Tangier International Zone

The Tangier International Zone was a 382-square-kilometre territory centred on the Moroccan port of Tangier, created by an international convention signed in Paris in December 1923 and in force from 1924 until Tangier rejoined independent Morocco in 1956. It was surrounded on the landward side by the Spanish protectorate in Morocco and governed through an unusual condominium of European powers, later joined by the United States, alongside the Sultan of Morocco, who retained nominal sovereignty. An international legislative assembly, a committee of consuls and a mixed court administered the zone, which became known for religious tolerance, cultural diversity and a bohemian expatriate scene that attracted writers and artists. Spain occupied Tangier from 1940 to 1945 and attached it to Spanish Morocco, but the international regime was restored after the Second World War. Moroccan nationalists used the zone's open climate to build international contacts in the campaign for independence. After Morocco regained full sovereignty in 1956, Tangier was reintegrated into the kingdom; its special economic status lingered until about 1960.