Commonwealth of Nations
| Commonwealth of Nations | |
|---|---|
 Commonwealth Membership Map |
|
| English name | Commonwealth of Nations |
| Seat of the organs |
Marlborough House , London , United Kingdom
|
| Chair |
Elizabeth II (head)
|
| Member States |
54 |
| Official and working languages | |
| founding | December 11, 1931 ( Statute of Westminster ) April 28, 1949 |
| www.thecommonwealth.org | |
The Commonwealth of Nations (until 1947 British Commonwealth of Nations ) is a loose association of sovereign states , which is primarily formed by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and its former colonies . The foundation goes back to the year 1931. The Commonwealth Games , which take place every four years, are major sporting events in the Commonwealth .
story
The Commonwealth of Nations is an association of independent states that can be seen today as the successor to the British Empire . The institutionalization of the British Commonwealth of Nations at the beginning of the 20th century was a reaction of the United Kingdom to the attempts at autonomy of its Dominions ( Canada , South Africa , Australia and New Zealand ) and was intended to tie them to the Empire.
The Balfour Report of November 18, 1926 established that the Dominions are autonomous communities within the British Empire. All have the same rights, are in no way subordinate to others, but as members of the Commonwealth they are bound by their loyalty to the Crown (“ autonomous communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs, though united by a common allegiance to the Crown, and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth ") . The status of the member states was rewritten on December 11, 1931 in the Statute of Westminster . In the Commonwealth there was no set statute or constitution. Constitutionally, the only link between the United Kingdom and the Dominions was allegiance to the Crown.
With the accession of India (1947), Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) (1948) and Pakistan (1949), which belonged to British India before independence , the modern Commonwealth ( New Commonwealth ) emerged . These changes were recorded in the London Declaration of April 28, 1949. In 1952, the previous Dominions were renamed Commonwealth Realms . In 1957, with the former British colony of Gold Coast / Ghana , a Central African country joined the Commonwealth for the first time.
The Commonwealth eventually became a "catch basin" for the former British colonies, although since the proclamation of the republic in India in 1950 it is no longer mandatory for a member state to recognize the British King or Queen as its own head of state. Within a few years the number of members doubled. In 1955 the organization still had eight members, in 1964 there were already 20. As a result of this expansion, the Commonwealth Secretariat was founded in 1965 . In the course of this development, the Commonwealth of Nations became the multiethnic and multicultural organization it is today. Since the accession of Mozambique (1995) and Rwanda (2009), countries that never belonged to the British Empire, but were Portuguese or Belgian colony , have also been represented.
Until 1962, Commonwealth citizens were generally considered to be British subjects and were therefore also entitled to immigrate to Great Britain. That right ended with the Commonwealth Immigration Act in 1962.
Commonwealth today
The Commonwealth of Nations comprises 54 member states , 15 of which (the so-called Commonwealth Realms ) are linked in personal union (as of November 2021). Formally, the crowns of the 15 Commonwealth Realms are separate, but the British monarchy is the most prominent. To emphasize one's own sovereignty, however, since the 1970s z. B. in Canada , Australia and New Zealand with reference to their own head of state no longer spoken by the British Queen, but officially by the Queen of Canada, Queen of Australia, Queen of New Zealand .
Today 29.4 percent of the world population (around two billion people) live in member states of the Commonwealth : India is by far the most populous member with over 1.2 billion people. Even Pakistan , Bangladesh and Nigeria each have a population of over 100 million people. But also states like the island chain Tuvalu , on which only about 11,500 people live, belong to the federal government.
If a Commonwealth member state decides to become a republic, it is formally withdrawing from the federal government. This state then submits an application for readmission, which is granted automatically. The Republic of Ireland waived after their exit from the Commonwealth - which on 18 April 1949 in Ireland Act 1949 was accepted - on to apply for a resumption.
organization
The Commonwealth Office in London is the headquarters of this sui generis association of states . Similar to the UN in New York, each member state sends a representative there so that a constant exchange of information can take place. In addition, the heads of state and government of the Commonwealth countries meet every two years for a week-long summit. Important political and economic questions as well as the world situation are discussed. Even sanctions against individual states, such as in 2001 against Zimbabwe be decided here. On November 22nd, 2007, a committee of foreign ministers decided to exclude Pakistan from the meetings until democracy was restored and the law was back in the country. On September 1, 2009, Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma announced the expulsion of Fiji after its government had previously refused to return to democracy after the 2006 coup. The Fiji Islands had already been suspended from the meeting in June 2000 for similar reasons.
The summit takes place in a different member state each time and is traditionally opened by the British monarch , most recently Elizabeth II, as head of the Commonwealth. However, their role is purely symbolic, which is why the day-to-day political work in the leadership of the Commonwealth is carried out by a Secretary General who is elected by the heads of government of the member states . Currently this is Patricia Scotland . There is also an incumbent chairman of the international community. The head of government of the country in which the summit is taking place acts as such; his term of office runs until the next summit. Boris Johnson , Prime Minister of the United Kingdom , has held this position since 2019 .
Chiefs
King George V
1931–1936
King Edward VIII
1936
King George VI
1936-1952
Queen Elizabeth II
since 1952
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General Secretaries
| Surname | Home state | Taking office | Term expires |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arnold Smith |
 Canada
|
July 1, 1965 | June 30, 1975 |
| Shridath Ramphal |
 Guyana
|
July 1, 1975 | June 30, 1990 |
| Emeka Anyaoku |
 Nigeria
|
July 1, 1990 | March 31, 2000 |
| Don McKinnon |
 New Zealand
|
April 1, 2000 | March 31, 2008 |
| Kamalesh Sharma |
 India
|
April 1, 2008 | March 31, 2016 |
| Patricia Scotland, Baroness Scotland of Asthal |
 Dominica / United Kingdom
|
April 1, 2016 | officiating |
Chairperson
| Surname | Home state | Taking office | Term expires |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thabo Mbeki |
 South Africa
|
November 12, 1999 | March 2, 2002 |
| John Howard |
 Australia
|
March 2, 2002 | March 5, 2003 |
| Olusegun Obasanjo |
Nigeria
|
December 5, 2003 | November 25, 2005 |
| Lawrence Gonzi |
 Malta
|
November 25, 2005 | November 23, 2007 |
| Yoweri Museveni |
 Uganda
|
November 23, 2007 | November 27, 2009 |
| Patrick Manning |
 Trinidad and Tobago
|
November 27, 2009 | May 25, 2010 |
| Kamla Persad-Bissessar |
Trinidad and Tobago
|
May 26, 2010 | October 28, 2011 |
| Julia Gillard |
Australia
|
October 28, 2011 | June 27, 2013 |
| Kevin Rudd |
Australia
|
June 27, 2013 | 18th September 2013 |
| Tony Abbott |
Australia
|
18th September 2013 | November 15, 2013 |
| Mahinda Rajapaksa |
 Sri Lanka
|
November 15, 2013 | January 9, 2015 |
| Maithripala Sirisena |
Sri Lanka
|
January 9, 2015 | November 27, 2015 |
| Joseph Muscat |
Malta
|
November 27, 2015 | April 19, 2018 |
| Theresa May |
United Kingdom
|
April 19, 2018 | July 24, 2019 |
| Boris Johnson |
United Kingdom
|
July 24, 2019 | officiating |
Members
54 countries are currently members of the Commonwealth of Nations (the years indicate the year of accession). Among them, a distinction is made between Commonwealth Realms, which have the British monarch as head of state, and other members:
Commonwealth Realms
-
Antigua and Barbuda (1981) -
Australia (1931)
-
Bahamas (1973) -
Belize (1981) -
Grenada (1974) -
Jamaica (1962) -
Canada (1931)
-
New Zealand (1931)
-
Papua New Guinea (1975) -
Solomon Islands (1978) -
St. Kitts and Nevis (1983) -
St. Lucia (1979) -
St. Vincent and the Grenadines (1979) -
Tuvalu (1978) -
United Kingdom (1931)
Other members
-
Bangladesh (1972) -
Barbados (1966) -
Botswana (1966) -
Brunei (1984) -
Dominica (1978)
-
Eswatini (1968) - Joined as Swaziland, changing its name to Eswatini on April 19, 2018. -
Fiji (1970) - left 1987, re-entered 1997, suspension from 2000 to 2001, renewed suspension from September 2009 to 2014 -
Gambia (1965) - left in 2013, re-entered in 2018 -
Ghana (1957) -
Guyana (1966)
-
India (1947)
-
Cameroon (1995) - is a member, although until 1916 it was a German colony or Eastern Cameroon from 1919 a French mandate / trust area. However, the smaller West Cameroon was British mandate / trust territory. -
Kenya (1963) -
Kiribati (1979) -
Lesotho (1966) -
Malawi (1964) -
Malaysia (1957) -
Maldives (1982) - originally entered in 1982, exited on October 13, 2016, and re-entered on February 1, 2020. -
Malta (1964)
-
Mauritius (1968) -
Mozambique (1995) - As a former Portuguese colony, Mozambique is the only Member State besides Rwanda that has never - even partially - been part of the British colonial empire. -
Namibia (1990) - was a German colony until 1919 and was then under South African administration. Only the Walvis Bay area was part of the British colonial empire. -
Nauru (1999) - British owned until 1886. German colony from 1886 to 1919. Subsequently under Australian administration. -
Nigeria (1960) - Suspension (after the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwas and 8 other civil rights activists) from 1995 to 1999
-
Pakistan (1947) - left 1972, re-entered 1989, suspension from 1999 to 2004, renewed suspension on November 22, 2007, resumption on May 12, 2008. -
Rwanda (2009) - As a former German colony or, after the First World War, a Belgian mandate / trust territory, Rwanda is the only Member State besides Mozambique that was never - even partially - part of the British colonial empire. -
Zambia (1964) -
Samoa (1970) -
Seychelles (1976) -
Sierra Leone (1961) -
Singapore (1965) -
Sri Lanka (1948)
-
South Africa (1931) - left in 1961, re-entered in 1994
-
Tanzania (1961) - Tanganyika was part of German East Africa's German colony until 1919 and only became a British mandate / trust area in 1919. -
Tonga (1970) -
Trinidad and Tobago (1962)
-
Uganda (1962)
-
Vanuatu (1980) -
Cyprus (1961)
former members
-
Dominion Newfoundland (1931, no longer an independent Dominion since 1934, part of Canada since 1949) -
Ireland (1931, left the Confederation in 1949) -
Malaya (1957, became part of Malaysia in 1963 ) -
Sultanate of Zanzibar (1961, merged with Tanganyika to form Tanzania in 1964 ) -
Tanganyika (1961, merged with Zanzibar to form Tanzania in 1964 ) -
Zimbabwe (1980, resigned December 7, 2003, preceded by March 20, 2002 suspension)
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Comparable organizations
-
Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries - Portuguese Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa
-
Dutch-Indonesian Union and Nederlandse Taalunie / Dutch Language Union
-
Communauté française / French Community and
-
International Organization of Francophonie - French Organization internationale de la Francophonie
-
-
Organization of Ibero-American States, Portuguese Organização de Estados Ibero-americanos (sub-organization of the Ibero-American Summit )
literature
- Claire Auplat: Les ONG du Commonwealth contemporain. Rôles, bilans et perspectives . L'Harmattan, Paris 2003, ISBN 2-7475-5513-5 .
- John Gareth Darwin : A Third British Empire? The Dominion Idea in Imperial Politics . In: Wm. Roger Louis (Ed.): The Oxford History of the British Empire . tape 4 : Judith M. Brown, Wm. Roger Louis (Eds.): The Twentieth Century . Oxford University Press, Oxford et al. 1999, ISBN 0-19-820564-3 , pp. 64-87 .
- Hessel Duncan Hall: Commonwealth. A history of the British Commonwealth of Nations . Van Nostrand Reinhold, London et al. 1971, ISBN 0-442-02201-8 .
- William B. Hamilton, Kenneth Robinson, Craufurd DW Goodwin (Eds.): A Decade of the Commonwealth. 1955–1964 (= Commonwealth Studies Center. Publication . Volume 25 ). Duke University Press, Durham NC 1966.
- Denis Judd, Peter Slinn: The Evolution of the Modern Commonwealth 1902–1980 . Macmillan, London et al. 1982, ISBN 0-333-30840-9 .
- Nicolas Mansergh: The British Commonwealth. Origin - history - structure . Kindler, Zurich 1969.
- Alex May (Ed.): Britain, the Commonwealth and Europe. The Commonwealth and Britain's applications to join the European Communities . Palgrave, Basingstoke, et al. 2001, ISBN 0-333-80013-3 .
- Kenneth C. Wheare: The Constitutional Structure of the Commonwealth . Clarendon Press, Oxford 1960.
- Gerhard Altmann: Farewell to the Empire. The internal decolonization of Great Britain 1945–1985 (= Modern Times . Volume 8 ). Wallstein, Göttingen 2005, ISBN 3-89244-870-1 (At the same time: Freiburg (Breisgau), University, dissertation, 2003: Farewell to the Empire. ).
See also
Web links
- Official website of the Commonwealth of Nations
Individual evidence
- ↑ Commonwealth excludes Zimbabwe for one year. In: Handelsblatt . March 19, 2002. Retrieved November 29, 2009 .
- ↑ Commonwealth excludes Pakistan. In: Welt Online . November 22, 2007. Retrieved November 29, 2009 .
- ↑ Get out of the club . In: The mirror . No. 37 , 2009 ( online ).
- ↑ Commonwealth excludes Fiji from meetings. Handelsblatt , June 6, 2000, accessed on November 29, 2009 .
- ↑ Member countries. Commonwealth Secretariat, accessed February 27, 2018 .
- ↑ Gambia leaves the Commonwealth. In: derstandard.at. October 3, 2013, accessed December 20, 2014 .
- ^ Maldives leaves Commonwealth amid democracy row. In: BBC News. October 13, 2016, accessed January 14, 2017 .
- ↑ Maldives are back in the Commonwealth. In: ORF News. February 1, 2020, accessed November 15, 2021 .