1997 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

It was the largest summit in modern Commonwealth history up to that point (a title to be taken from it by the 1999 CHOGM), with forty-two heads of state or government.Most notable, however, was the emergence of the civil society fringe of the 'People's Commonwealth', transforming a conference of policy-makers into a cultural celebration.[2] The appearance of Queen Elizabeth II, Head of the Commonwealth, at the opening of the CHOGM was a novelty.The monarch had never appeared at a CHOGM before, and it marked the beginning of a renewed interest in the Commonwealth from the monarchy.[1] This was a result of a large number of newcomers to CHOGM, with twenty countries having new leaders, and the consequent requirement to build new personal relationships, which was compounded by the short retreat, which lasted only a few hours,[1] but at which most business is usually done.
United KingdomSt AndrewsEdinburghTony BlairPrime MinisterDevelopmentFree tradeMembership criteriaEdinburgh DeclarationMicrostatesNigeriaMeetingHeads of GovernmentCommonwealth of NationsScotland1999 CHOGMAhmad Tejan KabbahPresident of Sierra Leonecivil societyElizabeth IIHead of the Commonwealthpreceding meeting in AucklandHarare DeclarationRobert CassenDavid GreenawayglobalisationIngram, DerekThe Round TableCommonwealth Heads of Government MeetingsColonial and Imperial Conferences1917–1918Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conferences1966 (Jan)1966 (Sept)Heads of Government Meetings