ICC was founded in the aftermath of the First World War when no world system of rules governed trade, investment, finance or commercial relations.
In 1919, a handful of entrepreneurs decided to create an organisations that would represent business everywhere.
The group of industrialists, financiers, and traders were determined to bring hope to a world still devastasted by war. they resolved to replace fear and suspicion with a new spirit of cooperation.
They founded the International Chamber of Commerce and called themselves the Merchants of Peace.
Without waiting for governments to fill the gap, ICC’s founders acted on their conviction that the private sector is best qualified to set global standards for business.
A century later, ICC issued its Declaration on the Next Century of Global Business setting out a vision to shape the future of global business for the next century, embracing ICC’s renewed purpose to enable business worldwide to secure peace, prosperity and opportunity for all.
