# 1937 Imperial Conference > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/1937_Imperial_Conference > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/1937_Imperial_Conference.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1937_Imperial_Conference > Source revision: 1353255741 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) 1937 Imperial Conference Host country United Kingdom Date 14 May–24 June 1937 Cities London Venues St. James’s Palace Heads of State or Government 8 Chair Stanley Baldwin (to 28 May), Neville Chamberlain (from 28 May) (Prime Minister of the United Kingdom) Follows 1932 Precedes 1944 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference Key points The **1937 Imperial Conference** was held in London from 14 May to 24 June 1937, following the [coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth](/source/Coronation_of_George_VI_and_Elizabeth) on 12 May.[1] It was the eighth and final [Imperial Conference](/source/Imperial_Conference) and the last meeting of British and dominion prime ministers held until World War II. Topics included the foreign affairs and defence - in particular whether or not the foreign policies of the dominions should follow that of the British government, trade policy and constitutional arrangements.[2] On the last question, the proposal for an [Imperial Federation](/source/Imperial_Federation) was discussed and dismissed. The conference was attended by representatives of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Southern Rhodesia and Burma. Newfoundland was represented by the [UK Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs](/source/UK_Secretary_of_State_for_Dominion_Affairs) and the colonial empire by the [UK Secretary of State for the Colonies](/source/UK_Secretary_of_State_for_the_Colonies). It was the first [Imperial Conference](/source/Imperial_Conference) in which the [Irish Free State](/source/Irish_Free_State) chose not to participate.[3] Nonetheless, the Irish Free State was still regarded as a Commonwealth member. Delegates attended plenary meetings for the opening and closing sessions of the Conference, on 14 May and 15 June respectively, and during the intervening month there were twenty meetings of principal delegates. Sub-committees gave specialised attention to a number of topics, including imperial shipping, economic questions, constitutional questions, civil air communications, [Antarctica](/source/Antarctica) and the [New Hebrides](/source/New_Hebrides). During the conference, on 28 May, there was a changeover in the office of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from [Stanley Baldwin](/source/Stanley_Baldwin) to [Neville Chamberlain](/source/Neville_Chamberlain). New Zealand Prime Minister [Michael Joseph Savage](/source/Michael_Joseph_Savage) attended, with High Commissioner [Bill Jordan](/source/Bill_Jordan_(politician)) and civil servant [Carl Berendsen](/source/Carl_Berendsen) (who recalled that neither Ireland or South Africa were represented). The [New Zealand government](/source/First_Labour_Government_of_New_Zealand) was opposed to [appeasement](/source/Appeasement) and [Italy's invasion of Abyssinia](/source/Second_Italo-Ethiopian_War) (Ethiopia). Savage criticised appeasement at the conference, saying "Is your policy peace at any price; if it is so I cannot accept it". [Anthony Eden](/source/Anthony_Eden) replied "No, not at any price, but peace at almost any price", to which Savage replied: "You can pay too high a price even for peace".[4] ## The Conference The conference was hosted by [King-Emperor](/source/King-Emperor) [George VI](/source/George_VI), with his Prime Ministers and members of their respective cabinets: Nation Name Portfolio United Kingdom Stanley Baldwin (until 28 May) Neville Chamberlain (from 28 May) Prime Minister (Chairman) Australia Joseph Lyons Prime Minister Burma Ba Maw Chief Minister Canada William Lyon Mackenzie King Prime Minister India The Marquess of Zetland Secretary of State New Zealand Michael Joseph Savage Prime Minister Southern Rhodesia Godfrey Huggins Prime Minister South Africa J. B. M. Hertzog Prime Minister ## References ### Sources - ["Imperial Conference, 1937. Summary of Proceedings"](https://atojs.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/atojs?a=d&d=AJHR1937-I.2.1.2.10). *Journals of the House of Representatives*. Session I Appendix, A-07. New Zealand. 1937. ### Citations 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Wilson, Robert R. (1938). ["The Imperial Conference of 1937"](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-journal-of-international-law/article/imperial-conference-of-1937/75010AB88F3A4D9956AC8CD1EA781250). *American Journal of International Law*. **32** (2): 335–339. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.2307/2190981](https://doi.org/10.2307%2F2190981). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0002-9300](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0002-9300). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [2190981](https://www.jstor.org/stable/2190981). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Soward, F. H. (1937). ["The Imperial Conference of 1937"](https://www.jstor.org/stable/2750628). *Pacific Affairs*. **10** (4): 441–449. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.2307/2750628](https://doi.org/10.2307%2F2750628). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0030-851X](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0030-851X). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Dáil Éireann 27/Apr/1937 wherein President de Valera said "the circumstances were such that the interests of the State would [not] be served by going [to the Conference]" 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Berendsen, Carl (2009). *Mr Ambassador: Memoirs of Sir Carl Berendsen*. Wellington: Victoria University Press. pp. 128–9. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780864735843](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780864735843). v t e Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings Colonial and Imperial Conferences 1887 1894 1897 1902 1907 1911 1917–1918 1921 1923 1926 1930 1932 1937 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conferences 1944 1946 1948 1949 1951 1952 1953 1955 1956 1957 1960 1961 1962 1964 1965 1966 (Jan) 1966 (Sept) 1969 Heads of Government Meetings 1971 1973 1975 1977 1979 1981 1983 1985 1986 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2002 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2018 2022 2024 2026 This article related to the politics of the United Kingdom, or its predecessor or constituent states, is a stub. 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