The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, abbreviated to CHOGM, is a biennial summit 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 Head of the Commonwealth. The meetings originated with the First Colonial Conference in 1877 and periodic meetings (known as Imperial Conferences beginning in 1911) of government leaders of the British Empire. From 1944 until 1971, the meetings were known as Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conferences and were generally held biennially in London, although the Commonwealth leaders met in Lagos in 1966. The first CHOGM was held in 1971.

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.

Under the Millbrook Commonwealth Action Programme, each CHOGM is responsible for renewing the remit of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group, whose responsibility it is to uphold the Harare Declaration on the core political principles of the Commonwealth.¹

History

Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conferences (referred to in most official documents as Commonwealth Prime Ministers Meetings) were held in 1944, 1946, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1966 (twice) and 1969. Two supplementary meetings were held during this period: a Commonwealth Statesmen's meeting to discuss peace terms in April 1945; and a Commonwealth Economic Conference in 1952.

The regular conferences were renamed Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings from 1971. A CHOGM is usually held once every two years (see list for dates).

List of meetings since 1971

Incidents and actions

• 1978 - A bomb went off outside the venue of the 1978 CHOGM in Sydney, known as the Hilton Bombing.

• 2001 - CHOGM 2001, slated to be held in Brisbane on October 6–9, was cancelled for security reasons in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. The Meeting was adjourned to March 2002, and held in the seaside resort of Coolum, Queensland.

• 2003 - Amongst other protests, Amnesty International ran a substantial campaign pressuring CHOGM attendees on issues relating to abuses of human rights, especially in Nigeria and Zimbabwe.

Footnotes

External links

• Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting page on the Commonwealth Secretariat web site
• Kampala' 2007, CHOGM 2007 Official page
• CHOGM count Down, CHOGM News
• CHOGM 2007, CHOGM 2007 Kampala Uganda, Updates and information
• CHOGM 2007 Highlights & News, CHOGM 2007 Highlights
• CHOGM, Australian Government