Which U.S. president was in office when Japan announced its surrender in August 1945?

Harry S. Truman was the U.S. president in office when Japan announced its surrender in August 1945.

Truman had become president on April 12, 1945, after Franklin D. Roosevelt died during his fourth term. The change placed Truman in charge during the final months of World War II, including the defeat of Germany, the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and Japan’s surrender.

Truman announced the surrender to the American public on August 14, 1945. He had authorized the use of atomic bombs against Hiroshima and Nagasaki after Japan’s government did not accept the Allied demand for unconditional surrender. Japan’s leadership then faced the bombings, the Soviet declaration of war, and growing internal debate over capitulation.

Truman remained president during the occupation’s opening phase and the formal surrender ceremony on September 2. He later won election in his own right in 1948.