The architect of the Iron Curtain as a metaphor for the post-World War II divide was Winston Churchill. In his famous speech in 1946, Churchill described the Iron Curtain as a symbolic boundary that separated Western democracies from Eastern communist countries. This phrase encapsulated the growing tension and ideological conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union, marking the beginning of the Cold War. Churchill's use of the term highlighted the political, military, and cultural divides that would shape global relations for decades.