The Paris Peace Conference convened in January 1919. The Czech delegation was led by Kramář and Beneš, premier and foreign minister respectively, of the Czechoslovak provisional government. The conference approved the establishment of the Czechoslovak Republic, to encompass the historic Bohemian Kingdom, Moravia, and Silesia), Slovakia, and Carpathian Ruthenia. The inclusion of Ruthenia provided a common frontier with Romania, an important ally against Hungary. To address concerns of the British delegation that the incorporation of exclusively German-settled areas violates the principle of self-determination, the Czech delegation had presented to the conference a memorandum containing misrepresentations of the German-settled areas. No German or Austrian delegation was present the conference. Additionally, the memorandum proposed the Swiss Confederation as a model for the constitution of the new state, which however was not realized in the new state.