Birth and Rebirth: Exploring the Transition from the OEEC to the OECD from the Secretariat’s Perspective (1958-60)

This article examines the transformation of the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC) into the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), focusing on the role of its Secretariat during the pivotal years 1958-60. Drawing on archival sources from the Historical Archives of the European Union and the OECD Archives, it analyses how OEEC civil servants responded to the existential crisis facing the organisation. Confronted with European integration efforts (EEC and EFTA), geopolitical tensions, and US pressure to adapt the OEEC to Cold War imperatives, the Secretariat engaged in a process of institutional introspection and reform. Adopting a biographical approach, the article explores how OEEC administrators navigated shifting mandates, internal weaknesses, and external challenges. Although the OEEC had been conceived as a temporary body, its civil servants actively worked to reinvent it in response to changing global conditions. The study emphasises the continuities of personnel, structures, and working methods between the OEEC and the OECD, revealing the influence of bureaucratic agency on institutional resilience and transformation. By focusing on the organisation’s internal administrative dimension, this article contributes to the field of International Administrative History and offers a fresh perspective on the evolution of international organisations. It argues that understanding the OEEC’s reform requires analysing the often-overlooked agency of international civil servants and their role in shaping enduring governance structures.