Imperial War Conference

Imperial War Conferences
Dates	21 March 1917 – 27 April 1917 12 June 1918 – 26 July 1918
Cities	London, United Kingdom
Chair	David Lloyd George (Prime Minister)
Follows	1911 Imperial Conference
Precedes	1921 Imperial Conference
Key points
Imperial constitutional arrangements, Imperial Federation, international relations and treaties

The Imperial War Cabinet was the British Empire's wartime coordinating body. The Imperial War Conferences of 1917 and 1918 were a series of meetings held concurrent with the Imperial War Cabinet to co-ordinate governance of the British Empire during the war and prepare for the post-war situation.

The Imperial War Cabinet was created by British Prime Minister David Lloyd George in the spring of 1917 as a means of co-ordinating the British Empire's military policy during the First World War. Its creation was the result of a recognition by Lloyd George that the increased contribution by the dominions to the war effort necessitated increased consultation with dominion governments on the conduct of the war.

The body met through 1917 and 1918

The Imperial War Cabinet existed concurrently with Imperial Conferences (or "Imperial War Conferences") which were held from 21 March to 27 April 1917 and from 12 June to 26 July 1918.

In April 1917, the conference passed Resolution IX which resolved a conference was to be held after the war in order to rearrange Imperial constitutional arrangements "based upon a full recognition of the Dominions as autonomous nations of an Imperial Commonwealth", and should give the Dominions and India "a right... to an adequate voice in foreign policy and in foreign relations." This was the first instance in which the term Commonwealth was used officially. The Imperial War Conference acknowledged the importance of the whole empire in defence policy by admitting India, not yet self-governing, to future imperial conferences.

In 1917 the Imperial War Conference also passed a resolution regarding a future special Imperial Conference to readjust the relations of the component parts of the Empire. That readjustment should be based upon the full recognition of the dominions as autonomous nations of an Imperial Commonwealth, with an "adequate voice" in foreign policy.

Australian prime ministers Robert Menzies and John Curtin campaigned for the creation of an Imperial War Cabinet during the Second World War that would include representatives of all four dominions. British prime minister Winston Churchill was unenthusiastic as he felt the concept was unwieldy and since he was tepid towards the idea of sharing authority with the dominions.