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. Defini ...

of the

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

of the

British Commonwealth The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...

. It was held in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

in from April to May 1946, and was hosted by that country's

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier 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. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Clement Attlee Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. He was Deputy Prime Mini ...

. 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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

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

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

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, generally applied to a society or location, rather than to an individual. Standard of living is relevant because it is considered to contribute to an individual's quality ...

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 Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

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 Events January * January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...

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 events in the United Kingdom May 1946 events in the United Kingdom 1940s in the City of Westminster {{London-stub