The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), previously known as the Empire Parliamentary Association, is an organisation which works to support good governance, democracy and human rights.
As of 1989, the CPA acknowledges as Patron – the Head of the Commonwealth, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II – and as Vice-Patron, by rotation Heads of State of the Commonwealth national government hosting its upcoming annual Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference. The Association's supreme authority is the General Assembly, constituted by delegates to the annual Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference.[1] The business and activities of the CPA are managed by an Executive Committee, which reports to the General Assembly. The CPA's funds are derived from membership fees paid by its branches, as well as from two trust funds and benefactors.
The official publication of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association is The Parliamentarian, the Journal of Commonwealth Parliaments. The organisation administers the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP), a group across the Commonwealth which promotes greater representation for women in Parliament and the Commonwealth Youth Parliament, an annual gathering of young people hosted by a Commonwealth Parliament.
The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) currently has 181 branches and is divided into nine regions – Africa; Asia; Australia; British Islands and Mediterranean; Canada; Caribbean, Americas and Atlantic; India; Pacific, and South-East Asia. The CPA Secretariat is based in London.
History
CPA African Branch meeting, 2014
The CPA was founded as the Empire Parliamentary Association in 1911, with its first branches being Australia, Canada, Newfoundland, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom, the latter branch administering the Association as a whole. In 1948 the Association changed its name to the current Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, and invited all branches to participate in the organisation's administration.
Officers
The current Chair of the CPA Executive Committee is Hon. Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, Speaker of Jatiyo Sangsad Bhaban of Bangladesh,[2] who succeeded Rt Hon. Sir Alan Haselhurst MP (2011 – 2014), formerly Chairman of Ways and Means of the UK Parliament.
The current Vice-Chair is Hon. Shirley Osborne MLA, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Montserrat.
The current Acting Treasurer is Hon. Vicki Dunne, Speaker of Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly.
The current Chair of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians is Rt Hon. Rebecca Kadaga, Speaker of Parliament of Uganda.
Secretaries-General
The CPA's 7th Secretary-General is Mr Akbar Khan.[3]
Previous Secretaries-General have been:
Dr. William F. Shija, former Minister Tanzania Parliament (2007 – 2014); Hon. Denis Marshall, former Minister New Zealand Parliament (2002 – 2006); Hon. Arthur Donahoe, former Speaker Nova Scotia House of Assembly (1993 – 2001); Hon. Dr. David Tonkin, former Premier South Australia (1986 – 1992); Sir Robin Vandervelt from South Africa (1961 – 1985); Sir Howard d’Egville (1949 - 1960).[4]
Members
Members of the CPA are listed below. Both national and subnational parliaments are included.
| Members |
National and Sub-National Parliaments |
|---|
 Alderney |
States of Alderney |
 Anguilla |
Parliament of Anguilla |
 Antigua and Barbuda |
Parliament of Antigua and Barbuda |
 Australia |
Parliament of Australia. Australia National Branch has withdrawn from the CPA.
 Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly,
 Parliament of New South Wales,
 Northern Territory Legislative Assembly,
 Parliament of Queensland,
 Parliament of South Australia,
 Parliament of Tasmania,
.svg.png) Parliament of Victoria,
 Parliament of Western Australia
|
 The Bahamas |
Parliament of the Bahamas |
 Bangladesh |
Parliament of Bangladesh |
 Barbados |
Parliament of Barbados |
 Belize |
Parliament of Belize |
 Bermuda |
Parliament of Bermuda |
 Botswana |
Parliament of Botswana |
 British Virgin Islands |
House of Assembly of the British Virgin Islands |
 Cameroon |
National Assembly of Cameroon |
 Canada |
Parliament of Canada
 Legislative Assembly of Alberta,
 Legislative Assembly of British Columbia,
 Legislative Assembly of Manitoba,
 Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick,
 Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly,
 Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories,
 Nova Scotia House of Assembly,
 Legislative Assembly of Nunavut,
 Legislative Assembly of Ontario,
 Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island,
 National Assembly of Quebec,
 Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan,
 Yukon Legislative Assembly
|
 Cayman Islands |
Legislative Assembly of the Cayman Islands |
 Cook Islands |
Parliament of the Cook Islands |
 Cyprus |
House of Representatives of Cyprus |
 Dominica |
House of Assembly of Dominica |
 Falkland Islands |
Legislative Assembly of the Falkland Islands |
 Fiji |
Parliament of Fiji |
 Ghana |
Parliament of Ghana |
 Gibraltar |
Gibraltar Parliament |
 Grenada |
Parliament of Grenada |
 Guernsey |
States of Guernsey |
 Guyana |
National Assembly of Guyana |
 India |
Parliament of India
Andhra Pradesh Legislature,
Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly,
 Assam Legislative Assembly,
 Bihar Legislative Assembly,
Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly,
 Delhi Legislative Assembly,
Goa Legislative Assembly,
 Gujarat Legislative Assembly,
Haryana Legislative Assembly,
Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly,
 Jammu and Kashmir Legislature,
Jharkhand Legislative Assembly,
 Karnataka Legislative Assembly,
Kerala Legislature,
Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly,
 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly,
Manipur Legislative Assembly,
 Meghalaya Legislative Assembly,
 Mizoram Legislative Assembly,
Nagaland Legislative Assembly,
Odisha Legislative Assembly,
 Puducherry Legislative Assembly,
 Punjab Legislative Assembly,
Rajasthan Legislative Assembly,
 Sikkim Legislative Assembly,
 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly,
Telangana Legislative Assembly,
 Tripura Legislative Assembly,
Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly,
 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly, |
 Isle of Man |
High Court of Tynwald |
 Jamaica |
Parliament of Jamaica |
 Jersey |
States of Jersey |
 Kenya |
Parliament of Kenya |
 Kiribati |
House of Assembly (Kiribati) |
 Lesotho |
Parliament of Lesotho |
 Malawi |
Parliament of Malawi |
 Malaysia |
Parliament of Malaysia
 Johor State Legislative Assembly,
 Kedah State Legislative Assembly,
 Kelantan State Legislative Assembly,
 Malacca State Legislative Assembly,
 Negeri Sembilan State Legislative Assembly,
 Pahang State Legislative Assembly,
.svg.png) Penang State Legislative Assembly,
 Perak State Legislative Assembly,
 Perlis State Legislative Assembly,
 Sabah State Legislative Assembly,
 Sarawak State Legislative Assembly,
 Selangor State Legislative Assembly,
 Terengganu State Legislative Assembly
|
 Maldives |
People's Majlis |
 Malta |
Parliament of Malta |
 Mauritius |
Parliament of Mauritius |
 Montserrat |
Legislative Assembly of Montserrat |
 Mozambique |
Parliament of Mozambique |
 Namibia |
Parliament of Namibia |
 Nauru |
Parliament of Nauru |
 New Zealand |
Parliament of New Zealand |
 Nigeria |
Parliament of Nigeria
Abia State
Adamawa State,
Akwa Ibom State,
Anambra State,
Bauchi State,
Bayelsa State,
Benue State
Borno State,
Cross River State,
Delta State,
Ebonyi State,
Edo State,
Ekiti State,
Enugu State,
Gombe State,
Imo State,
Jigawa State,
Kaduna State,
Kano State,
Katsina State,
Kebbi State,
Kogi State
Kwara State,
Lagos State,
Nasarawa State,
Niger State,
Ogun State,
Ondo State,
Osun State,
Oyo State,
Plateau State,
Rivers State,
Sokoto State,
Taraba State,
Yobe State
Zamfara State |
 Niue |
Niue Assembly |
 Pakistan |
Parliament of Pakistan
 Provincial Assembly of Balochistan,
 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly,
 Provincial Assembly of the Punjab,
 Provincial Assembly of Sindh
|
 Papua New Guinea |
Parliament of Papua New Guinea
 Bougainville House of Representatives
|
 Rwanda |
Parliament of Rwanda |
 Samoa |
Legislative Assembly of Samoa |
 Seychelles |
Parliament of Seychelles |
 Sierra Leone |
Parliament of Sierra Leone |
 Singapore |
Parliament of Singapore |
 Solomon Islands |
National Parliament of the Solomon Islands |
 South Africa |
Parliament of South Africa
Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature,
Free State Legislature,
Gauteng Provincial Legislature,
KwaZulu-Natal Legislature,
Limpopo Legislature,
Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature,
Northern Cape Provincial Legislature,
North West Provincial Legislature,
Western Cape Provincial Parliament |
 Sri Lanka |
Parliament of Sri Lanka |
 Saint Helena |
Legislative Council of Saint Helena |
 Saint Kitts and Nevis. Also known as Saint Christopher and Nevis. |
National Assembly (Saint Kitts and Nevis)
 Nevis Island Assembly
|
 Saint Lucia |
Parliament of Saint Lucia |
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
House of Assembly of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
 Swaziland |
Parliament of Swaziland |
 Tanzania |
Parliament of Tanzania
Zanzibar House of Representatives |
 Tonga |
Legislative Assembly of Tonga |
 Trinidad and Tobago |
Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago |
 Turks and Caicos Islands |
Turks and Caicos Islands House of Assembly |
 Tuvalu |
Parliament of Tuvalu |
 Uganda |
Parliament of Uganda |
 United Kingdom |
Parliament of the United Kingdom
 Scotland, Scottish Parliament
 Wales, Welsh Assembly
 Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland Assembly
|
 Vanuatu |
Parliament of Vanuatu - CPA Branch currently in suspension. |
 Zambia |
Parliament of Zambia |
Additional links
References
Notes
External links
National and sub-national legislatures of the United Kingdom |
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| Devolved | |
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| British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies | |
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| Miscellaneous | |
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