1946 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference facts for kids

Quick facts for kids 2nd Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference
Host country	United Kingdom
Dates	23 April 1946– 25 May 1946
Cities	London
Participants	5
Chair	Clement Attlee (Prime Minister of the United Kingdom)
Follows	1944
Precedes	1948
Key points
Post-war settlement and peace treaties, Commonwealth security arrangements, United Nations

The 1946 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference was an important meeting where leaders from different countries in the British Commonwealth came together. It was the second time these "Heads of Government" met. The meeting happened in the United Kingdom from April to May 1946. Clement Attlee, who was the Prime Minister at the time, hosted the event.

The main talks were about how to fix things after World War II. They discussed political and economic plans for peace. The leaders also showed strong support for creating the United Nations. They believed the UN could help keep peace and make the world safer. They also wanted to improve how people lived and spread freedom everywhere.

This meeting was the last one that only included leaders from the "Old Commonwealth" countries. These were mainly nations with a majority white population, plus South Africa.

Interestingly, Ireland did not join the conference. Even though the British Commonwealth still saw Ireland as a member, Ireland chose not to attend. They felt it was not right to be there because the meeting was about war-related topics. Ireland had not taken part in any similar conferences since 1932.

Who Attended the 1946 Meeting?

This conference brought together important leaders from several Commonwealth countries. They were all "Heads of Government," meaning they were the top leaders of their nations.

Nation	Name	Role
United Kingdom	Clement Attlee	Prime Minister (He led the meeting)
Australia	Ben Chifley	Prime Minister
Canada	William Lyon Mackenzie King	Prime Minister
New Zealand	Walter Nash	Deputy Prime Minister
South Africa	Jan Smuts	Prime Minister