1961 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference

11th meeting of the Commonwealth of Nations' heads of government May 2013 October 2022 April 2013 11th Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference 8–17 March 1961 Lancaster House London 13 Heads of Government Harold Macmillan(Prime Minister) 1960 1962 South Africa and apartheid, membership of South Africa, Cyprus and Sierra Leone, British membership in the Common Market, disarmament The 1961 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference was the 11th Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations. It was held in the United Kingdom in March 1961, and was hosted by British 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. This occurred due to disagreement over South Africa's continued membership of the Commonwealth, owing 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 formally announce that South Africa would become a republic in May 1961, following approval in the October 1960 referendum. South Africa's application was opposed by the leaders of black majority-ruled African states, Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Malaya's Tunku Abdul Rahman, other non-white Commonwealth countries and Canadian prime minister John Diefenbaker, due to South Africa's policy of apartheid. Canada was the only member of the Old 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.Roth Edwin The Commonwealth Convenes https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GStgAAAAIBAJ&pg=5027,865912&dq=commonwealth+conference&hl=en Saskatoon Star-Phoenix 6 March 1961 15 Canadian prime minister John Diefenbaker proposed that South Africa only be re-admitted if it joined other states in condemning apartheid in principle.John Diefenbaker: Staring down South Africa, CBC Archives, 17 March 1961 Once it became clear that South Africa's membership would be rejected, Verwoerd withdrew his country's application and left the conference.http://www.sahistory.org.za/dated-event/south-africa-withdraws-commonwealth South Africa withdraws from the Commonwealth South African History Online 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".The Commonwealth at the Summit: Communiqués of Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings, 1944–1986 1987 Commonwealth Secretariat London 69 https://books.google.com/books?id=vciLoneE8GYC&q=commonwealth+conference+1946+prime+ministers&pg=PA69 0-85092-317-4 Cyprus' application to join the Commonwealth, following its independence the previous year, was approved despite opposition from the United Kingdom, which objected to Cyprus not applying for membership prior to independence, as had been customary. Cyprus' President, Archbishop Makarios III, joined the conference once Cypriot membership was approved. 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 Nation Name Portfolio United Kingdom Harold Macmillan Prime Minister (chairman) Australia Robert Menzies Prime Minister Canada 1957 John Diefenbaker Prime Minister Ceylon Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike Prime Minister Cyprus 1960 Makarios III President Ghana Kwame Nkrumah President India Jawaharlal Nehru Prime Minister Malaya Tunku Abdul Rahman Prime Minister New Zealand Keith Holyoake Prime Minister Nigeria Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Prime Minister Pakistan Ayub Khan President Rhodesia and Nyasaland Sir Roy Welensky Prime Minister South Africa 1928 South Africa H. F. Verwoerd Prime Minister References External links John Diefenbaker: Staring down South Africa, CBC Archives, 17 March 1961 Category:1961 in London 1961 Category:Diplomatic conferences in the United Kingdom Category:1960s diplomatic conferences Category:1961 in international relations Category:United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations Category:Apartheid in South Africa Category:1961 in Cyprus Category:1961 in South Africa Category:1961 conferences Category:March 1961 in the United Kingdom Category:Cyprus and the Commonwealth of Nations Category:South Africa and the Commonwealth of Nations Category:1960s in the City of Westminster Category:Harold Macmillan Category:Robert Menzies Category:Premiership of John Diefenbaker Category:Kwame Nkrumah Category:Jawaharlal Nehru Category:Makarios III