Editing Chatham House (section)

===Further expansion===
The year 1929 marked the next stage in the institute's development, with the appointment of a full-time chief executive or director. [[Ivison Macadam]] was appointed to the position (Secretary and then Director-General),<ref>{{harvp|Carrington|2004}}</ref> in which he oversaw the institute's rapid expansion with its growing research, organisational and financial needs,<ref>Obituary of Ivison Macadam published in ''The Times'', London, 31 December 1974 by [[Kenneth Younger]]</ref> a role he occupied until 1955.

Macadam was able to secure funding to expand the physical plant of the Institute by acquiring the freeholds of 6 Duke of York Street, then called York Street (largely through the generosity of [[Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor|Waldorf Astor]], [[Sir John Power, 1st Baronet|John Power]], and others) and later 9 St James's Square, then [[Portland Club (London)|the Portland Club]], in 1943 (through a donation to cover its purchase by [[Henry Price (tailor)|Henry Price]]), and connect these adjoining properties to the original freehold property of Chatham House at 10 St James Square (with the cost of these connections covered by Astor's sons, William, David, and John). Power also donated his leasehold property in Chesham Place to the Institute in 1938. These additional properties provided much needed additional space for the institute's activities.<ref>The Institute then owned the freeholds covering a rectangle of properties fronting on 10 and 9 in St. James's Square on the south running north bordered on the east by Duke of York Street to the properties on Ormand Yard on the north (the mews immediately south of Jermyn Street). These freehold properties also later proved to be a valuable financial asset when in the 1960s the northern properties were redeveloped to provide additional annual income for the Institute. {{harvp|Carrington|2004}}</ref>

1929 also saw the inception of the institute's special study group on the international gold problem. The group, which included leading economists such as [[John Maynard Keynes]], conducted a three-year study into the developing economic issues which the post-war international monetary settlement created.<ref>{{cite web |title=The International Gold Problem, 1931-2011 |date=20 August 2013 |url=http://www.chathamhouse.org/research/economics/current-projects/international-gold-problem-1931-2011 |access-date=27 January 2014 |archive-date=20 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140220065938/http://www.chathamhouse.org/research/economics/current-projects/international-gold-problem-1931-2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>  The group's research anticipated Britain's decision to abandon the [[gold standard]] two years later.<ref name="Kisch">{{cite web |last=Kisch |first=C.H. |title=The Gold Problem |url=http://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/default/files/public/Research/International%20Economics/1931kisch.pdf |publisher=Chatham House |access-date=31 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130626013039/http://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/default/files/public/Research/International%20Economics/1931kisch.pdf |archive-date=26 June 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Around this time Chatham House became known as the place for leading statesmen and actors in world affairs to visit when in London; notably, [[Mahatma Gandhi]] visited the institute on 20 October 1931, in which he delivered a talk on "The Future of India". The talk was attended by 750 members, making it the institute's largest meeting up to that point.<ref name="Angell"/>

In 1933 [[Norman Angell]], whilst working within the institute's Council, was awarded the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] for his book ''[[The Great Illusion]]'', making him the first and only Laureate to be awarded the prize for publishing a book.<ref name="Angell">{{cite web |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1933/angell-facts.html |title=Sir Norman Angell - Facts |publisher=Nobelprize.org |date=7 October 1967 |access-date=4 August 2014 |archive-date=12 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140712120055/http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1933/angell-facts.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Chatham House held the first Commonwealth Relations Conference in [[Toronto|Toronto, Ontario]], [[Canada]] in 1933. Held roughly every five years, the conference provided a forum for leading politicians, lawyers, academics and others to discuss the implications of recent Imperial Conferences.<ref>{{cite journal |last=McIntyre |first=W. David |year=2008 |title=The Unofficial Commonwealth Relations Conferences, 1933–59: Precursors of the Tri-sector Commonwealth |journal=[[Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History]] |volume=36 |issue=4 |pages=591–614 |doi=10.1080/03086530802560992 |s2cid=144450441 }}</ref> With various dominion nations seeking to follow individual foreign policy aims, Major-General Sir [[Neill Malcolm]], the chairman of the Council of the institute,<ref name="Carrington_114">{{harvp|Carrington|2004|p=114}}</ref> emphasised the need for "essential agreement in matters of foreign policy between the various Governments," with the Commonwealth Relations Conference being the vehicle upon which this cooperation would be achieved and maintained.<ref>'Report of the 13th AGM' in ''The Royal Institute of International Affairs Annual Reports 1931-1932'', pp. 9-10.</ref>