The Parliamentarian: A century of publishing (1920-2020)

Early editions of the Journal of the Parliaments of the Empire.

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The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) traces its origin to a world vastly different from today. When the CPA was founded in 1911 as the Empire Parliamentary Association, the world had scarcely two dozen nations which were parliamentary democracies. The British Empire was composed of one sovereign parliamentary democracy, five dominions, a handful of tiny protectorates and a vast array of colonies.

Today, the United Nations has 193 member states, 54 of them in the Commonwealth. The CPA’s membership of 180 Branches also includes fourteen Overseas Territories, three Crown Dependencies and more than 125 sub-national states, provinces and territories in federal-style countries, all with their own Parliaments or Legislatures. Some of the states and provinces and their Legislatures are far larger and their economies more significant than many independent countries.

In January 1920, the ‘Journal of Parliaments of the Empire’ was first published as the record of the debates and activities of the Parliaments of the Association, published four times a year.

The first edition of the Journal of the Parliaments of the Empire published in January 1920.

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The first meeting of the Association, held to mark the coronation of King George V in 1911, paved the way for future meetings of Parliamentarians and as it moved into the 1920s, a new political role emerged for the Association as a link to keeping a changing global empire together. The Association’s membership began to expand, taking in many different countries. Soon other Parliaments joined from Europe, Asia and the Caribbean, and Australia’s states and Canada’s provinces began joining the group to extend the Association into its next phase.

As the Association began to expand more widely, the CPA became, and continues to be, the natural arena for Parliamentarians and parliamentary officials to learn their profession from each other. CPA Conferences, which became annual from 1961 having previously been held every two years, added discussions on parliamentary and electoral processes to the usual agenda of political – especially foreign policy – issues. Seminars, such as the Westminster Seminar on Parliamentary Practice and Procedure which began in the early 1950s, meetings of Presiding Officers and Clerks and study groups on parliamentary subjects.

Most of the early editions of the Journal were published as book-bound copies.

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The design for the journal has evolved over the years.

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In January 1920, the ‘Journal of Parliaments of the Empire’ was first published as the record of the debates and activities of the Parliaments of the Association, published four times a year. In 1949, when the London declaration formed the ‘modern’ Commonwealth, the publication became the ‘Journal of the Parliaments of the Commonwealth’.

The contents page of this edition from 1952 shows the areas of the world that were members of the CPA.

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Between 1966 and 1984, The Parliamentarian was published as a book format. Regular features at the time included the architectural plans for new Parliament Buildings in Commonwealth jurisdictions.

In the 1960s, the Journal was bound in these editions.

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Architectural plans for new Parliament buildings like this one in New Zealand were a feature of the Journal.

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Individual copies of The Parliamentarian from the 1960s.

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Special supplements were published focusing on the host CPA Branches for the annual Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference.

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The magazine format was introduced in the 1980s.

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The quarterly journal underwent a transition from a summary of debates in Commonwealth Parliaments to become a record of advances in democratic governance and a forum for the sharing of best practice. At the same time, the CPA would take on the professional development role, not just for new Parliamentarians in emerging Assemblies, but for all Parliamentarians throughout the Commonwealth.

By helping Parliamentarians and parliamentary officials to enhance their knowledge of the many different ways in which their institution operates throughout the Commonwealth, to understand diverse perspectives on political issues and to realize that they are not alone in the practice of their professions, the CPA has contributed to the improvement of governance throughout the Commonwealth. In 1966, the journal became The Parliamentarian as the established publication of the Association.

In 1984, the magazine format for The Parliamentarian was first launched (Volume LXV: Issue 3). The first magazine design for The Parliamentarian ran from 1984 to 1998. The second magazine design for The Parliamentarian ran from 1999 to 2008. The third magazine design for The Parliamentarian ran from 2009 to 2019. In January 2020, the CPA marked the 100 th anniversary issue of the first publishing of the journal in January 1920 (Volume 1 Issue One).

Recent issues of The Parliamentarian which is today published in print and digital format.

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The Journal has featured images of many CPA conferences, seminars and events in Commonwealth Parliaments.

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Over the years, supplements to The Parliamentarian have featured the host Branches for the Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference and the CPA Executive Committee Meetings, showcasing their Parliaments and political life. The Parliamentarian features regular columns by the CPA Chairperson, the CPA Small Branches Chairperson, the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians Chairperson and the CPA Secretary-General to highlight the work of the CPA and its networks.

Today, The Parliamentarian continues to be published for the benefit of the Association, reaching around 17,000 Parliamentarians and parliamentary staff in the CPA’s 180 Parliaments and Legislatures in both print and digital format. Subscribers also include academia interested in political science, research libraries and global organisations.

Text and images by Jeffrey Hyland, Editor, The Parliamentarian. The historic copies of CPA journals are held in the CPA archives at CPA Headquarters Secretariat. Please email editor@cpahq.org for further information or enquiries.