The 2007 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting was the 20th 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

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...

, between 23 November and 25 November 2007, and was hosted by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Yoweri Museveni Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Tibuhaburwa (born 15 September 1944) is a Ugandan politician and retired senior military officer who has been the 9th and current President of Uganda since 26 January 1986. Museveni spearheaded rebellions with aid of then ...

. The meeting was attended by representatives of forty-eight countries out of the Commonwealth's fifty-three members (suspended members Fiji and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

, and special member Nauru were not invited, whilst Saint Lucia and

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...

sent no representatives). Thirty-six were represented by their

Head of State A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

Head 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, ...

Membership criteria

Kampala saw the completion of a review of the Commonwealth's membership criteria, launched at the 2005 CHOGM in

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 wa ...

, with the publication of the report of the Committee on Commonwealth Membership. It had already been announced that no new members would be admitted until the 2009 CHOGM. In this context, Rwanda was discussed at great lengths, with Rwanda's President,

Paul Kagame Paul Kagame (; born 23 October 1957) is a Rwandan politician and former military officer who is the 4th and current president of Rwanda since 2000. He previously served as a commander of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a Uganda-based rebel ...

, invited to Kampala as neighbour Uganda's guest. The

Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group on the Harare Declaration, abbreviated to CMAG, is a group of representatives of members of the Commonwealth of Nations that is responsible for upholding the Harare Declaration. That Declaration dictates ...

(CMAG) reimposed the suspension on

that had been lifted in 2005 on the eve of the CHOGM. Opposed vehemently by Sri Lanka, the move seemed to indicate a more assertive role for CMAG since the premature lifting of the suspension on Pakistan two years earlier. Since Pakistan's suspension and Zimbabwe's withdrawal, CMAG had seen little use, and the more commanding chairmanship of

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

Michael Frendo Michael Frendo (born 29 July 1955) is a former Maltese politician who currently is a lawyer and consultant. Previously he served in the government of Malta in various functions including as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2004 to 2008 and Spe ...

marked a change in tone. The new CMAG, elected at the CHOGM, saw

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, Lesotho, and

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

replaced by

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

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

Secretary-General

At the CHOGM, a new

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 ...

had to be elected, to replace

Don McKinnon Sir Donald Charles McKinnon (born 27 February 1939) is a New Zealand politician who served as the 12th deputy prime minister of New Zealand and the minister of Foreign Affairs of New Zealand. He was the secretary-general of the Commonwealth of ...

, who had been Secretary-General since 2000. The two contenders were

Kamalesh Sharma Kamalesh Sharma (born 30 September 1941) is an Indian diplomat. He was the fifth Secretary General of the Commonwealth of Nations from 2008 to 2016, having previously served as the High Commissioner for India in London. He has served as the C ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and Michael Frendo. With Frendo having suspended Pakistan, it seemed as though the India-Pakistan rivalry would come to the fore once again. However, Frendo withdrew his candidacy before the vote, leaving Sharma to be appointed unanimously and become the first

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

n Secretary-General: leaving

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

as the only continent having not held the position. The CHOGM was also marked by the appearance of

Charles, Prince of Wales Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...

and

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall Camilla (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, 17 July 1947) is Queen Consort of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III. She became queen consort on 8 September 2022, upon the ac ...

. Whilst he took no role in official proceedings, his attendance marked the Prince's first involvement in CHOGMs, having previously distanced himself from Commonwealth affairs. This sparked rumours that Charles was actively courting Commonwealth leaders in anticipation of the choice of successor to Queen Elizabeth II as

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 ...

(a position that is vested in the Queen personally, and does not pass automatically with the British crown).

Somaliland delegation

A delegation from Somaliland led by

Dahir Riyale Kahin Dahir Riyale Kahin ( so, Daahir Riyaale Kaahin, ar, ظاهر ريالي كاهن) (born 12 March 1952) is a Somaliland politician who was President of Somaliland from 2002 to 2010. He previously served as a senior officer in the National Secur ...

, the then

President of Somaliland The president of Somaliland ( so, Madaxweynaha Somaliland; ar, رئيس جمهورية أرض الصومال, Rayiys jumhuriat 'ard alsuwmal) is the head of state and head of government of Somaliland. The president is also commander-in-chief o ...

was in attendance at this meeting.

Footnotes

External links

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2007 official website
{{Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings 2007 2007 conferences Diplomatic conferences in Uganda 21st-century diplomatic conferences 2007 in international relations Uganda and the Commonwealth of Nations Foreign relations of Somaliland 21st century in Kampala November 2007 events in Africa