IPRA Code of Athens—The first international code of public relations ethics: Its development and implementation since 1965

• The IPRA Code Athens was public relations’ first international ethics code.
• The Code was created by the French public relations pioneer Lucien Matrat.
• Adopted in a hopeful post-war era, the Code quickly became a promotional tool for IPRA.
• The Code's history shows the problems of implementing deontological ethical approaches.

In 1965, the International Public Relations Association (IPRA) adopted the International Code of Ethics, which became known as the Code of Athens (IPRA, 2001). The Code was authored by Lucien Matrat, a French public relations pioneer, and reflected a hopeful, post-World War 2 ethical framework with its strong linkage to the United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 (IPRA, 1994). A code of ethics was an early strategic imperative of IPRA, established 10 years before, and was coupled with a Code of Conduct, known as the Code of Venice of 1961 (IPRA, 1961 and IPRA, 2009). Both codes were adopted by many national public relations associations and widely promoted.