Treaty of Versailles/Preamble

by the Allied and Associated Powers and Germany

Treaty of Peace between the Allied and Associated Powers and Germany, signed at Versailles, June 28, 1919.

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The United States of America, The British Empire, France, Italy and Japan,

These Powers being described in the present Treaty as the Principal Allied and Associated Powers,

Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Cuba, Ecuador, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, The Hedjaz, Honduras, Liberia, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Roumania, The Serb-Croat-Slovene State, Siam, Czecho-Slovakia and Uruguay.

These Powers constituting with the Principal Powers mentioned above the Allied and Associated Powers,

of the one part;

And Germany,

of the other part;

Bearing in mind that on the request of the Imperial German Government an Armistice was granted on November 11, 1918, to Germany by the Principal Allied and Associated Powers in order that a Treaty of Peace might be concluded with her, and

The Allied and Associated Powers being equally desirous that the war in which they were successively involved directly or indirectly and which originated in the declaration of war by Austria-Hungary on July 28, 1914, against Serbia, the declaration of war by Germany against Russia on August 1, 1914, and against France on August 3, 1914, and in the invasion of Belgium should be replaced by a firm, just and durable Peace.

For this purpose the HIGH CONTRACTING PARTIES represented as follows:

The President of the United States of America, by:

The Honourable Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States, acting in his own name and by his own proper authority;

The Honourable Robert Lansing, Secretary of State;

The Honourable Henry White, formerly Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States at Rome and Paris;

The Honourable Edward M. House;

General Tasker H. Bliss, Military Representative of the United States on the Supreme War Council;

His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of the British Dominions Beyond the Seas, Emperor of India, by:

The Right Honourable David Lloyd George, M.P., First Lord of His Treasury and Prime Minister;

The Right Honourable Andrew Bonar Law, M.P., His Lord Privy Seal;

The Right Honourable Viscount Milner, G.C.B., G.C.M.G., His Secretary of State for the Colonies;

The Right Honourable Arthur James Balfour, O.M., M.P., His Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs;

The Right Honourable George Nicoll Barnes, M.P., Minister without portfolio;

And

for the Dominion of Canada, by:

The Honourable Charles Joseph Doherty, Minister of Justice;

The Honourable Arthur Lewis Sifton, Minister of Customs;

for the Commonwealth of Australia, by:

The Right Honourable William Morris Hughes, Attorney General and Prime Minister;

The Right Honourable Sir Joseph Cook. G.C.M.G., Minister for the Navy;

for the Union of South Africa, by:

General the Right Honourable Louis Botha, Minister of Native Affairs and Prime Minister;

Lieutenant-General the Right Honourable Jan Christian Smuts, K.C., Minister of Defence;

for the Dominion of New Zealand, by:

The Right Honourable William Ferguson Masssey, Minister of Labour and Prime Minister;

for India, by:

The Right Honourable Edwin Samuel Montague, M.P., His Secretary of State for India;

Major-General His Highness Maharaja Sir Ganga Singh Bahadur, Maharaja of Bikaner, G.C.S.I., G.C.I.E., G.C.V.O., K.C.B., A.D.C.;

The President of the French Republic, by:

Mr. Georges Clemenceau, President of the Council, Minister of War;

Mr. Stephen Pichon, Minister for Foreign Affairs;

Mr. Louis-Lucien Klotz, Minister of Finance;

Mr. André Tardieu, Commissary General for Franco-American Military Affairs;

Mr. Jules Cambon, Ambassador of France;

His Majesty the King of Italy, by:

Baron S. Sonnino, Deputy;

Marquis G. Imperiali, Senator, Ambassador of His Majesty the King of Italy at London;

Mr. S. Crespi, Deputy;

His Majesty the Emperor of Japan, by:

Marquis Saïonzi, formerly President of the Council of Ministers;

Baron Makino, formerly Minister for Foreign Affairs, Member of the Diplomatic Council;

Viscount Chinda, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of H. M. the Emperor of Japan at London;

Mr. K. Matsui, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of H. M. the Emperor of Japan at Paris;

Mr. H. Ijuin, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of H. M. the Emperor of Japan at Rome;

His Majesty the King; of the Belgians, by:

Mr. Paul Hymans, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Minister of State;

Mr. Jules van den Heuvel, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, Minister of State;

Mr. Emile Vandervelde, Minister of Justice, Minister of State;

The President of the Republic of Bolivia, by:

Mr. Ismael Montes, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Bolivia at Paris;

The President of the Republic of Brazil, by:

Mr. Joao Pandiá Calogeras, Deputy, formerly Minister of Finance;

Mr. Raul Fernandes, Deputy;

Mr. Rodrigo Octavio de L. Menezes, Professor of International Law at Rio de Janeiro;

The President of the Chinese Republic, by:

Mr. Lou Tseng-Tsiang, Minister for Foreign Affairs;

Mr. Chengting Thomas Wang, formerly Minister of Agriculture and Commerce;

The President of the Cuban Republic, by:

Mr. Antonio Sánchez de Bustamante, Dean of the Faculty of Law in the University of Havana, President of the Cuban Society of International Law;

The President of the Republic of Ecuador, by:

Mr. Enrique Dorn de Alsúa, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Ecuador at Paris;

His Majesty the King of the Hellenes, by:

Mr. Eleftherios K. Venisélos, President of the Council of Ministers;

Mr. Nicolas Politis, Minister for Foreign Affairs;

The President of the Republic of Guatemala, by:

Mr. Joaquin Méndez, formerly Minister of State for Public Works and Public Instruction, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Guatemala at Washington, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary on special mission at Paris ;

The President of the Republic of Haiti, by:

Mr. Tertullien Guilbaud, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Haiti at Paris;

His Majesty the King of the Hedjaz, by:

Mr. Rustem Haïdar;

Mr. Abdul Hadi Aouni;

The President of the Republic of Honduras, by:

Dr. Policarpo Bonilla, on special mission to Washington, formerly President of the Republic of Honduras, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary;

The President of the Republic of Liberia, by:

The Honourable Charles Dunbar Burgess King, Secretary of State;

The President of the Republic of Nicaragua, by:

Mr. Salvador Chamorro, President of the Chamber of Deputies;

The President of the Republic of Panama, by:

Mr. Antonio Burgos, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Panama at Madrid;

The President of the Republic of Peru, by:

Mr. Carlos G. Candamo, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Peru at Paris;

The President of the Polish Republic, by:

Mr. Ignace J. Paderewski, President of the Council of Ministers, Minister for Foreign Affairs;

Mr. Roman Dmowski, President of the Polish National Committee;

The President of the Portugese Republic, by:

Dr. Affonso Augusto da Costa, formerly President of the Council of Ministers;

Dr. Augusto Luiz Vieira Soares, formerly Minister for Foreign Affairs;

His Majesty the King of Roumania, by:

Mr. Ion I. C. Bratiano, President of the Council of Ministers, Minister for Foreign Affairs;

General Constantin Coanda, Corps Commander, A.D.C. to the King, formerly President of the Council of Ministers;

His Majesty the King of the Serbs, the Croats, and the Slovenes, by:

Mr. Nicolas P. Pachitch, formerly President of the Council of Ministers;

Mr. Ante Trumbic, Minister for Foreign Affairs;

Mr. Milenko Vesnitch, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of H. M. the King of the Serbs, the Croats and the Slovenes at Paris;

His Majesty the King of Siam, by:

His Highness Prince Charoon, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of H. M. the King of Siam at Paris;

His Serene Highness Prince Traidos Prabandhu, Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs;

The President of the Czecho-Slovak Republic, by:

Mr. Karel Kramar, President of the Council of Ministers;

Mr. Eduard Benes, Minister of Foreign Affairs;

The President of the Republic of Uruguay, by:

Mr. Juan Antonio Buero, Minister for Foreign Affaire, formerly Minister of Industry;

Germany, by:

Mr. Hermann Müller, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Empire;

Dr. Bell, Minister of the Empire;

Acting in the name of the German Empire and of each and every component State,

Who having communicated their full powers found in good and due form have agreed as follows:

From the coming into force of the present Treaty the state of war will terminate. From that moment and subject to the provisions of this Treaty official relations with Germany, and with any of the German States, will be resumed by the Allied and Associated Powers.