Founding of the South Pacific Forum (Pacific Islands Forum)
- Date
- 5-7 August 1971
- Category
- Politics & governance
- Region
- Oceania
- Era
- Contemporary
- Significance
The South Pacific Forum, later renamed the Pacific Islands Forum, was established at an inaugural meeting held in Wellington, New Zealand, from 5 to 7 August 1971.
It grew out of a proposal by Cook Islands Premier Albert Henry for a political body that newly independent and self-governing Pacific states could control, in contrast to the colonial-era South Pacific Commission. Seven founding participants attended: Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga, Western Samoa (Samoa), Nauru, and the Cook Islands, who discussed trade, shipping, tourism, and education as matters of common regional concern. The Forum became the premier intergovernmental organisation of Oceania, fostering economic cooperation, a regional trade bloc, and a collective political voice on issues such as decolonisation, nuclear testing, and later climate change. In 1999 it adopted the name Pacific Islands Forum to better reflect its membership spanning both the north and south Pacific, and it grew to include eighteen members with a Secretariat based in Suva, Fiji.
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Empires active in 5-7 August 1971
- Soviet Union1922 CE – 1991 CE
- British Empire1583 CE – 1997 CE
- Spanish Empire1492 CE – 1976 CE
- Portuguese Empire1415 CE – 1999 CE
- Solomonic dynasty1270 CE – 1974 CE
- Dutch Empire1581 CE – 1975 CE
Related politics & governance events
- Treaty of Rarotonga establishes the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone6 August 1985
- Iranian RevolutionJanuary–February 1979
- Construction of the Berlin Wall13 August 1961
- Gorbachev's glasnost and perestroika1985–1991 (from 11 March 1985)
- Fall of the Berlin Wall9 November 1989
- Revolutions of 1989 across Eastern Europe1989 (Autumn of Nations)
Also relevant
- Ferdinand Marcos Declares Martial Law in the Philippines1972
- Idi Amin Seizes Power and Expels Uganda's Asians1971–1972
- Nixon's visit to China and the SALT I détente agreementsFebruary & May 1972
Further reading
The wider story
A History of the Pacific Islands
The standard accessible overview of Oceania from settlement to the modern era.
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