Between 1920 and 1939, a total of 63 countries became member states of the League of Nations. The Covenant forming the League of Nations was included in the Treaty of Versailles and came into force on 10 January 1920, with the League of Nations being dissolved on 18 April 1946; its assets and responsibilities were transferred to the United Nations.
The League's greatest extent was from 28 September 1934 (when Ecuador joined) to 23 February 1935 (when Paraguay withdrew) with 58 members. At this time, only Costa Rica (22 January 1925), Brazil (14 June 1926), Japan (27 March 1933) and Germany (19 October 1933) had withdrawn, and only Egypt was later joined (on 26 May 1937).
The members (listed from their earliest joining and alphabetically if they joined on the same day) at that time were Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, the British Empire, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, El Salvador, France, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Italy, Liberia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Persia/Iran, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Siam, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Uruguay, Venezuela, Yugoslavia, Austria, Bulgaria, Finland, Luxembourg, Albania, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, the Irish Free State, Ethiopia, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Turkey, Iraq, the Soviet Union, Afghanistan, and Ecuador .
Of the 42 founding members,[1] 23 (or 24, counting the Free France) were members when the League of Nations was dissolved in 1946. A further 21 countries joined between 1920 and 1937, but seven had withdrawn, left, or been expelled before 1946.
Countries are listed under the year in which they joined. Several countries withdrew after joining; the Covenant stipulated that a withdrawing country kept its obligations and membership for two years. Several countries also ceased to exist after annexation by Germany, Italy, or the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union was expelled from the League in 1939 after its invasion of Finland, and was the only country to face that measure.
Despite formulating the concept and signing the Covenant, the United States never joined the League of Nations. Saudi Arabia (then the Kingdom of Hejaz) also signed the Covenant but did not join, and some relatively-isolated sovereign states in Europe and Asia did not join either, including Bhutan, Iceland, Mongolia, Nepal, Philippines, and Yemen.
Likewise, none of the European microstates of Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City ever sought membership in the organization.[citation needed]
At the IX Congress of European Nationalities, an organization of the League of Nations, held in Bern, Galicia, Basque Country and Catalonia, the first three autonomies of Spain, were recognized as a nation. In any case, they were not independent but were represented by the Spanish government.[2]
Map
10 January 1920: founding members
Argentina (withdrew 4 December 1920 on rejection of an Argentine resolution that all sovereign states would be admitted to the League.[3] It resumed full membership 26 September 1933[4])
Australia
Belgium
Bolivia
Brazil (withdrew 14 June 1926)
British Empire
Canada
Chile (withdrew 14 May 1938)
China
Colombia
Cuba
Czechoslovakia (occupied by Nazi Germany 15 March 1939)[5]
Denmark (occupied by Nazi Germany 9 April 1940)[6]
El Salvador (withdrew 11 August 1937)
France (Vichy France did not recognize Free France's withdrawal)
Free France (withdrew 18 April 1941)
Greece
Guatemala (withdrew 26 May 1936)
Haiti (withdrew 16 February 1942)
Honduras (withdrew 10 July 1936)
India
Italy (withdrew 11 December 1937)
Japan (withdrew 27 March 1933)
Liberia
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nicaragua (withdrew 27 June 1936)
Norway
Panama
Paraguay (withdrew 23 February 1935)
Persia (known as Iran from 1934)
Peru (withdrew 8 April 1939)
Poland
Portugal
Romania (withdrew 11 July 1940)[7]
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (known as Kingdom of Yugoslavia from 1929)[8]
Siam (known as Thailand from 1939)[9]
South Africa
Spain (withdrew 9 May 1939)
Sweden
Switzerland
Uruguay
Venezuela (withdrew 12 July 1938)
1920
Austria (joined 15 December 1920; occupied and annexed by Germany 13 March 1938)
Bulgaria (joined 16 December 1920)
Costa Rica (joined 16 December 1920; withdrew 22 January 1925)
Finland (joined 16 December 1920)[10]
Luxembourg (joined 16 December 1920; occupied by Nazi Germany 10 May 1940)[11]
Albania (joined 17 December 1920; occupied by Italy 12 April 1939)[12]
1921
Estonia (joined 22 September 1921; occupied and annexed by the Soviet Union 15 June 1940)
Latvia (joined 22 September 1921; occupied and annexed by the Soviet Union 15 June 1940)
Lithuania (joined 22 September 1921; occupied and annexed by the Soviet Union 15 June 1940)
1922
Hungary (joined 18 September 1922; withdrew 11 April 1939)
1923
Irish Free State (joined 10 September 1923, known as Ireland from 1937)
Abyssinia (joined 28 September 1923; occupied by Italy 5 May 1936)
1924
Dominican Republic (joined 28 September 1924)
1926
Germany (joined 8 September 1926; withdrew 19 October 1933)
1931
1932
1934
Soviet Union (joined 18 September 1934; expelled 14 December 1939)
Afghanistan (joined 27 September 1934)
Ecuador (joined 28 September 1934)
1937
Egypt (joined 26 May 1937) (the last country to join before World War II)
1939 expulsion of the Soviet Union
On 14 December 1939,[14] the Soviet Union was expelled for invading Finland in violation of the Covenant of the League of Nations, by a Council vote of 7-0-4-3 (7 in favor, 0 against, 4 abstaining, 3 absent).[15] The British Empire, France, Belgium, Bolivia, the Dominican Republic, South Africa, and Egypt voted in favor; the Republic of China, Finland, Greece, and Yugoslavia abstained; and Iran, Peru, and the Soviet Union itself were absent. Three of the votes in favor had been made Council members the day before the vote (South Africa, Bolivia, and Egypt). This was one of the League's final acts before it practically ceased functioning.[16]
It has been disputed whether the expulsion was legally valid. Article 16 paragraph 4 of the Covenant states that the Council may expel a member from the League if all members of the Council other than the to-be-expelled member concur. However, it is unclear if abstentions or absences are permitted for expulsion votes (though it is undisputed that they are allowed for non-expulsion unanimous Council decisions).[15] Even if permitted, it is disputed whether the expulsion could be legally valid without a majority (8 out of 14) of the Council in favor.[16][failed verification]
Regardless, both the expulsion and dispute had little practical effect. The Soviet Union had already declared nine days earlier that it would be absent from the League until further notice, it acknowledged its expulsion[17] and made no move to challenge it on the disputed grounds, no other member was ever expelled from the League to demonstrate any precedent, and the League took no further significant actions due to the Second World War.[15]
See also
Citations
References
- Magliveras, Konstantinos D (1999). Exclusion from Participation in International Organisations: The Law and Practice behind Member States' Expulsion and Suspension of Membership. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. ISBN 978-90-411-1239-2.
- Scott, George (1973). The Rise and Fall of the League of Nations. Hutchinson & Co Ltd. ISBN 978-0-09-117040-0.
Further reading
- Hell, Stefan (2019). Siam and The League of Nations; Modernisation, Sovereignty, and Multilateral Diplomacy, 1920-1940. Bangkok: River Books. ISBN 9789749863893. Archived from the original on 25 September 2020. Retrieved 8 January 2020.