1969 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference

17th Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference
Host country United Kingdom
Dates7–15 January 1969
CitiesLondon
VenuesMarlborough House
Participants28
Heads of Government24
ChairHarold Wilson
(Prime Minister)
FollowsSeptember 1966
Precedes1971 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting
Key points
Review of the world diplomatic and economic situation, Rhodesia, Biafra crisis, Commonwealth co-operation.

The 1969 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference was the 17th Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations. It was held in the United Kingdom in January 1969, and was hosted by that country's Prime Minister, Harold Wilson.

Five newly independent member countries participated for the first time: Botswana, Barbados, Lesotho, Mauritius and Swaziland.[1]

On the issue of the rogue colony of Rhodesia, Britain re-committed itself to the policy of No independence before majority rule (NIBMAR) which it had adopted at the last Prime Ministers' conference in September 1966.

Also discussed was the Biafra crisis in Nigeria and discrimination against South Asian communities living in Africa and Black and Asian immigrants living in the UK.

Participants

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The following nations were represented:[2]

Nation Name Position
United Kingdom Harold Wilson (Chairman) Prime Minister
Australia John Gorton Prime Minister
Barbados Errol Barrow Prime Minister
Botswana Sir Seretse Khama President
Canada Pierre Trudeau Prime Minister
Ceylon Dudley Senanayake Prime Minister
Cyprus Makarios III President
The Gambia Sir Dawda Jawara Prime Minister
Ghana John Willie Kofi Harlley Deputy Chairman, National Liberation Council
Guyana Forbes Burnham Prime Minister
India Indira Gandhi Prime Minister
Jamaica Hugh Shearer Prime Minister
Kenya James Gichuru Minister of Finance
Lesotho Leabua Jonathan Prime Minister
Malawi Hastings Banda President
Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman Prime Minister
Malta Giorgio Borġ Olivier Prime Minister
Mauritius Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Prime Minister
New Zealand Keith Holyoake Prime Minister
Nigeria Obafemi Awolowo Federal Commissioner for Finance
Pakistan Mian Arshad Hussain Minister for Foreign Affairs
Sierra Leone Siaka Stevens Prime Minister
Singapore Lee Kuan Yew Prime Minister
Swaziland Makhosini Dlamini Prime Minister
Tanzania Julius Nyerere President
Trinidad and Tobago Eric Williams Prime Minister
Uganda Milton Obote Prime Minister
Zambia Kenneth Kaunda President

References

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  1. ^ The Commonwealth at the Summit: Communiqués of Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings, 1944-1986 (Volume 1). Commonwealth Secretariat. 1987. pp. 137–149. ISBN 0850923174.
  2. ^ "MEETING OF COMMONWEALTH PRIME MINISTERS, 1969 - FINAL COMMUNIQUE", Commonwealth Library, retrieved 7 June 2025
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