Inter-Parliamentary Union
The global organization of national parliaments promoting democracy and peace.
The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) is a global body made up of national parliaments. Its main goal is to support democratic governance, accountability, and cooperation between its members. It also works to increase gender equality in legislatures, encourage young people to get involved in politics, and promote sustainable development.
Founded in 1889 as the Inter-Parliamentary Conference, the organization was created by French statesman Frédéric Passy and British statesman William Randal Cremer. They wanted to establish the first permanent forum for political talks between countries. At first, only individual parliamentarians could join, but later membership changed to include the legislatures of sovereign states. As of 2025, 183 national parliaments are full members, and 15 regional parliaments are associate members. Some member states are not considered democratic by various indexes.
The IPU has helped build international law and institutions, working to strengthen peace and the common good. It played a role in creating the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the League of Nations, and the United Nations. The organization sponsors and takes part in international conferences and forums, and it holds permanent observer status at the United Nations General Assembly. Eight people linked to the IPU have won the Nobel Peace Prize.
The group’s original aim was to settle conflicts through arbitration. It was key in setting up the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. Over time, its mission shifted toward promoting democracy and dialogue between parliaments. The IPU also helped establish inter-governmental institutions like the United Nations, with which it cooperates and has observer status.
The IPU’s headquarters have moved several times. From 1892 to 1911, it was in Bern, Switzerland; then Brussels, Belgium, from 1911 to 1914; Oslo, Norway, from 1914 to 1920; and since 1921, it has been in Geneva, Switzerland.
Eight leading figures from the IPU have received the Nobel Peace Prize: Frédéric Passy (1901), Charles Albert Gobat (1902), Randal Cremer (1903), Fredrik Bajer (1908), Auguste Marie François Beernaert (1909), Henri La Fontaine (1913), Christian Lange (1921), and Ferdinand Buisson (1927).
When it was founded on June 30, 1889, the Inter-Parliamentary Conference had eight members: Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Liberia, Spain, and the United Kingdom. The United States attended but did not formally adopt the treaty of arbitration. Today, the IPU has 183 members. Regional parliamentary assemblies can be admitted as associate members by the Governing Council. Any parliament formed according to the laws of a sovereign state, representing its population and operating on its territory, can apply to join. The Governing Council decides on admission or readmission. Members must submit IPU resolutions to their own parliaments, communicate them to their governments, push for their implementation, and report regularly to the IPU Secretariat. Almost all countries have a parliament that belongs to the IPU, except the United States, though the 12th (1904), 23rd (1925), and 42nd (1953) conferences were held there.
The IPU’s organs are the Assembly, the Governing Council, the Executive Committee, and the Secretariat. The Assembly meets twice a year and is made up of parliamentarians chosen by members. It is helped by Standing Committees, which prepare reports and draft resolutions. No delegate can cast more than ten votes. The Governing Council also meets twice a year and includes three representatives from each member. All council members must be sitting parliamentarians. The council elects the IPU President for a three-year term, chooses the executive committee members, and appoints the Secretary General. The Executive Committee includes the President, 15 members from different parliaments (at least 12 from the Governing Council), and the President of the Coordinating Committee of the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians. The 15 elected seats are divided among geopolitical groups. Only parliamentarians from countries where women have both the right to vote and the right to run for office can serve on the executive committee. This committee handles the IPU’s administration. The current President is Dr. Tulia Ackson, Speaker of the National Assembly of Tanzania, who was elected in October 2023 and is the second woman to hold the post. The Secretariat is the organization’s staff, led by the Secretary General.
Quick Facts
- Headquarters
- Geneva, Switzerland
- Num members
- 183 Members; 15 Associate Members
- Leader
- Tulia Ackson
- Founder
- Frédéric Passy; William Randal Cremer
- Founded
- 30 June 1889
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The organization was established in 1889 as the Inter-Parliamentary Conference. Its founders were statesmen Frédéric Passy of France and William Randal Cremer of the United Kingdom, who sought to create the first permanent forum for political multilateral negotiations. Initially, IPU membership was reserved for individual parliamentarians, but has since transformed to include the legislatures of sovereign states. As of 2025, the national parliaments of 183 countries are members of the IPU, while 15 are associated members, most of whom are regional parliaments. Some of the organization's member states are not democratic by indexes. The IPU facilitates the development of international law and institutions, strengthening the foundations and enhancing the vision for peace and the common good, including the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the League of Nations, and the United Nations. It also sponsors and takes part in international conferences and forums, and has permanent observer status at the United Nations General Assembly. Consequently, eight individuals associated with the organization are Nobel Peace Prize laureates. At its founding on 30 June 1889, the Inter-Parliamentary Conference had eight members: Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Liberia, Spain, and the United Kingdom. The United States also attended but did not formally adopt the treaty of arbitration.
Reader's Guide
The organs of the Inter-Parliamentary Union are: Assembly (meeting biannually, composed of parliamentarians designated as delegates by the Members; no one delegate may record more than ten votes); Governing Council (normally holds two sessions a year, composed of three representatives from each Member; elects the President for a period of three years and appoints the Secretary General); Executive Committee (composed of the President, 15 members belonging to different Parliaments, and the President of the Coordinating Committee of the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians; the current President is Dr. Tulia Ackson, elected in October 2023); Secretariat (under the direction of the Secretary General, currently Martin Chungong of Cameroon). The Association of Secretaries General of Parliaments is a consultative body. The headquarters have been located in Geneva, Switzerland since 1921.
Origins and the Birth of a Permanent Forum
The Inter-Parliamentary Union traces its roots to a bold 1889 initiative by two visionaries—Frédéric Passy of France and William Randal Cremer of Britain—who envisioned the very first standing venue where political leaders could negotiate multilaterally. What began as the Inter-Parliamentary Conference was, at its core, a mechanism for arbitrating disputes between nations. The founding gathering on 30 June 1889 drew eight signatory parliaments: Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Liberia, Spain, and the United Kingdom, with the United States present but declining to formally adopt the arbitration treaty. Over the decades, the organization's identity shifted dramatically. Early membership was open to individual legislators, but the IPU gradually restructured so that the legislatures of sovereign states themselves became the members. This transformation reflected a broader maturation of international diplomacy, moving from personal networks of statesmen toward institutionalized inter-state cooperation.
A Living Architecture of Governance
The IPU operates through a layered system of organs designed to balance broad representation with efficient administration. At the top sits the Assembly, which convenes twice a year and brings together delegates appointed by member parliaments to debate and adopt resolutions on global challenges. Standing Committees, whose scope is set by the Governing Council, prepare reports and draft resolutions for the Assembly's consideration, with a rule capping any single delegate at ten votes. The Governing Council, composed of three sitting parliamentarians from each member state, meets roughly twice yearly and holds the power to elect the IPU President for a three-year term, select the Executive Committee, and appoint the Secretary General. The Executive Committee—comprising the President, fifteen elected members drawn from different parliaments and geopolitical groups, and the President of the Women Parliamentarians' Coordinating Committee—serves as the administrative engine. Notably, only legislators from states where women enjoy both voting and candidacy rights are eligible for this body. The current President is Dr. Tulia Ackson of Tanzania, the second woman to hold the post, elected in October 2023, while Martin Chungong of Cameroon leads the Secretariat as Secretary General.
Shaping the Architecture of Peace
Few organizations can claim as direct a lineage to the institutions that underpin modern international order as the IPU can. From its earliest days, the union championed the arbitration of conflicts and played a formative role in establishing the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. That foundational work in dispute resolution rippled outward: the IPU contributed to the intellectual and institutional groundwork for the League of Nations and, later, the United Nations. Today it holds permanent observer status at the UN General Assembly, allowing it to participate in and sponsor international conferences and forums that shape global policy. The organization's influence on the rule of law and multilateral cooperation is perhaps best captured by a remarkable statistic: eight individuals closely associated with the IPU have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, spanning from Frédéric Passy in 1901 through Ferdinand Buisson in 1927, and including figures from France, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Belgium, and Norway. This concentration of Nobel recognition underscores how deeply the IPU's early peacebuilding mission was woven into the fabric of twentieth-century diplomacy.
A Global Parliament of Parliaments
As of 2025, the IPU counts the national parliaments of 183 countries among its full members, alongside 15 associate members—predominantly regional parliamentary assemblies admitted by the Governing Council. The organization's geographic footprint is nearly universal, yet one conspicuous absence stands out: the United States, whose Congress has never formally joined, even though the 12th (1904), 23rd (1925), and 42nd (1953) IPU conferences were hosted on American soil. Membership carries concrete obligations: each parliament is expected to table IPU resolutions before its own legislature, relay them to the national government, push for their implementation, and report back to the IPU Secretariat on progress, particularly through annual reporting. The union's physical home has also traveled—Bern (1892–1911), Brussels (1911–1914), Oslo (1914–1920)—before settling in Geneva in 1921, where it remains to this day. This peripatetic history mirrors the turbulent geopolitical landscape of the early twentieth century, yet the organization's endurance speaks to the persistent demand for a structured space where legislatures from every corner of the world can convene.
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