September 1966 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference
| 16th Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference | |
|---|---|
| Host country |  United Kingdom |
| Dates | 6–15 September 1966 |
| Cities | London |
| Participants | 22 |
| Chair | Harold Wilson (Prime Minister) |
| Follows | January 1966 |
| Precedes | 1969 |
| Key points | |
The September 1966 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference was the 16th Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations. It was held in the United Kingdom and was hosted by that country's Prime Minister, Harold Wilson.
The conference was dominated by the rebellion of the British colony of Rhodesia which was under the white minority rule regime of Ian Smith. Facing the possible collapse of the Commonwealth, with African states threatening to leave the association if action wasn't taken against Rhodesia, Britain agreed to a policy of No independence before majority rule (NIBMAR). The Commonwealth issued an ultimatum declaring that if the Smith regime did not comply by the end of the year Britain, with Commonwealth support, would seek mandatory sanctions against Rhodesia by the United Nations.[1]
The Commonwealth also issued a statement calling for nuclear disarmament and deploring nuclear weapons testing by France and China.[2]
Participants
The following nations were represented:[3]
References
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 15 December 2024. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 15 December 2024. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "MEETING OF COMMONWEALTH PRIME MINISTERS, SEPTEMBER 1966 - FINAL COMMUNIQUE", Commonwealth Library, retrieved 7 June 2025