January 1966 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference

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15th Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference
Host country Nigeria
Dates10–12 January 1966
CitiesLagos
Participants24
ChairAbubakar Tafawa Balewa
(Prime Minister of Nigeria)
Follows1965
PrecedesSeptember 1966
Key points

The January 1966 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference was the 15th Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations. It was the first such meeting to be held outside of the United Kingdom, being held in Lagos, Nigeria, and was hosted by that country's Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa.

The sole purpose of the meeting was to discuss the white minority rule regime in the rogue British colony of Rhodesia and the means by which multi-racial rule could be achieved.[1][2]

Participants

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The following nations were represented:[3]

Nation Name Position
United Kingdom Harold Wilson Prime Minister
Australia James Cumes High Commissioner
Canada Lester Pearson Prime Minister
Ceylon A. F. Wijemanne Minister of Justice
Cyprus Makarios III President
The Gambia Sir Dawda Jawara Prime Minister
India Ashoke Kumar Sen Minister of Law and Justice
Jamaica Donald Sangster Acting Prime Minister
Kenya James Gichuru Minister of Finance
Malawi Hastings Banda Prime Minister
Malaysia Abdul Razak Hussein Deputy Prime Minister
Malta Giorgio Borġ Olivier Prime Minister
New Zealand Sir Tom Macdonald High Commissioner
Nigeria Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (Chairman) Prime Minister
Pakistan Hakim Μ Ahson High Commissioner
Sierra Leone Sir Albert Margai Prime Minister
Singapore Lee Kuan Yew Prime Minister
Trinidad and Tobago Patrick Solomon Minister of Foreign Affairs
Uganda Milton Obote Prime Minister
Zambia Reuben Kamanga Vice President

References

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  1. ^ The Commonwealth at the Summit: Communiqués of Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings, 1944-1986. Commonwealth Secretariat. 1987. ISBN 978-0850-923-17-9. Retrieved November 30, 2014.
  2. ^ "Commonwealth Conference In Lagos 1966". British Pathe. Retrieved November 30, 2014.
  3. ^ "MEETING OF COMMONWEALTH PRIME MINISTERS, JANUARY 1966 - FINAL COMMUNIQUE", Commonwealth Library, retrieved 22 May 2025