Commonwealth Prime Ministers' ConferenceCommonwealth Prime Ministers' Conferences were biennial meetings of Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom and the Dominion members of the British Commonwealth of Nations. Seventeen Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conferences were held between 1944 and 1969. The prime ministers also met for a Commonwealth Economic Conference in 1952. These conferences were a continuation and regularisation of the earlier Imperial Conferences which had been held periodically from 1887 to 1937.
1944 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' ConferenceThe 1944 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference was the first Meeting of the Heads of Government of the British Commonwealth. It was held in the United Kingdom, between 1–16 May 1944, and was hosted by British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. The conferenceOutlineThe conference was attended by the Prime Ministers of all of the Dominions within the Commonwealth, except Ireland and Newfoundland.
1923 Imperial ConferenceThe 1923 Imperial Conference met in London in the autumn of 1923, the first attended by the new Irish Free State. While named the Imperial Economic Conference, the principal activity concerned the rights of the Dominions in regards to determining their own foreign policy.
1911 Imperial ConferenceThe 1911 Imperial Conference convened in London on 23 May 1911 and concluded on 20 June 1911. It was held to mark the occasion of the coronation of King George V on 22 June 1911. The conference discussed Empire-wide constitutional arrangements, with proposals by New Zealand's prime minister Sir Joseph Ward for an imperial council made up of representatives of the dominions which would advise the British government on imperial matters.
1894 Colonial ConferenceThe 1894 Colonial Conference was called by the government of Canada to continue discussion begun at the 1887 Colonial Conference on a proposal to lay a telegraph cable at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean to create a communications link between Canada and Australasia and, by extension, to the rest of the British Empire as part of what became referred to as the All Red Line network of cables throughout the Empire.1907 Imperial ConferenceThe 1907 Imperial Conference was convened in London on 15 April 1907 and concluded on 14 May 1907. During the sessions a resolution was passed renaming this and future meetings Imperial Conferences; previously, they had been called Colonial Conferences. The chairman of the conference was British prime minister Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman. The conference decided to cease referring to self-governing British colonies as colonies and conferred upon them dominion status.
1902 Colonial ConferenceThe 1902 Colonial Conference followed the conclusion of the Boer War and was held on the occasion of the coronation of King Edward VII. As with the previous conference, it was called by Secretary of State for the ColoniesJoseph Chamberlain who opened it on 30 June 1902.
1926 Imperial ConferenceThe 1926 Imperial Conference was the fifth Imperial Conference bringing together the prime ministers of the Dominions of the British Empire. It was held in London from 19 October to 23 November 1926. The conference was notable for producing the Balfour Declaration, which established the principle that the dominions are all equal in status, and "autonomous communities within the British Empire" not subordinate to the United Kingdom.
1921 Imperial ConferenceThe 1921 Imperial Conference met in London from 20 June to 5 August 1921. It was chaired by British prime minister David Lloyd George. The Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom and the Dominions met at the 1921 Imperial Conference to determine a unified international policy, particularly the relationship with the United States and the Empire of Japan.1897 Colonial ConferenceThe 1897 Colonial Conference was a conference between the Secretary of State for the Colonies and the 11 self-governingcolonies of the British Empire. The conference was convened in London by Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain in 1897 on the occasion of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria. Chamberlain's intention was to draw the self-governing colonies into closer co-operation with the United Kingdom.
1887 Colonial ConferenceThe 1887 Colonial Conference met in London in 1887 on the occasion of Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee. It was organised at the behest of the Imperial Federation League in hopes of creating closer ties between the colonies, the Dominion of Canada and the United Kingdom. It was attended by more than 100 delegates, mostly unofficial observers, from both self-governing and dependent colonies. India, however, was not represented.
British EmpireThe British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, and colonisation attempts by Scotland during the 17th century.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.