The 1946 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference was the second

Meeting A meeting is when two or more people come together to discuss one or more topics, often in a formal or business setting, but meetings also occur in a variety of other environments. Meetings can be used as form of group decision-making. Definiti ...

of the

Heads of Government In the executive branch, the head of government is the highest or the second-highest official of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a ...

of the

British Commonwealth The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an international association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire The B ...

. It was held in the United Kingdom in from April to May 1946, and was hosted by that country's

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Clement Attlee Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British statesman who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. At ...

. Discussions were primarily related to political and economic settlements arising from the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The final communiqué expressed the Commonwealth's support for the creation of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

as an instrument for peace and security as well as for raising the

standard of living Standard of living is the level of income, comforts and services available to an individual, community or society. A contributing factor to an individual's quality of life, standard of living is generally concerned with objective metrics outsid ...

and the promotion of democratic liberty throughout the world. This was the final Prime Ministers' Conference consisting only of the "Old Commonwealth" of majority white nations and white-led South Africa. Ireland did not participate although at the time the British Commonwealth still regarded Ireland as one of its members. Neutral Ireland considered it inappropriate to attend on the basis that the Conference was "discussing matters relating to the war".Taoiseach de Valera quoted from the Oireachtas Committee on Finance; External Affairs; Wednesday, 19 June 1946 Ireland had not participated in any equivalent conferences since 1932.

Participants

References

1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...

Diplomatic conferences in the United Kingdom 20th-century diplomatic conferences 1946 in international relations 1946 in London United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations 1946 in the British Empire 1946 conferences British Empire in World War II April 1946 in the United Kingdom May 1946 in the United Kingdom 1940s in the City of Westminster Clement Attlee Third premiership of William Lyon Mackenzie King Jan Smuts {{London-stub