The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an international organization of those developed countries that accept the principles of representative democracy and a free market economy. It originated as the Organisation for European Economy Co-operation (OEEC), to help administer the Marshall Plan for the re-construction of Europe after World War II. Later its membership was extended to non-European states, and in 1961 it was reformed into the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Since 1996 the secretary-general of the OECD has been Donald J. Johnston of Canada.
The OECD's headquarters are at the Château de la Muette in Paris, using a building acquired from the Rothschild family.
There are currently thirty full members; of these, 24 are described as high-income countries by the World Bank in 2003.
The Commission of the European Union is participating in the work of OECD, alongside the EU Member States.
