The 1926 Imperial Conference was the fifth Imperial Conference bringing together the prime ministers of the Dominions of the British Empire. It was held in London from 19 October to 23 November 1926. The conference was notable for producing the Balfour Declaration, which established the principle that the dominions are all equal in status, and "autonomous communities within the British Empire" not subordinate to the United Kingdom. The term "Commonwealth" was officially adopted to describe the community.
The conference was arranged to follow directly after the 1926 Assembly of the League of Nations (in Geneva, Switzerland), to reduce the amount of travelling required for the dominions' representatives.
The conference created the Inter-Imperial Relations Committee, chaired by Arthur Balfour, to look into future constitutional arrangements for the Commonwealth. In the end, the committee rejected the idea of a codified constitution, as espoused by South Africa's former Prime Minister Jan Smuts, but also fell short of endorsing the "end of empire" espoused by Smuts's arch-rival, Barry Hertzog. The recommendations were adopted unanimously by the conference on 15 November, followed by an equally warm reception in the newspapers.
Participants The conference was hosted by King-Emperor George V, with his Prime Ministers and members of their respective cabinets:
Nation Name Portfolio United Kingdom Stanley Baldwin Prime Minister (chairman) The Earl of Balfour Lord President of the Council Winston Churchill Chancellor of the Exchequer Sir Austen Chamberlain Foreign Secretary Sir William Joynson-Hicks Home Secretary Leo Amery Colonial Secretary and Dominions Secretary Sir Laming Worthington-Evans War Secretary Sir Samuel Hoare Air Secretary William Bridgeman First Lord of the Admiralty Sir Philip Cunliffe-Lister President of the Board of Trade The Viscount Cecil of Chelwood Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster The Earl of Clarendon Under Dominions Secretary William Ormsby-Gore Under Colonial Secretary Sir Philip Sassoon Under Air Secretary Australia Stanley Bruce Prime Minister Sir Neville Howse Minister for Defence and Minister for Health John Latham Attorney-General William Lyon Mackenzie King Prime Minister Ernest Lapointe Minister of Justice and Attorney General India The Earl of Birkenhead Secretary of State The Earl of Winterton Under-Secretary of State Irish Free State W. T. Cosgrave President of the Executive Council Kevin O'Higgins Vice-President of the Executive Council and Minister for Justice Desmond FitzGerald Minister for External Affairs Patrick McGilligan Minister for Industry and Commerce James McNeill Irish High Commissioner to United Kingdom Newfoundland Walter Stanley Monroe Prime Minister William J. Higgins Minister of Justice Alfred B. Morine Minister without portfolio New Zealand Gordon Coates Prime Minister Sir Francis Bell Minister without portfolio South Africa J. B. M. Hertzog Prime Minister Nicolaas Havenga Finance Minister
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