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Head of the Commonwealth
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The Head of the Commonwealth is the highest position within the Commonwealth of Nations, an international organisation which currently has 53 member states. The first Head of the Commonwealth was King George VI, the British monarch who was also head of state of many states and territories within the British Empire.
The current and second Head of the Commonwealth is Queen Elizabeth II.
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Encyclopedia
The Head of the Commonwealth is the highest position within the Commonwealth of Nations, an international organisation which currently has 53 member states. The first Head of the Commonwealth was King George VI, the British monarch who was also head of state of many states and territories within the British Empire.
The current and second Head of the Commonwealth is Queen Elizabeth II. Within the current 53 Commonwealth members, 16 are normally described as Commonwealth realms, where Elizabeth II serves separately as head of state in her capacity as sovereign. Other members are Commonwealth republics, such as South Africa, with India becoming the first republic within the Commonwealth in January 1950. These countries do not have Elizabeth II as head of state, and instead have elected presidents. A smaller number, including Tonga, Swaziland, and Brunei, have monarchs of a different Royal house. Fiji recognises Elizabeth II as its Paramount Chief, but the Fijian President serves as head of state.
Within the Commonwealth, different names for the Head of the Commonwealth are used with regard to different languages. The official French version for use in Canada is Chef du Commonwealth; the South African version in Afrikaans is Hoof van die Statebond which literally means Chief of the Confederation. The common Afrikaans word for Commonwealth is 'Gemenebes'.
Title
The title was devised in 1949 (see below), however, was not added to the monarch's style until 1953. In that year, a Royal Style and Titles Act was passed separately in each of the seven Realms then existing (except Pakistan), which gave formal recognition to the separateness and the equality of the Realms by entitling the Queen as "Queen of [Realm] and her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth."
Position
The role of the "Head" of the Commonwealth is perhaps best compared to that of a ceremonial president, but for life: unlike a chairman or secretary general of any other international organisation, the Head of the Commonwealth is a symbol of the association – without executive power, yet playing a very important role in shaping the Commonwealth. In this sense it reflects the more traditional role of monarchy; Elizabeth II's powers are theoretically very large, but in practice are never exercised. Elizabeth II serves more as a figurehead, while real power is invested in other roles within the Commonwealth, including the Commonwealth Secretary-General, (currently Kamalesh Sharma), and Commonwealth Chairperson-in-Office, (currently Yoweri Museveni).
The title is not vested in the Crown. However, the assumption is that the title itself would become extinct were it not held by the shared monarch, and no new suggestions have ever been put forward by any of the Commonwealth member-countries as to who, if anyone, should take on the role currently exercised by Queen Elizabeth II. In all probability, therefore, her successor as monarch will also succeed to the role of the Head of the Commonwealth.
The Head of the Commonwealth is recognised by its members as the "symbol of their free association", attends Commonwealth Heads of Government summits and the Commonwealth Games, which are held every four years, and on every Commonwealth Day, which is the second Monday in March, broadcasts a message to all member countries.
Every two years a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) is held, at locations throughout the Commonwealth. The Head of the Commonwealth is normally present in the host country, and has a series of private meetings with the Commonwealth countries' leaders and attends a CHOGM reception and dinner, and makes a speech there. The latest CHOGM was held in November 2007 in Uganda; the next meeting will be held in 2009 in Trinidad and Tobago.
History
The London Declaration of 1949, devised by Canadian Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent stated that the monarch would be a symbol of the free association of independent countries, and as such the Head of the Commonwealth. These words meant that kingdoms that were not Commonwealth Realms, as well as republics, could remain members - they could recognise the monarch as Head of the Commonwealth without accepting the person as the country's head of state. Thus when the Union of India became the Republic of India as a result of its new constition on January 26 1950, two years after India had declared indepence from the United Kingdom on August 15 1947(Independence Day), it recognised George VI as the symbol of the association, but not as its head of state.
When Elizabeth II came to the throne in 1952 she became Head of the Commonwealth.
On her accession she said
In December 1960, the Queen had a personal flag created to symbolise her as an individual and not associated with her role as Queen of the United Kingdom. Over time, the flag started to be used in place of the Royal Standard when the Queen visited Commonwealth countries where she was not head of state and for Commonwealth occasions in the United Kingdom to symbolise the Queen's role as Head of the Commonwealth. When the Queen visits Marlborough House in London, headquarters of the Commonwealth Secretariat, her personal standard is raised and not the Royal Standard.
List of Heads of the Commonwealth
| Name | Portrait | Birth | Death | Start | End |
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| George VI | | 14 December 1895 | 6 February 1952 | 28 April 1949 | 6 February 1952 | | Elizabeth II | | 21 April 1926 | Living | 6 February 1952 | Incumbent |
See also
Footnotes
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