THE COMMONWEALTH

·         The Commonwealth of Nations, usually known as the commonwealth and formerly as the British Commonwealth, is a voluntary association of 54 independent sovereign States, all of which are former possessions of the British Empire, except for Mozambique, Rwanda and the United Kingdom itself.

·         Queen Elizabeth II is the Head of the Commonwealth, recognized by each State. Although the Queen heads the Commonwealth in a symbolic capacity, I is the Commonwealth Secretary-General who is the Chief Executive of the organization.

·         The five largest commonwealth nations by population are India, Pakistan Bangladesh, Nigeria and the United Kingdom. Luvalu is the least populous member of the Commonwealth nations by area are Canada, Australia and India.

·         The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) is a significant decision making body which hold-bi-annual meetings.

·         Marlborough House, London houses the head-quarters of The Commonwealth.

Members

 Antigua and Barbuda, Jamaica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Australia, Kenya, Samoa, The Bahamas, Kiribati, Seychelles, Bangladesh, Lesotho Sierra Leone, Barbados, Malawi, Singapore, Belize, Malaysia, Solomon Islands, Botswana, Maldives, South Africa, Brunei Darussalam, Malta, Sri Lanka, Cameroon, Mauritius, Swaziland, Canada, Mozambique, Tonga, Cyprus, Namibia, Trinidad and Tobago, Dominica, Nauru, Tuvalu, Fiji Island, New Zealand, Uganda, The Gambia, Nigeria, United Kingdom, Ghana, Pakistan, United Republic of Tanzania, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Guyana, St. Kitts and Nevis, Zambia, India and St. Lucia and Rwanda (Joined in November 2009).

Note: *Nauru is a member in Arrears. *Following the decisions taken by the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group on 31st July 2009, Fill Island was suspended from membership of the Commonwealth on September 1, 2009.

 

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM)

Year                                                                                Location

1997………………………………………………………………………….. Edinburgh (UK)

1999……………………………………………………………….. Durban (South Africa)

2002…………………………………………………………………….. Coolum (Australia)

2003………………………………………………………………………….. Abuja (Nigeria)

2005………………………………………………………………............ Valletta (Malta)

2007…………………………………………………………………….. Kampala (Uganda)

2009……………………………………………… Port of Spain (Trinidad & Tobago)

2011…………………………………………………... To be held in Perth (Australia)

2013………………………………………... To be held in Hambantota (Sri Lanka)

2015…………………………………………… To be held in Port Louis (Mauritius)