Who was the United States president when Japan's surrender was announced in August 1945?

Harry S. Truman was the United States president when Japan’s surrender was announced in August 1945.

Truman became president on April 12, 1945, after Franklin D. Roosevelt died. He therefore led the United States during the final months of the war in Europe and the Pacific. Truman authorized the use of atomic bombs against Hiroshima and Nagasaki and later announced Japan’s acceptance of surrender terms to the American public.

Because of time-zone differences, Truman’s radio announcement was broadcast in the United States on August 14, 1945, while the surrender announcement was heard in Japan on August 15. Truman explained that the formal proclamation of V-J Day would wait until the surrender documents were signed.

That ceremony occurred on September 2, 1945, aboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. Truman subsequently treated September 2 as the official V-J Day in the United States, although August 14 and August 15 also became important dates in public commemorations.