1926 Imperial Conference

Conference between nations in the Commonwealth January 2023 October 2022 1926 Imperial Conference File:ImperialConferenceDinner1926.jpg United Kingdom United Kingdom 19 October 1926–23 November 1926 Lancaster House London Heads of State or Government 8 Stanley Baldwin (Prime Minister) 1923 1930 Balfour Declaration, constitutional arrangements The 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.Marshall Sir Peter September 2001 The Balfour Formula and the Evolution of the Commonwealth The Round Table 90 361 541–53 10.1080/00358530120082823 143421201 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. The term "Commonwealth" was officially adopted to describe the community.Historical Dictionary of European Imperialism 1991 Greenwood Publishing Group Westport, Connecticut 0313262578 297–298 https://books.google.com/books?id=uyqepNdgUWkC&q=colonial+conference+1897&pg=PA297 The conference was arranged to follow directly after the 1926 Assembly of the League of Nations (in Geneva, Switzerland), to reduce the amount of travelling required for the dominions' representatives. The conference created the Inter-Imperial Relations Committee, chaired by Arthur Balfour, to look into future constitutional arrangements for the Commonwealth. In the end, the committee rejected the idea of a codified constitution, as espoused by South Africa's former Prime Minister Jan Smuts, but also fell short of endorsing the "end of empire" espoused by Smuts's arch-rival, Barry Hertzog. The recommendations were adopted unanimously by the conference on 15 November, followed by an equally warm reception in the newspapers. Participants The conference was hosted by King-Emperor George V, with his Prime Ministers and members of their respective cabinets: Nation Name PortfolioUnited Kingdom United Kingdom Stanley Baldwin Prime Minister (chairman) The Earl of Balfour Lord President of the Council Winston Churchill Chancellor of the Exchequer Sir Austen Chamberlain Foreign Secretary Sir William Joynson-Hicks Home Secretary Leo Amery Colonial Secretary and Dominions Secretary Sir Laming Worthington-Evans War Secretary Sir Samuel Hoare Air Secretary William Bridgeman First Lord of the Admiralty Sir Philip Cunliffe-Lister President of the Board of Trade The Viscount Cecil of Chelwood Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster The Earl of Clarendon Under Dominions Secretary William Ormsby-Gore Under Colonial Secretary Sir Philip Sassoon Under Air SecretaryAustralia Australia Stanley Bruce Prime Minister Sir Neville Howse Minister for Defence and Minister for Health John Latham Attorney-GeneralCanada 1921 William Lyon Mackenzie King Prime Minister Ernest Lapointe Minister of Justice and Attorney GeneralBritish Raj India The Earl of Birkenhead Secretary of State The Earl of Winterton Under-Secretary of StateIrish Free State Irish Free State W. T. Cosgrave President of the Executive Council Kevin O'Higgins Vice-President of the Executive Council and Minister for Justice Desmond FitzGerald Minister for External Affairs Patrick McGilligan Minister for Industry and Commerce James McNeill Irish High Commissioner to United KingdomNewfoundland Newfoundland Walter Stanley Monroe Prime Minister William J. Higgins Minister of Justice Alfred B. Morine Minister without portfolioNew Zealand New Zealand Gordon Coates Prime Minister Sir Francis Bell Minister without portfolioSouth Africa 1912 South Africa J. B. M. Hertzog Prime Minister Nicolaas Havenga Finance Minister References Citations Sources http://atojs.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/atojs?a=d&d=AJHR1927-I.2.1.2.9&e=-------10--1------0-- Imperial Conference, 1926. Summary of Proceedings Journals of the [New Zealand] House of Representatives Wellington Session I, Appendix, A-06 1927 http://opac.oireachtas.ie/AWData/Library3/Library2/DL067254.pdf Imperial Conference, 1926. Summary of Proceedings Stationery Office Dublin December 1926 Category:Imperial Conference Category:History of the Commonwealth of Nations Category:1926 in London Category:1926 in international relations Category:Second premiership of William Lyon Mackenzie King Category:Organised events in London Category:1926 in the British Empire Category:1926 conferences Category:October 1926 in the United Kingdom Category:November 1926 in the United Kingdom Category:1920s in the City of Westminster Category:George V Category:Stanley Baldwin Category:Winston Churchill Category:Arthur Balfour