Which American general presided over Japan’s formal surrender ceremony in 1945?

Douglas MacArthur presided over Japan’s formal surrender ceremony in 1945.

MacArthur served as Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers and opened the ceremony aboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2. He delivered brief remarks expressing hope that the event would lead to a better world founded on peace, understanding, freedom, tolerance, and justice.

MacArthur also signed the surrender instrument as the representative of the Allied powers. Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz signed for the United States, while representatives of China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, Australia, Canada, France, the Netherlands, and New Zealand signed afterward.

MacArthur had commanded Allied forces in the Southwest Pacific Area. He left the Philippines in 1942 after Japan’s conquest, returned with Allied forces in 1944, and accepted Japan’s surrender during the occupation’s opening phase. He then directed the Allied occupation of Japan until 1951.