1945 — The Arab League Is Founded in Cairo

On March 22, 1945, the Arab League was formed in Cairo, Egypt, as an outgrowth of Pan-Arabism. Its founding member states were Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Transjordan, now Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen, seven nations joining in a single regional organization in the closing months of the Second World War.

The League's aims were to strengthen and coordinate the political, cultural, economic, and social programs of its members, and to mediate disputes among them or between them and third parties. Born in Cairo, it gave the Arab world, including its North African nations, a common table, a shared voice that still speaks for the region today.