History
The think tank was founded in 1920 as the British Institute of International Affairs following a meeting at the previous year's Paris Peace Conference. The first chairman was Robert Cecil, while Lionel Curtis served as honorary secretary. Arnold J. Toynbee later became director. The Council on Foreign Relations, its American sister institute, was established the following year. Chatham House's well-known headquarters at 10 St. James's Square, London, was donated to the institute in 1923, having previously been the home of three British Prime Ministers - Pitt the Elder, Edward Stanley and William Ewart Gladstone - and also of the Earl and Countess of Blessington.
In 1926, upon receipt of its royal charter, the name was changed to the Royal Institute of International Affairs. The name of the building grew to be so synonymous with the institute that it is commonly referred to as "Chatham House". The Chatham House building is located just a few metres from the former Libyan embassy building where the 1984 Libyan Embassy Siege took place.
The BBC Today/Chatham House lecture series, developed with the Today programme, was designed to promote debate and discussion on key international issues of the day. At the inaugural lecture in 2006, Condoleezza Rice defended the U.S. decision to go to war with Iraq.
Read more about this topic: Chatham House
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