Treaty of Bern

The Treaty of Bern, formally the Treaty concerning the formation of a General Postal Union, was signed on 9 October 1874 in Bern, Switzerland. It established the General Postal Union, later renamed the Universal Postal Union in 1878, to unify disparate postal services and regulations for free international mail exchange. The treaty was the result of an international conference convened by the Swiss Government on 15 September 1874, attended by 22 nations. Plans for the conference were drawn up by Heinrich von Stephan, Postmaster-General of the German Reichspost.