1955 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference

The 1955 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference was the seventh Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations. It was held in the United Kingdom in January 1955 and was hosted by that country's Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill.

7th Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference
Host country United Kingdom
Dates31 January–9 February 1955
CitiesLondon
Participants9
Heads of Government8
ChairSir Winston Churchill
(Prime Minister)
Follows1953
Precedes1956
Key points
First Taiwan Strait Crisis, SEATO, international and regional security, trade and development, Pound sterling area

A sense of international crisis loomed over the conference which occurred during which the First Taiwan Strait Crisis as were other international developments such as the sudden resignation of Soviet Premier Georgy Malenkov and the fall of French prime minister Pierre Mendès France, all of which were discussed.[1] Atomic energy for peaceful purposes, disarmament, and trade and economic development in the Sterling area, and regional defence were also discussed, in particular the defence of South East Asia, the formation of SEATO and in particular the ongoing insurgency in Malaya.[1]

Pakistan informed the meeting that it was to become a republic and the meeting affirmed that Pakistan would be welcome to remain in the Commonwealth.[2]

Participants

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Nation Name Portfolio
  United Kingdom Sir Winston Churchill Prime Minister (Chairman)
  Australia Robert Menzies Prime Minister
  Canada Louis St. Laurent Prime Minister
  Ceylon Sir John Kotelawala Prime Minister
  India Jawaharlal Nehru Prime Minister
  New Zealand Sidney Holland Prime Minister
  Pakistan Mohammad Ali Bogra Prime Minister
  Southern Rhodesia Sir Godfrey Huggins Prime Minister
  South Africa Charles Robberts Swart Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister

References

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  1. ^ a b "The Age - Google News Archive Search".
  2. ^ Secretariat, Commonwealth (1987). The Commonwealth at the Summit: Communiqués of Commonwealth Heads of ... - Google Books. Commonwealth Secretariat. ISBN 9780850923179. Retrieved 11 November 2013 – via Google Books.