2000s
Year | Date | Event |
2000 | 1 April | New Zealand's Don McKinnon succeeds Chief Emeka Anyaoku as Commonwealth Secretary-General. |
6 June | The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group partially suspends Fiji from the Commonwealth with immediate effect. | |
2001 | 28 September | The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting that was due to convene on 6 October is cancelled in the aftermath of the 11 September terrorist attacks on the United States. |
6 October | The seventeenth Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting was due to convene in Brisbane, Australia. | |
20 December | The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group lifts Fiji's suspension from the Commonwealth, but keeps it on the agenda until the Supreme Court rules on the government's constitutionality. | |
2002 | 30 January | The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group approves Pervez Musharraf's roadmap for the October general election. |
2 March | The seventeenth Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting convenes in Coolum, Australia. John Howard becomes Commonwealth Chairperson-in-Office. | |
19 March | After Commonwealth election observers report that Zimbabwe's presidential election was rife with fraud and intimidation, the troika, led by John Howard, announces Zimbabwe's immediate suspension from the Commonwealth. | |
25 July | The 2002 Commonwealth Games open in Manchester, the United Kingdom. | |
2003 | 5 December | The eighteenth Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting convenes in Abuja, Nigeria. Olusegun Obasanjo becomes Commonwealth Chairperson-in-Office. |
New Zealand's Don McKinnon is re-elected as Commonwealth Secretary-General in a surprise competitive election by forty votes to eleven against Sri Lanka's Lakshman Kadirgamar. | ||
7 December | Robert Mugabe personally announces Zimbabwe's immediate withdrawal from the Commonwealth, in wake of his failure to have his country's suspension lifted. | |
8 December | At the conclusion of the eighteenth CHOGM, the assembled Commonwealth Heads of Government issue the Aso Rock Declaration, reaffirming the Commonwealth's commitment to the Harare Declaration. | |
2004 | 1 April | Don McKinnon begins his second term as Commonwealth Secretary-General. |
22 May | The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group lifts Pakistan's suspension from the Commonwealth with immediate effect. | |
2005 | 7 April | The International Organisations Act 2005 is passed in the United Kingdom, amending the Commonwealth Secretariat Act 1966. |
25 November | The nineteenth Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting convenes in Valletta, Malta. Lawrence Gonzi becomes Commonwealth Chairperson-in-Office. | |
2006 | 15 March | The 2006 Commonwealth Games open in Melbourne, Australia. |
8 December | The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group suspends Fiji from the Commonwealth with immediate effect. | |
2007 | 24 October | The Committee on Commonwealth Membership makes recommendations on changes to the membership criteria of the Commonwealth. |
22 November | The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group suspends Pakistan from the Commonwealth with immediate effect. | |
23 November | The twentieth Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting convenes in Kampala, Uganda. Yoweri Museveni becomes Commonwealth Chairperson-in-Office. | |
2008 | 1 April | India's Kamalesh Sharma succeeds Don McKinnon as Commonwealth Secretary-General. |
22 May | The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group lifts Pakistan's suspension from the Commonwealth with immediate effect. | |
2009 | 1 September | Fiji's suspension is increased to a full suspension, following a failure to commit to the restoration of electoral government by 2010. |
27 November | The twenty-first Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting convenes in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. Patrick Manning becomes Commonwealth Chairperson-in-Office. | |
2010 | 26 May | Kamla Persad-Bissessar becomes Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, and thus succeeds Patrick Manning as Commonwealth Chairperson-in-Office. |
3 October | The 2010 Commonwealth Games open in Delhi, India. | |
2011 | 28 October | The twenty-second Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting convenes in Perth, Australia. Julia Gillard becomes Commonwealth Chairperson-in-Office. Perth Agreement. |
Read more about this topic: Timeline Of Commonwealth Of Nations History