No independence before majority rule (abbreviated NIBMAR) was a policy adopted by the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

requiring the implementation of

majority rule Majority rule is a principle that means the decision-making power belongs to the group that has the most members. In politics, majority rule requires the deciding vote to have majority, that is, more than half the votes. It is the binary deci ...

in a colony, rather than rule by the white colonial minority, before the empire granted

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

to its colonies. It was sometimes reinterpreted as no independence before majority African rule.

Rhodesia and South Africa

In particular, the NIBMAR position was advocated with respect to the future status of Rhodesia as an independent state.

British prime minister The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As moder ...

Harold Wilson was pressured into adopting the approach during a conference in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Wilson was not initially inclined to do so, fearing it would slow the rate at which Rhodesia could be granted independence, but Lester Pearson, the

Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the confidence of a majority the elected House of Commons; as su ...

, formulated a draft resolution committing Wilson to NIBMAR. Wilson defended the policy when it was attacked as disastrous by opposition Conservatives.House of Commons Hansard
20 December 1966 The accomplishment was short-lived, however, as Wilson continued to extend offers to

Ian Smith Ian Douglas Smith (8 April 1919 – 20 November 2007) was a Rhodesian politician, farmer, and fighter pilot who served as Prime Minister of Rhodesia (known as Southern Rhodesia until October 1964 and now known as Zimbabwe) from 1964 to 1 ...

, the Rhodesian Prime Minister, which Smith ultimately rejected. This led Smith's government to declare Rhodesia's independence without British consent and South Africa only Declares independence if South Africa Allowed black South Africans vote in elections. during

Apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

only Afrikaners could vote in any national elections

Rhodesia and South Africa

References

See also