The British leader known for his "Iron Curtain" speech during the early Cold War was Winston Churchill. Delivered on March 5, 1946, at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, this speech marked a turning point in post-World War II geopolitics. Churchill used the term "Iron Curtain" to describe the ideological barrier that had descended across Europe, separating the Western democratic nations from Eastern communist nations under Soviet influence. His speech highlighted the dangers posed by Soviet expansion and called for a united front among Western democracies. This pivotal moment is often regarded as the beginning of the Cold War era.