List of governments in exile during World War II

Many countries established governments in exile during World War II. The Second World War caused many governments to lose sovereignty as their territories came under occupation by enemy powers. Governments in exile sympathetic to the Allied or Axis powers were established away from the fighting.

Allied-aligned wartime governments Many European governments relocated to London during the period of Axis occupation, while other organizations were established in Australia and the United States to oppose occupation by Japan. The following list includes exiled colonial governments alongside those of sovereign nations, as well as resistance groups organized abroad that did not claim the full sovereignty of a government in exile.

NameLocationDate of establishment in exileDate of dissolution or returnState controlling its claimed territoryNotesLeaders Austrian Office London August 1941 May 1945

There was never an Austrian government-in-exile after the Anschluss, but London was the home of a 30,000-strong exile community.Marietta Bearman. Out of Austria: The Austrian Centre in London in World War II. London: Tauris Academic Studies, 2008. . "The Austrian Centre was established in London in 1939 by Austrians seeking refuge from Nazi Germany, of whom 30,000 had reached Britain by the outbreak of World War II. It soon developed into a comprehensive social, cultural and political organisation with a theatre and a weekly newspaper of its ". The Austrian Society (or Office) was home to both the monarchist Austrian League and liberal Austrian Democratic Union.Marietta Bearman. Out of Austria: The Austrian Centre in London in World War II. London: Tauris Academic Studies, 2008. . "143 Seven Sisters Road, notably, was the address of the Austrian Centre's Finsbury Park branch. This ties in neatly with a minute in a Home Office file from early 1947, referring to British security reports on the ..." Though not officially recognised by the Allies, the British Government gave its support. Austrian Democratic Union and Austrian League Belgian Pierlot IV Government Bordeaux, then London October 1940 September 1944

Belgium's King Leopold III surrendered alongside his army – contrary to the advice of his government – and remained a prisoner for the rest of the war. The government in exile, without the king, continued to administer the Belgian Congo and coordinate the Free Belgian Forces and Belgian Resistance. Prime Minister Hubert Pierlot Government of British Burma in exile Shimla May 1942 October 1945 , Phibun-era Thailand Dorman-Smith was appointed as the 2nd Governor of Burma from 6 May 1941, so was in office when the Japanese conquered most of the colony. Between May 1942 and Oct 1945 he was in exile at Simla, India. Governor Reginald Dorman-Smith Czechoslovak National Liberation Committee Paris, then London October 1939 April 1945 , ,

A few months after the breakup of Czechoslovakia, former President Beneš organized a committee in exile and sought recognition as the government of the Czechoslovak Republic, absorbing its remaining embassies. Its success in obtaining intelligence and coordinating actions by the Resistance led Britain and the other Allies to recognize it in 1941. Danish Freedom Council Stockholm 16 September 1943 May 1945 Occupation government of Denmark (1940–43) (1943–45) During the Occupation of Denmark the country did not establish a government in exile. King Christian and his government remained in Denmark and operated with relative independence until August 1943. The Freedom Council was an unrecognized group that coordinated the Danish resistance movement. From 1941, Ambassador Henrik Kauffmann engaged in diplomacy with the Allies on Denmark's behalf without regard for the occupation government in Copenhagen. , Mogens Fog, Arne Sørensen, Frode Jakobsen, Erling Foss Government of the Dutch East Indies in exile Brisbane

1 October 1945

In 1944, the government in exile and the Allied high command organized the Netherlands Indies Civil Administration, tasked with restoring Dutch rule in the islands. Acting Governor-General Hubertus van MookLockwood, R. (1975). Black Armada and the Struggle for Indonesian Independence, 1942–49. Australasian Book Society Ltd., Sydney, Australia. Free France London, Brazzaville, and Algiers 18 June 1940 25 August 1944 , ,

De Gaulle called for resistance in France and its colonies in the Appeal of 18 June. The government organized the French Resistance, gathered military forces, and gradually took control of French colonies around the world. In 1944, it became the Provisional Government of the French Republic. Charles de Gaulle, Henri Giraud, French Committee of National Liberation (from 1943) Greek Cairo Government Cairo and London 24 May 1941 17 October 1944 , ,

The exiled royal government was recognized internationally and by the Greek Resistance early in the war. It heavily depended on Britain. In 1944, leftist resistance groups set up Free Greece as a rival government. These governments agreed to merge at the Lebanon Conference. Luxembourgish government in London Paris, Lisbon, then London and Montreal 1940 1944

Grand Duchess Charlotte and the grand ducal family moved to Montreal. The government in London directed its diplomatic efforts toward assuring the country's survival and recognition as a full member of the Allies, despite its weak military capability. Dutch London Cabinet London 10 May 1940 5 May 1945

Besides supporting the Dutch resistance, the government attempted to maintain Allied control of the Netherlands' colonies. It agreed to place the Dutch Caribbean and Guiana under UK and US protection, but lost the East Indies to Japanese occupation. Norwegian Nygaardsvold's Cabinet London 7 June 1940 31 May 1945

Governed the Free Norwegian forces throughout the war. Government of the Commonwealth of the Philippines in exile Melbourne, then Washington, D.C. January 1942 October 1944 ,

Moving from Melbourne to Washington in 1944, the Quezon government participated in the Pacific War Council alongside other Allied powers. The Philippine Commonwealth Army re-took the islands alongside American forces. President: Government of the Republic of Poland in exile Paris, then Angers, then London 17/30 September 1939 22 December 1990 ,

The Polish Government never formally surrendered to the Nazis or USSR. It organized the Polish Armed Forces in the West and coordinated the Polish Underground State and Home Army. It remained active in exile during the war as well after the Polish People's Republic took power. It lost the recognition of the major Allied powers in July 1945 and its last international recognition in 1972 but continued until the Fall of Communism in Poland in 1989–90. Free Thai Movement Washington, D.C. 1942 1945 Phibun-era Thailand, Seni Pramoj, the Thai ambassador to the US, refused to deliver his country's declaration of war in January 1942. He organized the Free Thai Movement with American assistance, recruiting Thai students in the United States for underground resistance activities. Seni Pramoj Government of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in Exile London 21 June 1941 March 1946 , , , ,

The royalist government supported the Chetniks in their resistance to Axis occupation, but the anti-royalist Communist-led Yugoslav Partisans gained strength over the course of the war. In the Tito–Šubašić Agreements of June 1944, the Partisans and the government in exile agreed to merge their governments. Tito was victorious after the end of the occupation, and the monarchy was not restored.

Axis-aligned wartime governments The Axis powers hosted governments-in-exile in their territory. Most belonged to Axis-sponsored puppet regimes whose territory came under Allied occupation late in the war. The purpose of many of these organizations was to recruit and organize military units composed of their nationals in the host country.

NameLocationDate of establishment in exileDate of dissolution or returnState/entity claiming the controlled territoryLeadersNotes Belarusian Central Council Königsberg and Berlin 1944 April 1995 Soviet Union ( Byelorussian SSR) President Radasłaŭ Astroŭski Members of the puppet administration were evacuated with the retreating Germans, where they resumed the work as a "government in exile". Kingdom of Bulgaria Vienna and Altaussee 16 September 1944 10 May 1945 Kingdom of Bulgaria (Fatherland Front) Prime Minister Aleksandar Tsankov Formed after the 1944 Bulgarian coup d'état brought socialists to power in Bulgaria, the government raised the 1st Bulgarian Regiment of the SS. Sigmaringen Governmental Commission (Vichy France) Sigmaringen 7 September 1944 23 April 1945 Provisional Government of the French Republic President Fernand de Brinon Members of the collaborationist French cabinet at Vichy were relocated by the Germans to the Sigmaringen enclave in Germany, where they became a government-in-exile until April 1945. They were given formal governmental power over the city of Sigmaringen, and the three Axis governments – Germany, Italy and Japan – established there what were officially their Embassies to France. Pétain having refused to take part in this, it was headed by de Brinon.Pétain et la fin de la collaboration: Sigmaringen, 1944–1945, Henry Rousso, éditions Complexe, Paris, 1984 Hellenic State Vienna September 1944 April 1945 Kingdom of Greece Prime Minister Ektor Tsironikos After the liberation of Greece, a new collaborationist government was established in Vienna from former collaborationist ministers, headed by the former minister Ektor Tsironikos. They were captured during the Vienna offensive.Οι Τσιρονίκος και Ταβουλάρης συνελήφθησαν, Εφημερίδα «Ελευθερία», Παρασκευή 11 Μαΐου 1945, σελίδα 2.Ο Τσιρονίκος παρεδόθη χθες εις τας Ελληνικάς Αρχάς, Εφημερίδα «Εμπρός», Τρίτη 27 Αυγούστου 1946, σελίδα 5.Ο Ε.Τσιρονίκος υπέβαλε αίτηση χάριτος, Εφημερίδα «Εμπρός», Τρίτη 27 Αυγούστου 1946, σελίδα 5. Government of National Unity (Hungary) Vienna and Munich 28/29 March 1945 7 May 1945

Leader of the Nation Ferenc Szálasi The Szálasi government fled in the face of the Soviet advance through Hungary. Most of its leaders were arrested in the following months. Provisional Government of Free India Singapore, Rangoon and Port Blair 21 October 1943 18 August 1945 British Raj Subhas Chandra Bose Azad Hind was established as a provisional government of India that would fight for independence from the British Raj. The government was given control of Japanese-occupied territory in far eastern India and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It issued currency notes and established bilateral relationships with anti-British countries. Its military was Azad Hind Fauj, or the Indian National Army. Montenegrin State Council Zagreb Summer of 1944 8 May 1945

Head of the State Council Sekula Drljević After the Germans withdrew from Montenegro, the fascist leader Sekula Drljević created a government-in-exile in the Independent State of Croatia (NDH). He set up the Montenegrin National Army together with the Croatian fascist leader Ante Pavelić. However, his government was dissolved after the fall of the NDH. Nara and Tokyo 11 June 1945 17 August 1945

President Jose P. Laurel After the Allies liberated the archipelago and reestablished the Commonwealth of the Philippines, the Second Philippine Republic went into exile in Japan. Legionary Romania Vienna August 1944 8 May 1945 Kingdom of Romania Prime Minister Horia Sima Germany had imprisoned Horia Sima and other members of the Iron Guard following the Legionnaires' rebellion of 1941. In 1944, King Michael's Coup brought a pro-Allied government to power in Romania. In response Germany released Sima to establish a pro-Axis government in exile. Government of National Salvation (Serbia) Kitzbühel and Vienna 4 October 1944 1945