rces behind the new organization. With the support of the British government, the United States, in fact, emerged as the leader in establishing the organization. Many believed that "the League had failed partly because some of the big powers played no role. If the UN was to succeed there must be a dominant place within it for the great powers" (Luard A History 18-19).
In April 1945, there was an organizational meeting held in San Francisco to discuss the initial structure and membership of the United Nations. This conference had many items on its agenda, but none more pressing than a discussion of some of the events that had recently taken place at the Yalta Conference between the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union. Most important, it was during the San Francisco Conference that the debating character of the United Nations first began. Nevertheless, the delegates did sign a Charter to establish the organization and immediately took steps to empower a United Nations Security Council (Luard A History 67-9).
After the drafting of the Charter, the members of the initial group elected a Secretary-General. This position was not to be,
a mere administrator and backroom boy, but. . . a forceful figure who would bang together the heads of fractious statesmen, and play a prominent part on the world scene, demanding action by the world body when necessary. (The man elected to this post), Trygve Lie, unlike his successors, was a politician by training and experience. He was robust and outspoken in style, a quality then regarded as an asset, thoug
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