High commissioner (Commonwealth)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

In the Commonwealth of Nations, a high commissioner is the senior diplomat, generally ranking as an ambassador, in charge of the diplomatic mission of one Commonwealth government to another. Instead of an embassy, the diplomatic mission is generally called a high commission.[1]

History

In the

dominions were headed by a governor-general
.

For example, when

high commissioners for Palestine
.

A high commissioner could also be charged with the last phase of

governor
became high commissioner in 1975, when self-rule under the Crown was granted, until 1976, when the archipelago became an independent republic within the Commonwealth.

Other usage

As diplomatic

residents (as diplomatic ranks were codified, this became a lower class than ambassadors and high commissioners) were sometimes appointed to native rulers, high commissioners could likewise be appointed as British agents of indirect rule over native states. Thus high commissioners could be charged with managing diplomatic relations with native rulers and their states (analogous to the resident minister), and might have under them several resident commissioners
or similar agents attached to each state.

In regions of particular importance, a commissioner-general was appointed to have control over several high commissioners and governors, e.g. the commissioner-general for South-East Asia had responsibility for Malaya, Singapore and British Borneo.[2]

The first high commissioner of India to London was appointed in 1920; he had no political role, but mostly dealt with the business interests of the 'Indian Federation'. The first agent of the Indian government was appointed to South Africa in 1927.[3]

Although not a dominion, the self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia was represented in the United Kingdom by a high commission in London, while the United Kingdom similarly had a high commission in Salisbury. Following the Unilateral Declaration of Independence by the government of Ian Smith in 1965, the Rhodesian high commissioner, Andrew Skeen was expelled from London, while his British counterpart, Sir John Johnston, was withdrawn by the British government.[4]

Governors also acting as high commissioners

The role of

Boer
settlements.

Historically, the

Governor-General of the Union of South Africa
who was also the British high commissioner for Bechuanaland, Basutoland, and Swaziland until the 1930s, with various local representatives, then by the British high commissioner (from 1961 ambassador) to South Africa, who was represented locally in each by a resident commissioner.

The British governor of the Crown colony of the Straits Settlements, based in Singapore, doubled as high commissioner of the Federated Malay States, and had authority over the resident-general in Kuala Lumpur, who in turn was responsible for the various residents appointed to the native rulers of the Malay states under British protection.

The

Resident Commissioner, Consul or other official (on tiny Pitcairn Islands a mere chief magistrate
).

The

governor of the Pitcairn Islands.[5]

Dominions

The first

high commissioner of Canada to the United Kingdom in 1880.[6]

New Zealand appointed a high commissioner in 1905, in place of a resident agent-general who had been appointed since 1871. Australia did the same in 1910, and South Africa in 1911.[7]

The British government continued not to appoint high commissioners to the Dominions, holding that the British government was already represented by the relevant governor-general or governor.[

Balfour Declaration made at the Imperial Conference of 1926 that established that governors-general in the independent Dominions were not the representatives of the United Kingdom government but the personal representatives of the monarch. In 1930, Australia broke another tradition by insisting that the monarch act on the advice of the Australian prime minister in the appointment of the governor-general, and insisted on the appointment of Sir Isaac Isaacs, the first Australian-born person to serve in the office. The practice became the norm throughout the Commonwealth. The first British high commissioner to a dominion was appointed in 1928 to Canada. South Africa received a British high commissioner in 1930; Australia in 1936; and New Zealand in 1939.[7]

The first high-ranking official envoy from one dominion to another was appointed by South Africa to Canada in 1938.

high commissioner to Australia
in 1943.

In 1973, the then Australian Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam, proposed that the title be replaced with that of ambassador, but other Commonwealth members in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean indicated a preference for keeping the separate title and status of high commissioner, and the matter was not pursued further.[9]

Current practice

The Tanzanian High Commission in London. Tanzania and the United Kingdom are both members of the Commonwealth of Nations.

The term is used across all 56 member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, as diplomatic relations between these countries are traditionally at a governmental level rather than at the Head of State level, as is otherwise common. This is because traditionally these Commonwealth states shared a head of state, the Monarch of the United Kingdom (currently Charles III).[10] In diplomatic usage, a high commissioner is considered equivalent in rank and role to an ambassador, and carries the full title of "High Commissioner Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary".[11][12][13]

A high commissioner from one Commonwealth state to another carries a simple and often informal letter of introduction from one

His Britannic Majesty
's Ambassador".

For historical reasons, high commissioners are also appointed even in the case of republics in the Commonwealth and indigenous monarchies (e.g. the kingdoms of Tonga, Eswatini, etc., who have monarchs other than the reigning British monarch) within the Commonwealth. In this case, letters of commission are usually issued by one head of state and presented to the other. However, some Commonwealth governments may choose to use the more informal method of issuing prime-ministerial letters of introduction, while other governments have opted instead for letters of credence.

Instead of embassies, the diplomatic missions of Commonwealth countries are called high commissions, although it is possible for a country to appoint a high commissioner without having a permanent mission in the other country: e.g. the British high commissioner in Suva, Fiji, is also accredited as high commissioner to Kiribati, Tuvalu and Tonga. Zimbabwe, as a Commonwealth country, traditionally had high commissioners in other Commonwealth countries. When it withdrew from the Commonwealth, it changed the style of its high commissions to embassies.

Outside the capital, practice is less standard. Subordinate commissioners or deputy high commissioners may be appointed instead of

consuls, and the commissioner's mission may be known as a consulate, commission or deputy high commission. Historically, in British colonies, independent Commonwealth countries were represented by commissions. For example, Canada,[14] Australia[15] and New Zealand[16] maintained commissions in Singapore, while following its independence in 1947, India established commissions in Kenya,[17] Trinidad and Tobago,[18] and Mauritius[19]
which became high commissions on independence.

Similarly, when Hong Kong was under

China in 1997, these were replaced by consulates-general, as in other non-capital cities in non-Commonwealth countries, with the last commissioner becoming the first consul-general.[26] Canada formerly had a commissioner to Bermuda, although this post was held by the consul-general to New York City,[27][28] but there is now an honorary Canadian consulate on the island.[29]

Despite the differences in terminology, Commonwealth high commissioners have, since 1948, enjoyed the same

funerals
.

See also

References

Citations

  1. ^ "Embassies - Commonwealth of Nations". commonwealthofnations.org. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  2. ^ Archives, The National. "The Discovery Service". discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  3. ISBN 90-04-15497-3
    , p. 131
  4. Daily Telegraph
    , 25 October 2005
  5. ^ Lansford, Tom (ed.). Political Handbook of the World 2014. p. 1531. The British high commissioner to New Zealand serves as governor
  6. ISBN 9780773560123
    . Retrieved 18 March 2018 – via Google Books.
  7. ^ a b "What's in a name?" – The curious tale of the office of high commissioner, by Lorna Lloyd
  8. ISBN 90-04-15497-3
    , p. 58
  9. ISBN 90-04-15497-3
    , p. 261
  10. ^ "Embassies - Commonwealth of Nations". commonwealthofnations.org. Archived from the original on 19 March 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  11. ^ "President Ali accepts Letter of Credence from new UK High Commissioner – Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation| Co-operative Republic of Guyana".
  12. ^ "Overseas diplomatic missions" (PDF). svgconsulate.vc. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  13. ^ "High Commissioner Omar met with the Foreign Secretary – High Commission of Maldives, Colombo".
  14. ^ Colonial Reports Report on Sarawak, Great Britain, Colonial Office 1961, page 7
  15. ^ Losing the Blanket: Australia and the End of Britain's Empire, David Goldsworthy Melbourne University Publish, 2002, page 28
  16. ^ External Affairs Review, Volume 6, New Zealand. Dept. of External Affairs 1956, page 41
  17. ^ Indian Coffee: Bulletin of the Indian Coffee Board, Volume 21, Coffee Board, 1957, page 202
  18. ^ Caribbean Studies, Volume 16, Institute of Caribbean Studies, University of Puerto Rico, 1977, page 22
  19. ^ The Establishment and Cultivation of Modern Standard Hindi in Mauritius, Lutchmee Parsad Ramyead, Mahatma Gandhi Institute, 1985, page 86
  20. ^ 2 China Dissidents Granted Asylum, Fly to Vancouver, Los Angeles Times, 17 September 1992
  21. Sydney Morning Herald
    , 18 August 1982
  22. New Zealand Herald
    , 27 March 2006
  23. ^ Indians in Limbo as 1997 Hand-over Date Draws Nearer, Inter Press Service, 12 February 1996
  24. ^ Officials puzzled by Malaysian decision, New Straits Times, 3 July 1984
  25. ^ Singapore Lure Stirs Crowds In Hong Kong, Chicago Tribune, 12 July 1989
  26. ^ In the swing of things Archived 23 October 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Embassy Magazine, September 2010
  27. ^ "The Canadian Commission to Bermuda". international.gc.ca. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  28. ^ "Canada's One-Time Bermuda Diplomat Dies - Bernews". bernews.com. 23 November 2011. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  29. ^ Embassies and consulates - Bermuda

Sources

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