Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting
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The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) is a biennial meeting of the heads of government from all Commonwealth nations. Every two years the meeting is held in a different member state, and is chaired by that nation's respective Prime Minister or President. Most meetings include an appearance by Queen Elizabeth II, who is the titular Head of the Commonwealth.
In the past, CHOGMs have attempted to orchestrate common policies on certain contentious issues and current events, with a special focus on issues affecting member nations. In the past, CHOGMs have discussed the continuation of apartheid rule in South Africa and how to stop it, military coups in Pakistan and Fiji, and allegations of electoral fraud in Zimbabwe. Sometimes the member states agree on a common idea or solution, and release a joint statement declaring their opinion.
As the cultural and economic links between the Commonwealth countries continue to decline, the meeting's agenda has become more and more relaxed and its relevance questioned. The Commonwealth has grown increasingly large in recent years (it now has over 40 members) and as a result is becoming an increasingly difficult forum to establish any sort of political consensus in. Fears have also been raised that the Commonwealth's agenda is unfairly monoploized by African issues. This is unpopular with non-African member states, who resent the exclusion of discussing the affairs of their regions, but also with the African states themselves, many of whom view still view the Commonwealth as a neo-colonial, organization dominated by a "White Commonwealth". The future of the Commonwealth thus remains in doubt. Some have proposed the organization be split in half, with one half for African affairs, and one for the affairs of all other member states.
History of CHOGM meetings
Year City Country Chairman
- 1971 Singapore Singapore Lee Kuan Yew
- 1973 Ottawa Canada Pierre Trudeau
- 1975 Kingston Jamaica Michael Manley
- 1977 London United Kingdom James Callaghan
- 1978 Sydney Australia Malcolm Fraser
- 1979 Lusaka Zambia Kenneth Kaunda
- 1981 Melbourne Australia Malcolm Fraser
- 1983 New Delhi India Indira Gandhi
- 1985 Nassau Bahamas Sir Lynden Pindling
- 1986 London United Kingdom Margaret Thatcher
- 1987 Vancouver Canada Brian Mulroney
- 1989 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Mahathir bin Mohamad
- 1991 Harare Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe
- 1993 Nicosia Cyprus George Vassiliou
- 1995 Auckland New Zealand Jim Bolger
- 1997 Edinburgh United Kingdom Tony Blair
- 1999 Durban South Africa Thabo Mbeki
- 2002 Brisbane Australia John Howard
- 2003 Abuja Nigeria Olusegun Obasanjo
- 2005 Valletta Malta Lawrence Gonzi (announced)
Hilton Bombing
A bomb went off outside the venue of the 1978 CHOGM in Sydney, known as the Hilton Bombing.
External links
- Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting page on the Commonwealth Secretariat web site (http://www.thecommonwealth.org/Templates/Internal.asp?NodeID=33250)
- Durban '99 (http://www.chogm99.org/), CHOGM 1999 Official page
- Abuja' 2003 (http://www.chogm2003.info/), CHOGM 2003 Official page