Eisenhower's Atoms for Peace. The Speech that Inspired the Creation of the IAEA

Sixty years ago, on 8 December 1953, US President Eisenhower delivered his historic "Atoms for Peace" address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The Cold War and the nuclear arms race were the background for the President's speech. However, instead of solely focusing on the perils of atomic war, Eisenhower lauded the civilian nuclear applications in agriculture, medicine, and power generation. He proposed the establishment of an "international atomic energy agency" that would promote the peaceful uses of nuclear energy "for the benefit of all mankind." In October 1957, Eisenhower's vision became reality. From today's perspective, it is striking that during a tense period of the Cold War international agreement on nuclear matters was reached within only four years. In October 1957, the first IAEA General Conference took place in Vienna, and the city was chosen as the location of the new organization's permanent headquarters. When the first IAEA General Conference convened, the renowned Austrian journalist Hugo Portisch declared that Vienna had become "the world's centre of the atom." With the IAEA's establishment, the way was paved for Vienna's role as a centre of international organizations.