A Plea for the Old

The term “summit meeting” was coined by Winston Churchill during World War II. He used it in a public statement to describe a meeting of the top leaders in the struggle against the Axis powers: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Josef Stalin, Chiang Kai-shek, and, on occasion, Charles de Gaulle.

In wartime, when authoritative decisions have to be made expeditiously, meetings at the summit—summitry— became a virtual necessity. The term, like so many of Churchill’s expressions, is accurate and evocative. They met as on a mountain top, like a court of last resort. They at the summit had the power, the right, the obligation, the opportunity, to make momentous decisions.

JL

About the Author

John Davis Lodge

The term “summit meeting” was coined by Winston Churchill during World War II. He used it in a public statement to describe a meeting of the top leaders in the struggle against the Axis powers: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Josef Stalin, Chiang Kai-shek, and, on occasion, Charles de Gaulle.

In wartime, when authoritative decisions have to be made expeditiously, meetings at the summit—summitry— became a virtual necessity. The term, like so many of Churchill’s expressions, is accurate and evocative. They met as on a mountain top, like a court of last resort. They at the summit had the power, the right, the obligation, the opportunity, to make momentous decisions.