The 1952 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Economic Conference was an emergency Meeting 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 ...

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 called by the British government of Sir

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

and 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 European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in December 1952 as a follow-up to a Commonwealth Finance Minister's conference held in January 1952. The conference was held in the context of British economic and military decline and the United States' surging role in the world. The principal topic of the conference was the

convertibility Convertibility is the quality that allows money or other financial instruments to be converted into other liquid stores of value. Convertibility is an important factor in international trade, where instruments valued in different currencies mus ...

and liquidity of

Pound sterling Sterling (abbreviation: stg; Other spelling styles, such as STG and Stg, are also seen. ISO code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound ( sign: £) is the main unit of sterling, and ...

into American dollars and British concerns that non-sterling Commonwealth countries were building up sterling balances for the purpose of conversion into American dollars, the future of the Pound sterling area, and the alleviation of Commonwealth trade restrictions and

imperial preference Imperial Preference was a system of mutual tariff reduction enacted throughout the British Empire following the Ottawa Conference of 1932. As Commonwealth Preference, the proposal was later revived in regard to the members of the Commonwealth of N ...

, particularly in the light of the surging American economy and the desire of Commonwealth countries such as Australia for American investment in order for economic development to occur against British concerns that American economic dominance threatened Britain's economic position. This discussion was necessary as the Commonwealth, with the exception of Canada, had a common pool of gold and dollar reserves. Little was accomplished in the economic discussion with the final communique being described as an "agreement in platitudes". British concerns at being excluded from the

ANZUS The Australia, New Zealand, United States Security Treaty (ANZUS or ANZUS Treaty) is a 1951 non-binding collective security agreement between Australia and New Zealand and, separately, Australia and the United States, to co-operate on militar ...

military treaty between Australia,

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

were also a topic and were addressed by a communique issued by the prime ministers supporting Britain's demand for a voice in ANZUS. In addition, Commonwealth prime ministers, after months of discussion on whether the newly ascended Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

should have a uniform Royal Styles and Titles throughout the Commonwealth or whether realms should adopt their own styles and titles, it was agreed that each member of the Commonwealth "should use for its own purposes a form of the Royal Style and Titles which suits its own particular circumstances but retains a substantial element which is common to all" and agreed to pass appropriate legislation in their respective parliaments. The prime ministers also agreed to proclaim the new Queen,

Head of the Commonwealth The head of the Commonwealth is the ceremonial leader who symbolises "the free association of independent member nations" of the Commonwealth of Nations, an intergovernmental organisation that currently comprises 56 sovereign states. There is ...

in succession of her late father,

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of I ...

Participants

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference, 1952

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

Diplomatic conferences in the United Kingdom 20th-century diplomatic conferences 1952 in international relations 1952 in London United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations 1952 conferences November 1952 events in the United Kingdom December 1952 events in the United Kingdom 1950s in the City of Westminster