Antarctica and ice shelves south of 60° S for the purposes of the Treaty System. The treaty was signed by twelve countries including the Soviet Union (and later Russia), the United Kingdom, Argentina, Chile, Australia, and the United States. It set aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve, established freedom of scientific investigation and environmental protection, and banned military activity on Antarctica. This was the first arms control agreement established during the Cold War. In 1983 the Antarctic Treaty Parties began negotiations on a convention to regulate mining in Antarctica. A coalition of international organisations launched a public pressure campaign to prevent
Permanent Secretary to the Admiralty Permanent Secretary to the Admiralty The office of Permanent Secretary to the Admiralty was the senior civil servant at the Admiralty, of Great Britain the department of state responsible for the administration of the Royal Navy. He was head of the Admiralty Secretariat later known as the "Department of the Permanent Secretary". Although he was not a Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty, he was as a member of the Board, and did attend all meetings the post existed from 1702 to 1964. The office originally evolved from the Assistants to the Secretary of the Admiralty (later called the First Secretary)