The 1965 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference was the 14th 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

Commonwealth of Nations 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 ...

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

in June 1965, 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 i ...

, Harold Wilson. The Conference approved Prime Minister Wilson's proposal for a Commonwealth peace mission to Vietnam; Wilson subsequently shelved the initiative. The body also approved the creation of the Commonwealth Secretariat proposed at the previous summit and appoints Canadian

Arnold Smith Arnold Cantwell Smith (January 18, 1915 – February 7, 1994) was a Canadian diplomat. He was the first Commonwealth Secretary-General, serving from 1965–1975. A talented student, he won a Rhodes Scholarship to Christ Church, Oxford. ...

as the first

Commonwealth Secretary-General The Commonwealth secretary-general is the head of the Commonwealth Secretariat, the central body which has served the Commonwealth of Nations since its establishment in 1965, and responsible for representing the Commonwealth publicly. The Commo ...

. The meeting also discussed the crisis in Rhodesia, relations with South Africa and Portuguese colonies in Africa, and opposition by Asian and African Commonwealth countries to British, Australian and New Zealand's support for American intervention in the Vietnam War. The Commonwealth reaffirmed its declaration that all Commonwealth states should work for societies based on racial equality.

Participants

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External links

Newsreel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference, 1965 1965 Diplomatic conferences in the United Kingdom 20th-century diplomatic conferences 1965 in international relations 1965 in London United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations 1965 conferences June 1965 events in the United Kingdom Harold Wilson Robert Menzies Lester B. Pearson Kwame Nkrumah Julius Nyerere