| Chair-in-Office of the Commonwealth of Nations | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Term length | 2 years |
| Inaugural holder | Thabo Mbeki |
| Formation | 12 November 1999 |
| Website | Chair-in-Office |
TheCommonwealth Chair-in-Office (CIO) is theChair-in-Office of theCommonwealth of Nations, and is one of the main leadership positions in theCommonwealth. It is held by the host chairperson of the previousCommonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), and is maintained until the next CHOGM.[1]Laʻauli Leuatea Schmidt,Prime Minister of Samoa, is the current Chair-in-Office of the association since 16 September 2025.
The primary responsibility of the Chair-in-Office is to host the CHOGM, but their roles can be expanded. For example, after the2002 CHOGM, the incumbent, previous, and next Chairmen-in-Office formed atroika in an attempt to resolve the ongoing dispute overZimbabwe's membership of the Commonwealth.
The position was created after the1999 CHOGM, withThabo Mbeki becoming the first Chair-in-Office. However, Mbeki did very little to develop the position,[citation needed] leaving it virtually vacant until the next CHOGM in 2002, when the troika was created. Even afterJohn Howard became Chair, the troika's first meeting was in London, in the presence of theCommonwealth Secretary-General.[citation needed] The third Chair,Olusegun Obasanjo, did more to invigorate the role of the position after taking over in 2003.[2]
From the assumption of the role at the 2009 CHOGM, representatives fromTrinidad and Tobago, including the Prime Ministers, attended Commonwealth meetings, including 2011Commonwealth Day celebrations whereKamla Persad-Bissessar, the first woman to chair the Commonwealth, gave the keynote address.Sri Lanka was due to host the Commonwealth Economic Forum in 2011 but it was held instead inPerth, Western Australia, due toaccusations of war crimes committed during the Sri Lankan Civil War.[citation needed]
AsPrime Minister of Australia,Julia Gillard succeeded Persad-Bissessar as the second female Chair at the2011 CHOGM. Julia Gillard was in-turn succeeded byKevin Rudd after she resigned asPrime Minister of Australia on 27 June 2013. Rudd went on to lose theAustralian federal election in September 2013, and consequently was succeeded as Commonwealth's CiO by the new prime ministerTony Abbott. Abbott remained in the position until Commonwealth leaders met for the23rd time on 15 November 2013, where he was succeeded by thePresident ofSri LankaMahinda Rajapaksa, who was succeeded byMaithripala Sirisena in 2015.[3]
Trinidad and Tobago's former prime minister Patrick Manning has handed in his resignation as political leader of the People's National Movement (PNM), three days after being defeated at the polls.
The position she has inherited from former prime minister Patrick Manning following the nation's hosting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in November, 2009. In a statement issued yesterday, the Royal Commonwealth Society congratulated Persad-Bissessar on her appointment as Prime Minister and also praised the conduct of her election campaign.
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