1980s
| Year | Date | Event |
| 1980 | 1 July | Shridath Ramphal begins his second term as Commonwealth Secretary-General. |
| 1 October | Zimbabwe, formerly Southern Rhodesia, joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom. | |
| 30 July | Vanuatu joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence from a joint France-United Kingdom condominium. | |
| 1981 | 21 September | Belize joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom. |
| 30 September | The sixth Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting convenes in Melbourne, Australia. | |
| 1 November | Antigua and Barbuda joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom. | |
| 1982 | 30 September | The 1982 Commonwealth Games open in Brisbane, Australia. |
| 9 July | Maldives joins the Commonwealth as a 'Special Member', having been granted independence by the United Kingdom in 1965. | |
| 1983 | 19 September | Saint Kitts and Nevis joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom. |
| 23 November | The seventh Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting convenes in New Delhi, India. | |
| 1984 | 1 January | Brunei joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom. |
| 1985 | 1 July | Shridath Ramphal begins his third term as Commonwealth Secretary-General. He becomes the first, and (so far) only, Secretary-General to serve three terms. |
| 20 July | Maldives becomes a full member of the Commonwealth, having joined as a 'Special Member' in 1982. | |
| 16 October | The eighth Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting convenes in Nassau, The Bahamas. | |
| 1986 | 24 July | The 1986 Commonwealth Games open in Edinburgh, the United Kingdom. The Games are boycotted by 32 countries, including almost all African, Caribbean, and Asian nations, to protest against the British government's attitude to sport in apartheid-era South Africa. |
| 3 August | The ninth Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting convenes in London, the United Kingdom. | |
| 1987 | 13 October | The tenth Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting convenes in Vancouver, Canada. It is the first meeting held outside the host country's capital city. |
| 15 October | Fiji is ejected from the Commonwealth of Nations by decision of the assembled Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, after two coups d'état. | |
| 1989 | 29 September | Cameroon applies for observer status in the Commonwealth, paving the way for its membership six years later. |
| 1 October | Pakistan rejoins to the Commonwealth. | |
| 18 October | The eleventh Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting convenes in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. | |
| 21 October | At the conclusion of the eleventh CHOGM, the assembled Commonwealth Heads of Government issue the Langkawi Declaration, committing Commonwealth members to environmental sustainability. |
Read more about this topic: Timeline Of Commonwealth Of Nations History