A summit meeting (or just summit) is an international meeting of

heads of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

, usually with considerable media exposure, tight security, and a prearranged agenda. Notable summit meetings include those of

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

, and

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. However, the term summit was not commonly used for such meetings until the Geneva Summit (1955). During the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

, when American presidents joined with

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

or Chinese counterparts for one-on-one meetings, the media labelled the event as a "summit". The post–Cold War era has produced an increase in the number of "summit" events. Nowadays, international summits are the most common expression for

global governance Global governance (or world governance) refers to institutions that coordinate the behavior of transnationality, transnational actors, facilitate cooperation, resolve disputes, and alleviate collective action problems. Global governance broadly ...

Notable summits

Allied World War II conferences

* U.S.–British Staff Conference (ABC–1) (January 29 – March 27, 1941) * Atlantic Conference (August 9–12, 1941) * Moscow Conference (September 29 – October 1, 1941) * Arcadia Conference (December 22, 1941 – January 14, 1942) *Second Washington Conference (June 20–25, 1942) * Second Moscow Conference (August 12–19, 1942) * Cherchell Conference (October 21–22, 1942) *

Casablanca Conference The Casablanca Conference (codenamed SYMBOL) or Anfa Conference was held in Casablanca, French Morocco, from January 14 to 24, 1943, to plan the Allies of World War II, Allied European strategy for the next phase of World War II. The main disc ...

(January 14–24, 1943) * Bermuda Conference (April 19, 1943) *Third Washington Conference (May 12–27, 1943) * Quebec Conference (August 17–24, 1943) * Third Moscow Conference (October 18 – November 1, 1943) *

Cairo Conference Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

(November 22–26, 1943) * Tehran Conference (November 28 – December 1, 1943) * Second Cairo Conference (December 4–6, 1943) * Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference (May 1–16, 1944) * United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference (Bretton Woods) (July 1–15, 1944) * Dumbarton Oaks Conference (August 21–29, 1944) * Second Quebec Conference (September 12–16, 1944) * Fourth Moscow Conference (October 9, 1944) * Malta Conference (January 30 – February 2, 1945) * Yalta Conference (February 4–11, 1945) *

United Nations Conference on International Organization The United Nations Conference on International Organization (UNCIO), commonly known as the San Francisco Conference, was a convention of delegates from 50 Allies of World War II, Allied nations that took place from 25 April 1945 to 26 June 194 ...

(April 25 – June 26, 1945) * Potsdam Conference (July 17 – August 2, 1945)

Soviet Union–United States summits

* Geneva Summit, July 18–23, 1955 * Washington and Camp David Summit, September 15, 26–27, 1959 * Paris Summit, May 16–17, 1960 * Vienna Summit, June 3–4, 1961 * Glassboro Summit Conference, June 23 and 25, 1967 * Moscow Summit ( SALT I), May 22–30, 1972 * Washington Summit, June 18–25, 1973 * Moscow Summit, June 28 – July 3, 1974 * Vladivostok Summit Meeting on Arms Control, November 23–24, 1974 * Helsinki Summit, July 30 and August 2, 1975 * Vienna Summit ( SALT II), June 15–18, 1979 * Geneva Summit, November 19–21, 1985 *

Reykjavík Summit The Reykjavík Summit was a Summit (meeting), summit meeting between President of the United States, U.S. President Ronald Reagan and General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev, held in Reykjavík, Iceland, on ...

, October 10–12, 1986 * Washington Summit, December 7–10, 1987 * Moscow Summit, May 29 – June 1, 1988 * New York Summit, December 7, 1988 * Malta Summit, December 2–3, 1989 * Washington D.C., May 30 – June 3, 1990 * Helsinki Summit, September 9, 1990 * Paris Summit, November 19, 1990 * London Summit, July 17, 1991 * Moscow Summit (

START I START I (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) was a bilateral treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union on the reduction and the limitation of strategic offensive arms. The treaty was signed on 31 July 1991 and entered into force on 5 De ...

), July 30–31, 1991 * Madrid Summit, October 29–30, 1991

Russia–United States summits

* 1993 – Moscow Summit ( START II) * 1998 – Moscow Summit * 2001 – Slovenia Summit 2001 * 2002 – Moscow Summit ( SORT) * 2005 – Slovakia Summit 2005 * 2018 – Russia–United States summit * 2021 – Russia–United States summit

Arab League summits

* 1974 – Rabat summit conference * 2002 – Beirut Summit

Earth Summit The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the Rio de Janeiro Conference or the Earth Summit (Portuguese: ECO92, Cúpula da Terra), was a major United Nations conference held in Rio de Janeiro from 3 ...
s

* 1992 –

Earth Summit The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the Rio de Janeiro Conference or the Earth Summit (Portuguese: ECO92, Cúpula da Terra), was a major United Nations conference held in Rio de Janeiro from 3 ...

, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil * 2002 –

, Johannesburg, South Africa, * 2012 –

, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

G–summits

; Group of Six (G6),

heads of government In the executive branch, the head of government is the highest or the second-highest official of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a ...

* 1975 –

1st G6 summit The 1st G6 summit took place on 15–17 November 1975, in Rambouillet, France. The venue for the summit meetings was the Château de Rambouillet near Paris.Japan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan), Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ministry of Fore ...

, Château de Rambouillet ;

Group of Seven (G7) The Group of Seven (G7) is an intergovernmental political and economic forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States; additionally, the European Union (EU) is a "non-enumerated member". I ...

, heads of government * 1976 – 2nd G7 summit, San Juan * 1977 – 3rd G7 summit, London * 1978 – 4th G7 summit, Bonn * 1979 – 5th G7 summit, Tokyo * 1980 – 6th G7 summit, Venice * 1981 – 7th G7 summit, Montebello * 1982 – 8th G7 summit, Versailles * 1983 – 9th G7 summit, Williamsburg * 1984 – 10th G7 summit, London * 1985 – 11th G7 summit, Bonn * 1986 – 12th G7 summit, Tokyo * 1987 – 13th G7 summit, Venice * 1988 – 14th G7 summit, Toronto * 1989 – 15th G7 summit, Grande Arche * 1990 – 16th G7 summit, Houston * 1991 – 17th G7 summit, London * 1992 – 18th G7 summit, Munich * 1993 – 19th G7 summit, Tokyo * 1994 – 20th G7 summit, Naples * 1995 – 21st G7 summit, Halifax * 1996 – 22nd G7 summit, Lyon ; Group of Eight (G8), heads of government * 1997 – 23rd G8 summit, Denver * 1998 – 24th G8 summit, Birmingham * 1999 – 25th G8 summit, Cologne * 2000 – 26th G8 summit, Okinawa * 2001 – 27th G8 summit, Genoa * 2002 – 28th G8 summit, Kananaskis * 2003 – 29th G8 summit, Évian-les-Bains * 2004 – 30th G8 summit, Sea Island * 2005 – 31st G8 summit, Gleneagles * 2006 – 32nd G8 summit, Saint Petersburg * 2007 – 33rd G8 summit, Heiligendamm * 2008 – 34th G8 summit, Tōyako * 2009 – 35th G8 summit, L'Aquila, Abruzzo * 2010 – 36th G8 summit, Huntsville * 2011 –

37th G8 summit The 37th G8 summit was held on 26–27 May 2011 in Deauville, France. Previous G8 summits have been hosted by France in locations which include 1st G6 summit, Rambouillet (1975); 8th G7 summit, Versailles (1982); 15th G7 summit, Grande Arche, Pa ...

, Deauville * 2012 – 38th G8 summit, Camp David, Maryland * 2013 –

39th G8 summit The 39th G8 summit was held on 17–18 June 2013, at the Lough Erne Resort, a five-star hotel and golf resort on the shore of Lough Erne in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It was the sixth G8 summit to be held in the United Kingdom and the ...

, Lough Erne in County Fermanagh ;

, heads of government * 2014 – 40th G7 summit, Brussels * 2015 – 41st G7 summit, Schloss Elmau, Bavaria * 2016 – 42nd G7 summit, Shima, Mie Prefecture * 2017 – 43rd G7 summit, Taormina, Sicily * 2018 – 44th G7 summit, La Malbaie, Quebec * 2019 – 45th G7 summit, Biarritz, Nouvelle-Aquitaine * 2021 –

47th G7 summit The 47th G7 summit was held from 11 to 13 June 2021 in Cornwall, England, during the United Kingdom's tenure of the presidency of the Group of Seven (G7), an inter-governmental political forum of seven advanced nations. The participants include ...

, Cornwall, South West England * 2022 – 48th G7 summit, Schloss Elmau, Bavaria * 2023 – 49th G7 summit, Hiroshima * 2024 – 50th G7 summit, Fasano, Apulia ; Group of Twenty, heads of government * 2008 G-20 Washington summit * 2009 G-20 London summit * 2009 G-20 Pittsburgh summit * 2010 G-20 Toronto summit * 2010 G-20 Seoul summit * 2011 G-20 Cannes summit * 2012 G-20 Los Cabos Summit * 2013 G-20 Saint Petersburg summit * 2014 G-20 Brisbane summit * 2015 G-20 Antalya summit * 2016 G-20 Hangzhou summit * 2017 G-20 Hamburg summit * 2018 G-20 Buenos Aires summit * 2019 G-20 Osaka summit * 2020 G-20 Riyadh summit * 2021 G-20 Rome summit * 2022 G-20 Bali summit * 2023 G-20 New Delhi summit * 2024 G20 Rio de Janeiro summit

European summits

* 1969 – The Hague: Foreign policy and enlargement. * 1974 – Paris: Creation of the Council. * 1985 – Milan: Initiate IGC leading to the

Single European Act The Single European Act (SEA) was the first major revision of the 1957 Treaty of Rome. The Act set the European Community an objective of establishing a single market by 31 December 1992, and a forerunner of the European Union's Common Fore ...

. * 1991 – Maastricht: Agreement on the Maastricht Treaty. * 1997 – Amsterdam: Agreement on the Amsterdam Treaty. * 1998 – Brussels: Selected member states to adopt the

euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...

. * 1999 – Cologne: Declaration on military forces. * 1999 – Tampere: Institutional reform * 2000 – Lisbon:

Lisbon Strategy The Lisbon Strategy, also known as the Lisbon Agenda or Lisbon Process, was an action and development plan devised in 2000, for the economy of the European Union between 2000 and 2010. A pivotal role in its formulation was played by the Portugue ...

* 2002 – Copenhagen: Agreement for May 2004 enlargement. * 2007 – Lisbon: Agreement on the

Lisbon Treaty The Treaty of Lisbon (initially known as the Reform Treaty) is a European agreement that amends the two Treaty, treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by all Member stat ...

European Political Community summits

* 2022 – 1st EPC Summit, Czechia * 2023 – 2nd EPC Summit, Moldova * 2023 – 3rd EPC Summit, Spain * 2024 – 4th EPC Summit, United Kingdom * 2024 – 5th EPC Summit, Hungary

Inter-Korean summits

* 2000 – 1st Korean summit * 2007 – 2nd Korean summit * 2018 – April 2018 inter-Korean summit * 2018 – May 2018 inter-Korean summit * 2018 – September 2018 inter-Korean summit

Millennium Development Goals In the United Nations, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were eight international development goals for the year 2015 created following the Millennium Summit, following the adoption of the United Nations Millennium Declaration. These w ...

* 2000 – Millennium Summit, New York City * 2005 – 2005 World Summit, New York City

South American Summits

* 2000 – 2000 South American Summit, Brasília * 2002 – South American Summit, Guayaquil * 2004 – 2004 South American Summit, Cuzco, Peru

Summits of the Americas

* 1994 – 1st Summit of the Americas at

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. * 1996—Summit of the Americas on Sustainable Development at

Santa Cruz de la Sierra Santa Cruz de la Sierra (; ), commonly known as Santa Cruz, is the largest city in Bolivia and the capital of the Santa Cruz Department (Bolivia), Santa Cruz department. Situated on the Pirai River (Bolivia), Pirai River in the eastern Tropical ...

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

. * 1998 – 2nd Summit of the Americas at

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. * 2001 – 3rd Summit of the Americas, in

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. * 2004 – Monterrey Special Summit of the Americas at

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. * 2005 – 4th Summit of the Americas at Mar del Plata in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. * 2009 – 5th Summit of the Americas at Port-of-Spain in

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

. * 2012 – 6th Summit of the Americas at Cartagena in

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. * 2015 – 7th Summit of the Americas at

Panama City Panama City, also known as Panama, is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has a total population of 1,086,990, with over 2,100,000 in its metropolitan area. The city is located at the Pacific Ocean, Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, i ...

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

. * 2018 – 8th Summit of the Americas at

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

UN international conferences on Afghanistan

* 2001 – International Conference on Afghanistan in

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

* 2004 – International Conference on Afghanistan in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

* 2006 – International Conference on Afghanistan in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

* 2007 – International Conference on the

Rule of Law The essence of the rule of law is that all people and institutions within a Body politic, political body are subject to the same laws. This concept is sometimes stated simply as "no one is above the law" or "all are equal before the law". Acco ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

* 2008 – International Conference on Afghanistan in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

* 2009 – International Conference on Afghanistan in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

* 2009 – International Conference on Afghanistan in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

* 2010 – International Conference on Afghanistan in

Miscellaneous

* 1520 – Field of the Cloth of Gold * 1955 – Geneva Summit * 1967 – Glassboro Summit Conference * 1985 – Shamrock Summit * 1986 –

* 1989 – Malta Summit * 1990 – World Summit for Children * 2001 – Agra summit * 2001 – Taba summit * 2000 – 2000 Camp David Summit * 2003–2005 – World Summit on the Information Society * 2005 – Sharm el-Sheikh Summit of 2005 * 2015 – Valletta Summit on Migration * 2017 – 2017 Riyadh summit * 2018 – 2018 North Korea–United States Singapore Summit * 2019 – 2019 North Korea–United States Hanoi Summit * 2023 – 2023 France-China Summit

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Summit (Meeting) Diplomacy * * *