon his arrival in Washington on December 21, see ibid., page 16. For the report to the nation made by the President and the Secretary of State on December 23 about the NATO Heads of Government meeting, see ibid., January 31, 1958, pages 47–52. Since Dulles and the President reported to the nation, the Secretary of State did not feel it necessary to give an additional report to the NSC.

Because the documentation covering this meeting is extensive, the editors are presenting the most significant documents which best illustrate the main points of the discussions at the Head of Government meeting.