Question About the Prime Minister in Commonwealth Countries, WWII

[Superman]

Apparently the British Parliament had a plan to appoint Jan Smuts as Prime Minister during World War II if Churchill died. However, at the time, Smuts was already Prime Minister of South Africa. I'm not familiar with British and Commonwealth politics, so forgive me if this sounds like a stupid question, but if Churchill had died and Smuts became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, would he have to resign his position as Prime Minister of South Africa first, or would he be able to carry on as Prime Minister of both countries, at least temporarily?

And in a similar situation, would this still apply today (ex. Stephen Harper or Tony Abbott has to become PM of the UK)?

 

[Techdread]

He'd need to resign as Prime Minister of South Africa - the role of an elected official in that capacity is to serve the interests of that country, something he wouldn't be able to do by serving as the Prime Minister of another nation at the same time. I think that would probably go with most other countries, shy of them using a federal system or something akin to Andorra-France arrangement but that's more of an exception than a rule.

Smuts would most likely be succeeded by Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr as PM of South Africa anyway; he was thought to be Smuts' successor prior to his death in 1948 and served as Deputy PM to Smuts during WWII.

 

[Hashoosh]

I'd assume that you couldn't hold the office of mp in one or either state if you are already part of another government. So hed probably have to resign as PM to south Africa and relinquish his seat there and most likely get Churchills old riding.

As for the present, I'm not sure if Harper or Abbot would be legally allowed to serve as MPs and thus PMs in the UK, as they aren't citizens there.

 

[Ship]

I believe the UK allows Commonwealth citizens to vote and run for elected office without becoming UK citizens though there probably is a residency requirement so you couldn't just drop Harper or Abbott into 10 Downing Street.

And while I can't speak for Australia, New Zealand, etc, I do know that Canada does not extend the same courtesies to Commonwealth citizens that the UK does.

If Abbott or Cameron wanted to be PM of Canada for some reason they'd have to legally immigrate, maintain permanent residency for five years, then become naturalized citizens. After that they'd be eligible.

 

[Nae'Blis]

I've never heard of this, but I would be more interested in additional info. Menzies I have heard was viewed as a potential Churchill replacement though.