The 1961 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference was the 11th Meeting of the Heads of Government of the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an International organization, international association of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, 56 member states, the vast majo ...

. 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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in March 1961, and was hosted by that country's Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan. While Commonwealth conferences were normally held biennially, this conference was held after an interval of only a year following the May 1960 conference due to disagreement over

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and whether the country should be removed from the Commonwealth due to its policy of racial segregation. Malaya's Prime Minister demanded South Africa's expulsion. South African Prime Minister H.F. Verwoerd, attended the conference to give formal notice that his country was to become a republic in May 1961 after having approved the constitutional change in an October 1960 referendum. South Africa's application was opposed by the leaders of African states under black majority rule, as well as Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Malaya's Tunku Abdul Rahman, and the other non-white Commonwealth countries as well as Canadian prime minister John Diefenbaker due to South Africa's policy of

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

. Canada was the only member of the old white Commonwealth to oppose South Africa's application. The "Keep South Africa In" group included Britain's Harold Macmillan, Rhodesia and Nyasaland's Roy Welensky, Australia's Robert Menzies and Keith Holyoake of New Zealand. Canadian prime minister John Diefenbaker proposed that South Africa only be re-admitted if it joined other states in condemning apartheid in principle. Once it became clear that South Africa's membership would be rejected, Verwoerd withdrew his country's application and left the conference. Concerns were also expressed about Britain's prospective membership in the Common Market and the possible impact on trade relations between the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth also expressed its support for worldwide disarmament "subject to effective inspection and control".

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

' application to join the Commonwealth, following its independence the previous year, was approved over the opposition of the United Kingdom which objected as Cyprus had not applied for membership prior to independence as had been customary. Cyprus' President, Archbishop Makarios III, joined the conference once the decision on his country's membership was made. The membership application of Sierra Leone was also accepted and became effective upon its independence on 27 April. This was the first Commonwealth conference in which one of the heads of government was a woman, Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike, who was also the first female prime minister in the world.

Participants

References

External links

John Diefenbaker: Staring down South Africa
CBC Archives, 17 March 1961 {{DEFAULTSORT:Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference, 1961 1961 in London 1961 Diplomatic conferences in the United Kingdom 20th-century diplomatic conferences 1961 in international relations United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations Apartheid in South Africa 1961 in Cyprus 1961 in South Africa 1961 conferences March 1961 in the United Kingdom Cyprus and the Commonwealth of Nations South Africa and the Commonwealth of Nations 1960s in the City of Westminster Harold Macmillan Robert Menzies John Diefenbaker Kwame Nkrumah Jawaharlal Nehru Makarios III