Timeline of Commonwealth of Nations history

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a timeline of Commonwealth of Nations history.

1920s - 1930s - 1940s - 1950s - 1960s - 1970s - 1980s - 1990s - 2000s

[edit] 1920s

Year Date Event
1926 25 October The Balfour Declaration 1926 establishes the principle of the separate and equal status of the dominions within the British Empire, "freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth".
1927 12 April The Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927 separates the title of the British monarch, creating separate thrones for each of the dominions.

[edit] 1930s

Year Date Event
1930 16 August The first British Empire Games, the forerunners of the Commonwealth Games, open in Hamilton, Canada.
1931 11 December The Statute of Westminster 1931 formalises the Balfour Declaration 1926, with the Parliament of the United Kingdom renouncing legislative power over the dominions. It is adopted by Canada, the Irish Free State, Newfoundland, and the Union of South Africa. Australia and New Zealand decline to adopt it.
1932 21 July The British Empire Economic Conference is convened.
1934 16 February The self-government of the Dominion of Newfoundland is suspended, replaced by the Commission of Government. Newfoundland ceases to be in the Commonwealth.
4 August The second British Empire Games open in London, the United Kingdom.
1936 20 January King George V dies, being succeeded by Edward VIII.
10 December King Edward VIII writes a note of abdication.
11 December The United Kingdom passes His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936 (which, at the request of those countries' Parliaments, equally applies to Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa), effecting Edward VIII's abdication and succession by George VI. Canada passes the Succession to the Throne Act to the same effect.
The Constitution (Amendment No. 27) Act of the Irish Free State comes into effect, removing reference to the King in the Constitution.
12 December The Irish Free State passes the Executive Authority (External Relations) Act 1936, resurrecting the office of king and recognising George VI as Edward VIII's successor, one day after the rest of the Commonwealth.
1937 29 December A new Irish constitution is promulgated, transforming the Irish Free State into 'Ireland', creating the position of President, and calling into question who the Irish Head of State was.
1938 5 February The third British Empire Games open in Sydney, Australia.
1939 1 September Nazi Germany invades Poland, precipitating an ultimatum from the United Kingdom, which was ignored by Germany, leading inexorably to the Second World War.
2 September Irish Taoiseach Éamon de Valera announces his intention to remain neutral in the impending war, regardless of British policy. The government declares the Emergency.
3 September The United Kingdom declares war upon Nazi Germany, beginning the British Empire and Commonwealth's involvement in the six-year conflict.
Australia legally joins the Commonwealth, although this is only effected by the retroactive commencement of the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942 three years later.
4 September South Africa's United Party refuses to accept Prime Minister Barry Hertzog's declaration of neutrality in the war, and vote to replace him as party leader with Jan Smuts.
6 September South Africa declares war upon Nazi Germany, becoming the first dominion to do so independently of the United Kingdom.
9 September Canada declares war upon Nazi Germany.

[edit] 1940s

Year Date Event
1942 9 October Australia passes the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942, adopting the Statute of Westminster 1931, but back-dating it to 3 September 1939, when the United Kingdom (and therefore Australia) declared war upon Nazi Germany. Australia becomes a member of the Commonwealth.
1944 1 May The first Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conference convenes in London.
1945 4 April A Commonwealth Statesmen's Meeting convenes in London.
1946 23 April The second Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conference convenes in London.
1947 14 August Pakistan (including modern Bangladesh) joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom.
15 August India joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom.
25 November New Zealand passes the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1947 and becomes a member of the Commonwealth.
1948 4 February Ceylon (modern-day Sri Lanka) joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom.
16 June Three European plantation managers are killed in Perak, sparking the Malayan Emergency, leading to deployment of Commonwealth soldiers to Malaya.
11 October The third Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conference convenes in London.
1949 31 March Newfoundland, a dominion until 1934, joins Canada as a province.
18 April Éire leaves the Commonwealth upon becoming a republic, after the Republic of Ireland Act 1948 comes into effect.
22 April The fourth Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conference convenes in London. The agenda is dominated by the impending independence of India and its future within the Commonwealth.
28 April The Commonwealth Heads of Government issue the London Declaration. It allows India (and, thenceafter, all other members) to remain in the Commonwealth without having the British monarch as Head of State, creates the position of Head of the Commonwealth, and changes the name of the organisation to the 'Commonwealth of Nations'.

[edit] 1950s

Year Date Event
1950 26 January India becomes a republic, being the first non-Commonwealth Realm member of the Commonwealth.
4 February The fourth British Empire Games open in Auckland, New Zealand. These would be the last under that name.
1951 4 January The fifth Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conference convenes in London.
1952 6 February George VI dies, being succeeded as monarch of the Commonwealth Realms and Head of the Commonwealth by Elizabeth II.
20 October Sir Evelyn Baring, Governor of Kenya, declares a state of emergency, recognising the severity of the Mau Mau Uprising.
1953 3 June The sixth Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conference convenes in London.
1954 30 July The British Empire Games are renamed the 'British Empire and Commonwealth Games', with the opening of the 1954 Games in Vancouver, Canada.
1955 26 January The seventh Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conference convenes in London.
1956 27 June The eighth Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conference convenes in London.
1957 6 March Ghana, previously the Gold Coast, joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom, becoming the first majority-ruled African member.
26 June The ninth Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conference convenes in London.
31 August The Federation of Malaya joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom. It is the first monarchy in the Commonwealth except for the Commonwealth Realms.
1958 3 January The Federation of the West Indies is formed from the British West Indies as a self-governing colony.
30 July The 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games open in Cardiff, the United Kingdom.

[edit] 1960s

Year Date Event
1960 3 February British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan issues his 'Wind of Change' speech to the Parliament of South Africa.
3 May The tenth Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conference convenes in London.
1 October Nigeria joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom.
1961 8 March The eleventh Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conference convenes in London.
27 April Sierra Leone joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom.
31 May South Africa becomes a republic, withdrawing from the Commonwealth.
16 August Cyprus joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom.
9 December Tanganyika, now part of Tanzania, joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom.
1962 31 May The Federation of the West Indies collapses. Its constituent states revert to being colonies of the United Kingdom, and preparations begin to grant them separate independence within the Commonwealth.
6 August Jamaica joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom.
31 August Trinidad and Tobago joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom.
10 September The twelfth Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conference convenes in London.
9 October Uganda joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom.
22 November The 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games open in Perth, Australia.
1963 10 December Zanzibar, now part of Tanzania, joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom. It is, albeit briefly, the first hereditary monarchy in the Commonwealth except for the Commonwealth Realms.
12 December Kenya joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom.
1964 26 April Two Commonwealth members, Tanganyika and Zanzibar, merge to form the United Republic of Tanzania, which joins the Commonwealth.
6 July Malawi, previously Nyasaland, joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom.
8 July The thirteenth Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conference convenes in London.
21 September Malta joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom.
24 October Zambia, previously Northern Rhodesia, joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom.
1965 18 February The Gambia joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom.
17 June The fourteenth Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conference convenes in London. The Conference approves the creation of the Commonwealth Secretariat.
1 July The Commonwealth Secretariat is founded. The first Secretary-General is Canada's Arnold Smith.
6 August Singapore joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by Malaysia.
11 November Rhodesia issues a Unilateral Declaration of Independence, with is rejected by the United Kingdom, sparking a 15-year crisis in the Commonwealth.
1966 10 January The fifteenth Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conference convenes in Lagos, Nigeria to discuss the Rhodesian crisis. It was the first Conference held outside London.
10 March The Commonwealth Secretariat Act 1966 is passed, coming into effect retroactively on 1 July 1965, the date of the Secretariat's foundation, granting the Secretariat legal immunity in the United Kingdom.
26 May Guyana, previously British Guiana, joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom.
4 August The 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games open in Kingston, Jamaica. It was the first time the Games were held outside the so-called 'White Commonwealth', and the last time the Games included the British Empire in their name.
6 September The sixteenth Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conference convenes in London. The United Kingdom announces NIBMAR policy towards Rhodesia: refusing independence unti the Black majority is given the vote.
30 September Botswana joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom.
4 October Lesotho, formerly Basutoland, joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom.
30 November Barbados joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom.
1968 31 January Nauru joins the Commonwealth as a 'Special Member' upon being granted independence from a joint Australia-New Zealand-United Kingdom trusteeship.
12 March Mauritius joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom.
6 September Swaziland joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom.
1969 7 January The seventeenth and last Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conference convenes in London.

[edit] 1970s

Year Date Event
1970 4 June Tonga joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom.
16 July The 1970 British Commonwealth Games open in Edinburgh, the United Kingdom. It was the first time the Games use the metric system.
10 October Fiji joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom.
Unknown Samoa joins the Commonwealth, having gained independence from New Zealand in 1962.
1971 14 January The first Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting convenes in Singapore.
22 January At the conclusion of the first CHOGM, the assembled Commonwealth Heads of Government issue the Singapore Declaration, setting out the core political values of the Commonwealth. It is considered, along with the 1991 Harare Declaration, one of the two most important documents of the Commonwealth's constitution.
26 March East Pakistan declares its independence as Bangladesh.
3 December India intervenes in Bangladesh, sparking the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
16 December Pakistan surrenders to India, ending the war.
1972 Unknown Bangladesh joins the Commonwealth, having gained independence from Pakistan the previous year.
1973 10 July The Bahamas joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom.
2 August The second Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting convenes in Ottawa, Canada.
1974 24 January The 1974 British Commonwealth Games open in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is the last time that the Games' name includes reference to the United Kingdom.
7 February Grenada joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom.
1975 29 April The third Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting convenes in Kingston, Jamaica.
16 September Papua New Guinea joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by Australia.
Unknown Guyana's Shridath Ramphal succeeds Arnold Smith as Commonwealth Secretary General.
1976 29 June Seychelles joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom.
1977 8 June The fourth Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting convenes in London, the United Kingdom.
1978 7 July The Solomon Islands joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom.
3 August The 1978 Commonwealth Games open in Edmonton, Canada. It is the first time that the Games are held under the current name.
1 October Tuvalu joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom.
3 November Dominica joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom.
1979 12 July Kiribati joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom.
1 August The fifth Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting convenes in Lusaka, Zambia.
7 August At the conclusion of the fifth CHOGM, the assembled Commonwealth Heads of Government issue the Lusaka Declaration, reaffirming the Commonwealth's opposition to racism and demanding legal equality for all people of the Commonwealth.
27 October Saint Vincent and the Grenadines joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom.
12 December Zimbabwe Rhodesia dissolves itself, returning power to the United Kingdom (formally as Southern Rhodesia) in preparation for recognised independence.
21 December The Lancaster House Agreement is reached, setting the terms of independence for Southern Rhodesia.

[edit] 1980s

Year Date Event
1980 1 October Zimbabwe, formerly Southern Rhodesia, joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom.
30 July Vanuatu joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence from a joint France-United Kingdom condominium.
1981 21 September Belize joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom.
30 September The sixth Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting convenes in Melbourne, Australia.
1 November Antigua and Barbuda joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom.
1982 30 September The 1982 Commonwealth Games open in Brisbane, Australia.
Unknown Maldives joins the Commonwealth, having been granted independence by the United Kingdom in 1965.
1983 19 September Saint Kitts and Nevis joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom.
23 November The seventh Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting convenes in New Delhi, India.
1984 1 January Brunei joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom.
1985 16 October The eighth Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting convenes in Nassau, The Bahamas.
1986 24 July The 1986 Commonwealth Games open in Edinburgh, the United Kingdom. The Games are boycotted by 32 countries, including almost all African, Caribbean, and Asian nations, to protest against the British government's attitude to sport in apartheid-era South Africa.
3 August The ninth Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting convenes in London, the United Kingdom.
1987 13 October The tenth Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting convenes in Vancouver, Canada. It is the first meeting held outside the host country's capital city.
1989 18 October The eleventh Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting convenes in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
21 October At the conclusion of the eleventh CHOGM, the assembled Commonwealth Heads of Government issue the Langkawi Declaration, committing Commonwealth members to environmental sustainability.

[edit] 1990s

Year Date Event
1990 24 January The 1990 Commonwealth Games open in Auckland, New Zealand.
21 March Namibia joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by South Africa.
July Nigeria's Chief Emeka Anyaoku succeeds Shridath Ramphal as Commonwealth Secretary General.
1991 13 October The twelfth Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting convenes in Harare, Zimbabwe.
20 October At the conclusion of the twelfth CHOGM, the assembled Commonwealth Heads of Government issue the Harare Declaration, establishing the core principles and values of the Commonwealth, detailing membership criteria, and redefining and reinforcing its purpose. It is considered, along with the 1971 Singapore Declaration, one of the two most important documents of the Commonwealth's constitution.
1993 21 October The thirteenth Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting convenes in Limassol, Cyprus.
1994 18 August The 1994 Commonwealth Games open in Victoria, Canada. The event marked South Africa's return to the Games after a 36 years absence.
1995 10 November The fourteenth Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting convenes in Auckland, New Zealand.
12 November The assembled Commonwealth Heads of Government agree to the Millbrook Commonwealth Action Programme on the Harare Declaration, designed to implement the Harare Declaration's affirmation of the Commonwealth's principles and membership criteria.
Unknown Cameroon joins the Commonwealth, having been granted independence by France and United Kingdom in 1960.
Unknown Mozambique joins the Commonwealth. It is the first country to join the Commonwealth without having had constitutional ties to an existing member.
1997 24 October The sixteenth Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting convenes in Edinburgh, the United Kingdom.
27 October At the conclusion of the sixteenth CHOGM, the assembled Commonwealth Heads of Government issue the Edinburgh Declaration, codifying the Commonwealth's membership criteria.
1998 11 September The 1998 Commonwealth Games open in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the first Games to be held in Asia, and the first to be held outside the so-called 'White Commonwealth' since 1966.
1999 12 November The seventeenth Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting convenes in Durban, South Africa.

[edit] 2000s

Year Date Event
2000 1 April New Zealand's Don McKinnon succeeds Chief Emeka Anyaoku as Commonwealth Secretary General.
2001 6 October The eighteenth Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting was due to convene in Brisbane, Australia, but is cancelled due to the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.
2002 2 March The eighteenth Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting convenes in Coolum, Australia.
25 July The 2002 Commonwealth Games open in Manchester, the United Kingdom.
2003 5 December The nineteenth Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting convenes in Abuja, Nigeria.
2005 25 November The twentieth Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting convenes in Valetta, Malta.
2006 15 March The 2006 Commonwealth Games open in Melbourne, Australia.
2007 24 October The Committee on Commonwealth Membership makes recommendations on changes to the membership criteria of the Commonwealth.
23 November The twenty-first Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting convenes in Kampala, Uganda.
2008 1 April India's Kamalesh Sharma succeeds Don McKinnon as Commonwealth Secretary General.
12 May The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group lifts Pakistan's suspension from the Commonwealth with immediate effect.