View source for Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

{{short description|Biennial summit of the leaders of Commonwealth of Nations member states}}
<!--{{For|the next scheduled meeting|2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting}}-->
{{For|conferences held before 1971|Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2021}} 
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}

{{Location map+|World|width=400|float=right|caption=The twenty-six Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings have been hosted by eighteen countries in twenty-three cities across five continents.|places=
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{{Location map~|World|lat=51.507 |long=-0.1275 |label={{nowrap|[[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1977|1977]], [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1986|1986]], [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2018|2018]], [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2023|2023]]}} |position=right }}
{{Location map~|World|lat=-15.25 |long=28.17 |label={{nowrap|[[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1979|1979]]}} |position=left }}
{{Location map~|World|lat=-37.49 |long=144.58 |label={{nowrap|[[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1981|1981]]}} |position=bottom}}
{{Location map~|World|lat=15.56 |long=73.82 |label={{nowrap|[[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1983|1983]]}} |position=top }}
{{Location map~|World|lat=25.06 |long=-77.345 |label={{nowrap|[[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1985|1985]]}} |position=right }}
{{Location map~|World|lat=49.25 |long=-123.1 |label={{nowrap|[[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1987|1987]]}} |position=top }}
{{Location map~|World|lat=3.136 |long=101.688 |label={{nowrap|[[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1989|1989]]}} |position=top }}
{{Location map~|World|lat=-17.864 |long=31.030 |label={{nowrap|[[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1991|1991]]}} |position=right }}
{{Location map~|World|lat=34.667 |long=33.033 |label={{nowrap|[[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1993|1993]]}} |position=right }}
{{Location map~|World|lat=-36.840 |long=174.740 |label={{nowrap|[[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1995|1995]]}} |position=left}}
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{{Location map~|World|lat=9.067 |long=7.483 |label={{nowrap|[[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2003|2003]]}} |position=left }}
{{Location map~|World|lat=35.898 |long=14.513 |label={{nowrap|[[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2005|2005]],<br>[[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2015|2015]]}} |position=left }}
{{Location map~|World|lat=0.313 |long=32.581 |label={{nowrap|[[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2007|2007]]}} |position=top }}
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{{Location map~|World|lat=-13.83333 |long=-171.76666 |label={{nowrap|[[2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting|2024]]}} |position=right }}
}}

The '''Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting ''' ('''CHOGM'''; {{IPAc-en|ˈ|tʃ|ɒ|g|əm}} or{{IPAc-en|ˈ|tʃ|əʊ|m}}) is a [[wiktionary:biennial|biennial]] [[Summit (meeting)|summit meeting]] of the [[List of current heads of state and government|governmental leaders]] from all [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] nations.<ref name="UIA">{{Cite web |url=https://uia.org/s/or/en/1100058947 |url-access= |title=Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) |author1=Staff writer |year=2024 |department=UIA Global Civil Society Database |website=uia.org |publisher=[[Union of International Associations]] |agency=Yearbook of International Organizations Online |location=Brussels, Belgium |format= |arxiv= |asin= |bibcode= |doi= |isbn= |issn= |jfm= |jstor= |lccn= |mr= |oclc= |ol= |osti= |pmc= |pmid= |rfc= |ssrn= |zbl= |id= |access-date=24 December 2024 |via= |quote= |trans-quote= }}</ref> Despite the name, the [[head of state]] may be present in the meeting instead of the [[head of government]], especially among [[semi-presidential system|semi-presidential states]].{{NoteTag|[[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2013]], for example, Sri Lankan President [[Mahinda Rajapaksa]], instead of Sri Lankan Prime Minister [[D. M. Jayaratne]], was the meeting chairman.}} Every two years the meeting is held in a different member state and is chaired by that nation's respective prime minister or president, who becomes the [[Commonwealth Chair-in-Office]] until the next meeting. Queen [[Elizabeth II]], who was the [[Head of the Commonwealth]], attended every CHOGM beginning with Ottawa in 1973 until Perth in 2011,<ref name=guar>[https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/may/07/queen-miss-commonwealth-meeting?CMP=twt_fd "Queen to miss Commonwealth meeting for first time since 1973"] ''The Guardian'', 7 May 2013</ref> although her formal participation only began in 1997.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Ingram |first=Derek |author-link=Derek Ingram (journalist) |date=January 2004 |title=Abuja Notebook |journal=[[The Round Table Journal|The Round Table]] |volume=93 |issue=373 |pages=7–10 |doi=10.1080/0035853042000188157 |s2cid=219625486 }}</ref> She was represented by the [[Charles III of the United Kingdom|Prince of Wales]] at the [[2013 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting|2013 meeting]] as the 87-year-old monarch was curtailing long-distance travel.<ref name=guar/> The Queen attended the [[2015 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting|2015 summit]] in [[Malta]]<ref>{{cite news |title = Queen Elizabeth II wraps up nostalgic Malta trip |url = http://thehimalayantimes.com/world/queen-elizabeth-ii-wraps-up-nostalgic-malta-trip/ |access-date=29 November 2015 |newspaper = [[The Himalayan Times]] |date=29 November 2015 }}</ref> and the [[2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting|2018 summit]] (delayed by one year) in London, but was represented again by the Prince of Wales at the [[2022 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting|2022 meeting]] (delayed by two years) in [[Rwanda]].<ref name=rwanda>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/20/commonwealth-leaders-head-to-rwanda-for-first-summit-since-2018 Rajeev Syal, "Commonwealth leaders head to Rwanda for first summit since 2018", ''The Guardian''], 20 June 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2022</ref>

The [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1971|first CHOGM]] was held in 1971 in [[Singapore]] and there have been 27 held in total: the [[2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting|most recent]] was held in [[Apia]], Samoa.<ref name=rwanda/> They are held once every two years, although this pattern has occasionally been interrupted. They are held around the Commonwealth, rotating by invitation amongst its members.

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. CHOGMs have discussed the continuation of [[apartheid]] rule in South Africa and how to end 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. More recently, beginning at the [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1997|1997 CHOGM]], the meeting has had an official theme, set by the host nation, on which the primary discussions have been focused.<ref name="Edinburgh Diary">{{cite journal |last=Ingram |first=Derek |author-link=Derek Ingram (journalist) |date=January 1998 |title=Edinburgh Diary |journal=[[The Round Table Journal|The Round Table]] |volume=87 |issue=345 |pages=13–16 |doi=10.1080/00358539808454395 }}</ref>

==History==
{{More citations needed section|date=January 2013}}

[[File:CommonwealthPrimeMinisters1944.jpg|thumb|right|250px|The heads of government of five members of the Commonwealth of Nations at the 1944 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference.]]

The meetings originated with the leaders of the self-governing colonies of the [[British Empire]].<ref name="Seminars for Statesmen">{{cite journal |last=Mole |first=Stuart |date=September 2004 |title=Seminars for statesmen': the evolution of the Commonwealth summit  |journal=[[The Round Table Journal|The Round Table]] |volume=93 |issue=376 |pages=533–546 |doi=10.1080/0035853042000289128 |s2cid=154616079 |doi-access=free }}</ref> The [[First Colonial Conference]] in 1887 was followed by periodic meetings, known as [[Imperial Conference]]s from 1907, of government leaders of the Empire.  The development of the independence of the [[dominion]]s, and the creation of a number of new dominions, as well as the invitation of [[Southern Rhodesia]] (which also attended as a ''sui generis'' colony),<ref>{{cite journal |last=Watts |first=Carl P. |date=July 2007 |title=Dilemmas of Intra-Commonwealth Representation during the Rhodesian Problem, 1964–65 |journal=Commonwealth & Comparative Politics |volume=45 |issue=3 |pages=323–44 |doi=10.1080/14662040701516904  |s2cid=154230912 }}</ref> changed the nature of the meetings.<ref name="Seminars for Statesmen" /> As the dominion leaders asserted themselves more and more at the meetings, it became clear that the time for 'imperial' conferences was over.

From the ashes of the [[Second World War]], seventeen [[Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference]]s were held between 1944 and 1969.  Of these, sixteen were held in London, reflecting then-prevailing views of the Commonwealth as the continuation of the Empire and the centralisation of power in the British [[Commonwealth Office]] (the one meeting outside London, in [[Lagos]], was an extraordinary meeting held in January 1966 to co-ordinate policies towards [[Rhodesia]]).  Two supplementary meetings were also held during this period: a Commonwealth Statesmen's meeting to discuss peace terms in April 1945, and a Commonwealth Economic Conference in 1952.

The 1960s saw an overhaul of the Commonwealth.  The swift expansion of the Commonwealth after [[decolonization|decolonisation]] saw the newly independent countries demand the creation of the [[Commonwealth Secretariat]], and the United Kingdom, in response, successfully founding the [[Commonwealth Foundation]].<ref name="Canada and the creation of the Commonwealth Secretariat">{{cite journal |doi=10.2307/40203725 |last=McIntyre |first=W. David |author-link=W. David McIntyre |date=October 1998 |title=Canada and the creation of the Commonwealth Secretariat |jstor=40203725 |journal=International Journal |volume=53 |issue=4 |pages=753–777  }}</ref> This decentralisation of power demanded a reformulation of the meetings.  Instead of the meetings always being held in London, they would rotate across the membership, subject to countries' ability to host the meetings: beginning with Singapore [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1971|in 1971]].  They were also renamed the 'Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings' to reflect the growing diversity of the constitutional structures in the Commonwealth.

==Structure==
[[File:Commonwealth Heads meeting 2018 (40942285303).jpg|thumb|[[Theresa May]] chairs the 2018 session]]
The core of the CHOGM are the executive sessions, which are the formal gatherings of the heads of government to do business. However, the majority of the important decisions are held not in the main meetings themselves, but at the informal 'retreats': introduced at [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1973|the second CHOGM]], in [[Ottawa]], by [[Canadian Prime Minister|Prime Minister of Canada]] [[Pierre Trudeau]],<ref name="Twenty Commonwealth steps" /> but reminiscent of the excursions to [[Chequers]] or [[Dorneywood]] in the days of the Prime Ministers' Conferences.<ref name="Seminars for Statesmen" /> Only the head of the delegation and their spouse and one additional person attend the retreats. The additional person may be of any capacity (personal, political, security, etc.) but only has occasional and intermittent access to the head of the delegation.<ref name="Seminars for Statesmen" /> It is usually at the retreat where, isolated from their advisers, the heads resolve the most intransigent issues: leading to the [[Gleneagles Agreement]] in 1977, the [[Lusaka Declaration]] in 1979, the [[Langkawi Declaration]] in 1989, the [[Millbrook Commonwealth Action Programme|Millbrook Programme]] in 1995, the [[Aso Rock Declaration]] in 2003,<ref name="Seminars for Statesmen" /> and the Colombo Declaration on Sustainable, Inclusive and Equitable Development in 2013.

The 'fringe' of [[civil society]] organisations, including the [[Commonwealth Family]] and local groups, adds a cultural dimension to the event, and brings the CHOGM a higher media profile and greater acceptance by the local population.<ref name="Twenty Commonwealth steps" /> First officially recognised at [[Limassol]] in 1993,<ref name="Seminars for Statesmen" /> these events, spanning a longer period than the meeting itself, have, to an extent, preserved the length of the CHOGM: but only in the cultural sphere.<ref name="Twenty Commonwealth steps" /> Other meetings, such as those of the [[Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group]], [[Commonwealth Business Council]], and respective [[foreign minister]]s, have also dealt with business away from the heads of government themselves.

As the scope of the CHOGM has expanded beyond the meetings of the heads of governments themselves, the CHOGMs have become progressively shorter, and their business compacted into less time.<ref name="Twenty Commonwealth steps">{{cite journal |last=Ingram |first=Derek |author-link=Derek Ingram (journalist) |date=October 2007 |title=Twenty Commonwealth steps from Singapore to Kampala |journal=[[The Round Table Journal|The Round Table]] |volume=96 |issue=392 |pages=555–563 |doi=10.1080/00358530701625877 |s2cid=154737836 }}</ref> The [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1971|1971 CHOGM]] lasted for nine days, and the [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1977|1977]] and [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1991|1991 CHOGMs]] for seven days each.  However, Harare's epochal CHOGM was the last to last a week; the [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1993|1993 CHOGM]] lasted for five days, and the contentious [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1995|1995 CHOGM]] for only three-and-a-half.<ref name="Seminars for Statesmen" /> The 2005 and subsequent conferences were held over two to two-and-a-half-days. However, recent CHOGMs have also featured several days of pre-summit Commonwealth Forums on business, women, youth, as well as the Commonwealth People's Forum and meetings of foreign ministers.

== Issues ==
[[File:CHOGM 2011 protest gnangarra-86.jpg|thumb|right|Protests during the 2011 CHOGM in [[Perth]]]]

During the 1980s, CHOGMs were dominated by calls for the Commonwealth to impose sanctions on South Africa to pressure the country to end [[apartheid]]. The division between Britain, during the government of [[Margaret Thatcher]] which resisted the call for sanctions and African Commonwealth countries, and the rest of the Commonwealth was intense at times and led to speculation that the organisation might collapse.  According to one of Margaret Thatcher's former aides, Mrs. Thatcher, very privately, used to say that CHOGM stood for "Compulsory Handouts to Greedy Mendicants."<ref>PBS Video, The Windsors:  A Royal Family (1994)</ref> According to his [[Carol Thatcher|daughter]], Denis Thatcher also referred to CHOGM as standing for 'Coons Holidaying on Government Money'.<ref>{{cite book |last=Macqueen |first=Adam |date=2013 |title=The Prime Minister's Ironing Board and Other State Secrets: True Stories |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mWIw0KeuXO0C |publisher=Little, Brown |isbn=978-1408704233}}</ref>

In 2011, British Prime Minister [[David Cameron]] informed the British House of Commons that his proposals to reform the rules governing [[Succession to the British throne|royal succession]], a change which would require the approval of all sixteen [[Commonwealth realm]]s, was approved at the 28–30 October CHOGM in [[Perth]], subsequently referred to as the [[Perth Agreement]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Commonwealth to discuss changing royal succession|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iQBXOEaqhXB8n2AVM3CxXqSjJnHQ?docId=CNG.9072c392d6cd2797c34abb5603c745e0.771|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140224210259/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iQBXOEaqhXB8n2AVM3CxXqSjJnHQ?docId=CNG.9072c392d6cd2797c34abb5603c745e0.771|url-status=dead|archive-date=24 February 2014|access-date=15 October 2011|newspaper=Agence France Presse|date=12 October 2011}}</ref>

Rwanda joined the Commonwealth in 2009 despite the [[Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative]]'s (CHRI) finding that "the state of governance and human rights in Rwanda does not satisfy Commonwealth standards", and that it "does not therefore qualify for admission".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.humanrightsinitiative.org/download/Rwanda%20application%20for%20membership.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180717172217/http://www.humanrightsinitiative.org/download/Rwanda%20application%20for%20membership.pdf |archive-date=2018-07-17 |url-status=live|title=Rwanda's application for membership, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative|access-date=27 July 2021}}</ref> Both the CHRI<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.humanrightsinitiative.org/sitesearch?submit=submit&q=Rwanda|title=Rwanda, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative|access-date=27 July 2021}}</ref> and Human Rights Watch<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/africa/rwanda|title=Human Rights Watch, Rwanda country page|access-date=27 July 2021}}</ref> have found that respect for democracy and [[human rights in Rwanda]] has declined since the country joined the Commonwealth. There have been calls<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://africanarguments.org/2021/05/the-commonwealth-must-call-for-reforms-in-rwanda-chogm/|title=The Commonwealth must call for reforms in Rwanda, African Arguments|date=6 May 2021|access-date=27 July 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/commentisfree/2021/jun/01/my-story-proves-rwandas-lack-of-respect-for-good-governance-and-human-rights|title=My story proves Rwanda's lack of respect for good governance and human rights, Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, The Guardian 1 June 2021|website=[[TheGuardian.com]]|date=June 2021|access-date=27 July 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ianbirrell.com/the-dictator-who-fooled-us/|title=The dictator who fooled us, Ian Birrell|access-date=27 July 2021}}</ref> for the Commonwealth to stand up for democracy and [[human rights in Rwanda]] at the [[2022 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting|2022 CHOGM]].

==Agenda==
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.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.thecommonwealth.org/Internal/20723/34458/the_millbrook_commonwealth_action_programme/ |title=The Millbrook Commonwealth Action Programme on the Harare Declaration, 1995 |access-date=22 July 2007 |date=12 November 1995 |publisher=Commonwealth Secretariat |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060930070206/http://www.thecommonwealth.org/Internal/20723/34458/the_millbrook_commonwealth_action_programme/ |archive-date=30 September 2006 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Incidents==
A [[Sydney Hilton Hotel bombing|bomb exploded at the Sydney Hilton Hotel]], the venue for the February 1978 Commonwealth Heads of Government Regional Meeting. Twelve foreign heads of government were staying in the hotel at the time. Most delegates were evacuated by [[Royal Australian Air Force]] helicopters and the meeting was moved to [[Bowral]], protected by 800 soldiers of the [[Australian Army]].

As the convocation of heads of governments and permanent Commonwealth staff and experts, CHOGMs are the highest institution of action in the Commonwealth, and rare occasions on which Commonwealth leaders all come together.  CHOGMs have been the venues of many of the Commonwealth's most dramatic events.  [[Robert Mugabe]] announced [[Zimbabwe]]'s immediate withdrawal from the Commonwealth at the [[2003 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting|2003 CHOGM]],<ref>{{cite journal |date=January 2004 |title=Editorial: CHOGM 2003, Abuja, Nigeria |journal=[[The Round Table Journal|The Round Table]] |volume=93 |issue=373 |pages=3–6 |doi=10.1080/0035853042000188139 |s2cid= 219624427}}</ref> and [[Nigeria]]'s execution of [[Ken Saro-Wiwa]] and eight others on the first day of the [[1995 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting|1995 CHOGM]] led to that country's suspension.<ref name="Twenty Commonwealth steps" />

It has also been the trigger of a number of events that have shaken participating countries domestically.  The departure of [[President of Uganda|Uganda's President]] [[Milton Obote]] to the [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1971|1971 CHOGM]] allowed [[Idi Amin]] to overthrow Obote's government.  Similarly, [[President of Seychelles|President]] [[James Mancham]]'s attendance of the [[1977 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting|1977 CHOGM]] gave Prime Minister [[France-Albert René]] the opportunity to seize power in the [[Seychelles]].<ref name="Twenty Commonwealth steps" />

==Participating countries==

===Current member states=== 
*{{flag|Antigua and Barbuda}}
*{{flag|Australia}}
*{{flag|Bahamas}}
*{{flag|Bangladesh}}
*{{flag|Barbados}}
*{{flag|Belize}}
*{{flag|Brunei}}
*{{flag|Cameroon}}
*{{flag|Canada}}
*{{flag|Cyprus}}
*{{flag|Dominica}}
*{{flag|Eswatini}} 
*{{flag|Fiji}}
*{{flag|Gabon}} (suspended)
*{{flag|Gambia}}
*{{flag|Grenada}}
*{{flag|Guyana}}
*{{flag|India}}
*{{flag|Jamaica}}
*{{flag|Kenya}}
*{{flag|Kiribati}}
*{{flag|Lesotho}}
*{{flag|Malawi}}
*{{flag|Malaysia}}
*{{flag|Maldives}}
*{{flag|Malta}}
*{{flag|Mauritius}}
*{{flag|Mozambique}}
*{{flag|Namibia}}
*{{flag|Nauru}}
*{{flag|New Zealand}}
*{{flag|Nigeria}}
*{{flag|Pakistan}}
*{{flag|Papua New Guinea}}
*{{flag|Rwanda}}
*{{flag|Saint Kitts and Nevis}}
*{{flag|Saint Lucia}}
*{{flag|Saint Vincent and the Grenadines}}
*{{flag|Samoa}}
*{{flag|Seychelles}}
*{{flag|Sierra Leone}}
*{{flag|Singapore}}
*{{flag|Solomon Islands}}
*{{flag|South Africa}}
*{{flag|Sri Lanka}}
*{{flag|Tanzania}}
*{{flag|Togo}}
*{{flag|Tonga}}
*{{flag|Trinidad and Tobago}}
*{{flag|Tuvalu}}
*{{flag|Uganda}}
*{{flag|United Kingdom}}
*{{flag|Vanuatu}}
*{{flag|Zambia}}

===Former member states=== 
*{{flag|Zimbabwe}} (1980–2003)

==List of meetings==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year
! Date
! Country
! City
! Retreat
! Chairperson
! Secretary-General 
! Head of the Commonwealth
|-
! [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1971|1971]]
| 14–22 January || {{flagcountry|Singapore}} || [[Singapore]] || ''None'' ||[[Lee Kuan Yew]]||rowspan="3"|[[Arnold Smith]]||rowspan="26"|[[Elizabeth II]]
|-
! [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1973|1973]]
| 2–10 August || {{flagcountry|Canada}} || [[Ottawa]] || [[Mont-Tremblant, Quebec|Mont-Tremblant]] || [[Pierre Trudeau]]
|-
! [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1975|1975]]
| 29 April – 6 May  || {{flagcountry|Jamaica}} || [[Kingston, Jamaica|Kingston]] || ''None'' || [[Michael Manley]]
|-
! [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1977|1977]]
| 8–15 June || {{flagcountry|United Kingdom}} || [[London]] || [[Gleneagles Hotel]] || [[James Callaghan]]||rowspan="8"|[[Shridath Ramphal]]
|-
! [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1979|1979]]
| 1–7 August  || {{flagcountry|Zambia|1964}} || [[Lusaka]] || [[Lusaka]] || [[Kenneth Kaunda]]
|-
! [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1981|1981]]
| 30 September – 7 October || {{flagcountry|Australia}} || [[Melbourne]] || [[Canberra]] || [[Malcolm Fraser]]
|-
! [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1983|1983]]
| 23–29 November || {{flagcountry|India}} || [[New Delhi]] || [[Goa]] || [[Indira Gandhi]]
|-
! [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1985|1985]]
| 16–22 October || {{flagcountry|Bahamas}} || [[Nassau, Bahamas|Nassau]] || [[Lyford Cay]] || [[Lynden Pindling]]
|-
! [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1986|1986]] *
| 3–5 August  || {{flagcountry|United Kingdom}} || [[London]] || ''None'' || [[Margaret Thatcher]]
|-
! [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1987|1987]]
| 13–17 October || {{flagcountry|Canada}} || [[Vancouver]] || [[Okanagan]] || [[Brian Mulroney]]
|-
! [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1989|1989]]
| 18–24 October || {{flagcountry|Malaysia}} || [[Kuala Lumpur]] || [[Langkawi]] || [[Mahathir Mohamad]]
|-
! [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1991|1991]]
| 16–21 October || {{flagcountry|Zimbabwe}} || [[Harare]] || [[Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe|Victoria Falls]] || [[Robert Mugabe]]||rowspan="5"|[[Emeka Anyaoku]]
|-
! [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1993|1993]]
| 21–25 October || {{flagcountry|Cyprus|1960}} || [[Limassol]] || ''None'' || [[Glafcos Clerides]]
|-
! [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1995|1995]]
| 10–13 November || {{flagcountry|New Zealand}} || [[Auckland]] || [[Millbrook Resort|Millbrook]] || [[Jim Bolger]]
|-
! [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1997|1997]]
| 24–27 October || {{flagcountry|United Kingdom}} || [[Edinburgh]] || [[St Andrews]] || [[Tony Blair]]
|-
! [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1999|1999]]
| 12–14 November || {{flagcountry|South Africa}} || [[Durban]] || [[George, Western Cape|George]] || [[Thabo Mbeki]]
|-
! [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2002|2002]]
| 2–5 March  || {{flagcountry|Australia}} || [[Coolum]] || ''None'' || [[John Howard]]||rowspan="4"|[[Don McKinnon]]
|-
! [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2003|2003]]
| 5–8 December  ||{{flagcountry|Nigeria}} || [[Abuja]] || [[Aso Rock]] || [[Olusegun Obasanjo]]
|-
! [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2005|2005]]
| 25–27 November || {{flagcountry|Malta}} || [[Valletta]] || [[Mellieha|Mellieħa]] || [[Lawrence Gonzi]]
|-
! [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2007|2007]]
| 23–25 November || {{flagcountry|Uganda}} || [[Kampala]] || [[Munyonyo]] || [[Yoweri Museveni]]
|-
! [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2009|2009]]
| 27–29 November || {{flagcountry|Trinidad and Tobago}} || [[Port of Spain]] || [[Port-of-Spain]] || [[Patrick Manning]]||rowspan="4"|[[Kamalesh Sharma]]
|-
! [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2011|2011]]
| 28–30 October || {{flagcountry|Australia}} || [[Perth]] || [[Kings Park, Western Australia|Kings Park]] || [[Julia Gillard]]
|-
! [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2013|2013]]
| 15–17 November || {{flagcountry|Sri Lanka}} ||[[Colombo]] || [[Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte]] || [[Mahinda Rajapaksa]]
|-
! [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2015|2015]]
| 27–29 November || {{flagcountry|Malta}} || [[Valletta]]; [[Mellieħa]] || [[Fort St Angelo]]|| [[Joseph Muscat]]
|-
! [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2018|2018]]
| 19–20 April|| {{flagcountry|United Kingdom}}|| [[London]], [[Windsor, Berkshire|Windsor]]|| [[Windsor Castle]]||[[Theresa May]]||rowspan="4"|[[Patricia Scotland]]
|-
! [[2022 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting|2022]]
|24–25 June||{{flagcountry|Rwanda}} || [[Kigali]] ||[[Kigali Convention Centre]] ||[[Paul Kagame]]
|-
! [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2023|2023]] *
|5–6 May||{{flagcountry|United Kingdom}} || [[London]] || ''None''||[[Rishi Sunak]]
|rowspan="3"|[[Charles III]]
|-
! [[2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting|2024]]
| 25–26 October<ref>https://www.facebook.com/story.php/?story_fbid=918845163611968&id=100064594783465 {{Bare URL inline|date=August 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Commonwealth Heads of Government to meet in Samoa in 2024 |url=https://thecommonwealth.org/news/commonwealth-heads-government-meet-samoa-2024 |access-date=2023-09-12 |website=Commonwealth |language=en}}</ref> ||{{flagcountry|Samoa}}||[[Apia]]||[[Mulifanua]]|| [[Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa]] 
|-
! ''[[2026 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting|2026]]''
|1—4 November
||{{flagcountry|Antigua and Barbuda}}<ref>{{cite news |title=Antigua and Barbuda to Host the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 2026 |url=https://antiguanewsroom.com/antigua-and-barbuda-to-host-the-commonwealth-heads-of-government-meeting-in-2026/ |access-date=October 26, 2024 |work=Antigua Newsroom |date=October 25, 2024}}</ref>||[[St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda|St. John's]]||TBD||[[Gaston Browne]]||[[Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey]]
|}

<nowiki>*</nowiki>The 1986 and 2023 meetings were special sessions that fell outside the usual timetable. The 1986 CHOGM convened to discuss the issue of apartheid and only involved a handful of heads of government. The 2023 meeting (billed as 'Commonwealth Leaders' Summit') was an extraordinary session on the occasion of the [[Coronation of King Charles III]] and consisted of a leaders meeting at Marlborough House and a reception at Buckingham Palace. Heads of State were also in attendance and the position of Chair-In-Office did not transfer to the prime minister of the United Kingdom. According to a statement issued by the Commonwealth Secretariat "After their meeting with the King, leaders from the Commonwealth's 56 member states then met privately to discuss issues of mutual interest, including initiatives to support the empowerment of young people, as this year has been designated the Commonwealth Year of Youth."<ref name="thecommonwealth.org">{{cite web | url=https://thecommonwealth.org/news/commonwealth-leaders-pledge-continued-unity-and-empower-youth | title=Commonwealth leaders pledge continued unity and to empower youth }}</ref>

The [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2018|25th CHOGM]] was originally scheduled for [[Vanuatu]] in 2017 but the country rescinded its offer to host after [[Cyclone Pam]] devastated the country's infrastructure in March 2015.<ref>{{cite news |title = Commonwealth dream looms in Brexit campaign |url = https://www.bbc.com/news/business-34855940 |access-date=27 November 2015 |publisher = [[BBC News]] |date=26 November 2015 }}</ref> The meeting was rescheduled for the United Kingdom in the spring of 2018<ref>{{cite news |title = David Cameron: Commonwealth must fight corruption and extremism |url = https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-34953782 |publisher=BBC News|date=28 November 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title = Britain to host next Commonwealth summit in 2018 |url = http://www.globalpost.com/article/6695806/2015/11/28/britain-host-next-commonwealth-summit-2018 |access-date = 28 November 2015 |newspaper = [[Global Post]] |agency = [[Agence France-Presse]] |date = 28 November 2015 |archive-date = 8 December 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151208121223/http://www.globalpost.com/article/6695806/2015/11/28/britain-host-next-commonwealth-summit-2018 |url-status = dead }}</ref> which also resulted in the [[2022 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting|26th CHOGM]], originally scheduled for 2019, to be rescheduled for 22–27 June 2020.<ref name="comm">{{cite web |title = Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting Communiqué (CHOGM Malta 2015) |url = http://thecommonwealth.org/sites/default/files/news-items/documents/CHOGM%202015%20Communique.pdf |website=The Commonwealth |publisher=Commonwealth Secretariat |access-date=29 November 2015 }}</ref> However, due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic|coronavirus pandemic]], the 26th CHOGM was again postponed to 2022.

== Notes ==
{{NoteFoot}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050312090015/http://www.thecommonwealth.org/Templates/Internal.asp?NodeID=33250 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting page on the Commonwealth Secretariat web site]
* [http://www.chogm2007.ug ''Kampala' 2007''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071123204524/http://www.chogm2007.ug/ |date=23 November 2007 }}, CHOGM 2007 Official page
* {{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20070329205536/http://www.busiweek.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=41&Itemid=60/ ''CHOGM count Down'']}}, CHOGM News
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070117100202/http://www.aboutuganda.com/chogm/ CHOGM 2007], CHOGM 2007 Kampala Uganda, Updates and information
* [http://www.ugandaonline.net/chogm CHOGM 2007 Highlights & News], CHOGM 2007 Highlights
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120626154406/http://www.chogm2011.org/ CHOGM 2011], Australian Government
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130901184757/http://www.chogm2013.lk/ CHOGM 2013], CHOGM 2013 Official website

{{Clear}}
{{Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings}}
{{Commonwealth of Nations topics}}

[[Category:Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings| ]]