| Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Style | Her Excellency |
| Residence | Garden House |
| Appointer | Commonwealth Heads of Government |
| Term length | Four years renewable once |
| Inaugural holder | Arnold Smith |
| Website | Official website |
TheCommonwealth secretary-general, formally thesecretary-general of the Commonwealth of Nations, is the head of theCommonwealth Secretariat, the central body which has served theCommonwealth of Nations since its establishment in 1965, and responsible for representing the Commonwealth publicly.[1] The Commonwealth secretary-general should not be confused with thehead of the Commonwealth.
The position was created, along with the Secretariat itself, afterthe fourteenthCommonwealth Prime Ministers Conference in London in 1965, issued a memorandum describing the role of the Secretary-General:
Both the Secretary-General and his/her staff should be seen to be the servants of Commonwealth countries collectively. They derive their functions from the authority ofCommonwealth Heads of Government; and in the discharge of his/her responsibilities in this connection the Secretary-General should have access to Heads of Government...[1]
The headquarters of the secretary-general, as with the Secretariat generally, isMarlborough House, a former royal residence in London, which was placed at the disposal of the Secretariat by QueenElizabeth II, who was thehead of the Commonwealth. However, as the building cannot house all of the Secretariat's staff in London, additional space is rented elsewhere in London.[2] From this operational base, a large part of the secretary-general's work involves travelling around the Commonwealth keeping in personal contact with those at the heart of the governments of member states.[2]
The secretary-general receives a salary of nearly £160,000 (2015) and a four‑storey mansion, Garden House, inMayfair as an official residence.[3]
The secretary-general leads the Commonwealth Secretariat, and all Secretariat staff are responsible and answerable to them. They are supported by threedeputy secretaries-general, which are elected by theCommonwealth heads of government via the members'high commissioners in London.[2] Currently, the three deputy secretaries-general are Deodat Maharaj, Gary Dunn and Josephine Ojiambo. Until 2014, only two deputy secretaries-general were appointed along with an assistant secretary-general for corporate affairs. The secretary-general may appoint junior staff at their own discretion, provided the Secretariat can afford it, whilst more senior staff may be appointed only from a shortlist of nominations from the heads of government.[2] In practice, the Secretary-General has more power than this; member governments consult the secretary-general on nominations, and the secretary-general has also at times submitted nominations of his own.[2]
Formally, the secretary-general is given the same rank as a high commissioner or ambassador. However, in practice, their rank is considerably higher.[2] At CHOGMs, they are the equal of the heads of government, except with preference deferred to the longest-serving head of government. At other ministerial meetings, they are consideredprimus inter pares.[2] For the first three years of the job's existence theForeign Office refused to invite the secretary-general to the Queen's annual diplomatic reception at Buckingham Palace, much toArnold Smith's irritation, until in 1968 this refusal was over-ridden by Queen Elizabeth II herself.[4]
The secretary-general was originally required to submit annual reports to the heads of government, but this has since been changed to reporting at biennialCommonwealth Heads of Government Meetings (CHOGM).[2] The secretary-general is held responsible by the Commonwealth's Board of Governors in London.[1]
Between 2016 and 2019, the staff of the Commonwealth secretariat declined in number, from 295 to 223.[5]
Since the 1993 CHOGM, it has been decided that the secretary-general is elected to amaximum of two four-year terms.[1] The election is held by the assembled heads of government and other ministerial representatives at every other CHOGM. Nominations are received from the member states' governments, who sponsor the nomination through the election process and are responsible for withdrawing their candidate as they see fit.[1]
The election is held in a Restricted Session of the CHOGM, in which only heads of government or ministerial representatives thereof may be present. The chair of the CHOGM (the head of government of the host nation) is responsible for ascertaining which candidate has the greatest support, through the conduct of negotiations andsecretstraw polls.[1]
Secretaries-general seeking a second term in office are often elected unopposed.[5] Although this practice was occasionally deemed to be aconvention,[6] it was broken by aZimbabwe-backed bid for Sri LankanLakshman Kadirgamar to displace New Zealand'sDon McKinnon in 2003. At the vote, however, Kadirgamar was easily defeated by McKinnon, with only 11 members voting for him against 40 for McKinnon.[7] In March 2019, the 53 high commissioners, meeting in London, confirmed the unwritten rule allowing secretaries-general to be challenged for a second term.[5]
At the2011 CHOGM, India'sKamalesh Sharma was re-elected to his second term unopposed. Sharma had won the position at the2007 CHOGM, when he defeatedMalta'sMichael Frendo to replace McKinnon, who had served the maximum two terms.
At the2015 CHOGM,Patricia Scotland, a former British cabinet minister, was nominated for Commonwealth secretary-general by her native country ofDominica and defeatedAntiguan diplomat SirRonald Sanders and formerdeputy secretary-general for political affairsMmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba ofBotswana to become the 6th Commonwealth secretary-general and the first woman to hold the post. She took office on 1 April 2016.[8][9] Lady Scotland's re-election to a second term was challenged at the2022 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting but she won a second term, reportedly defeating Jamaican foreign ministerKamina Johnson Smith by a margin of 27 votes to 24. As the CHOGM had been delayed by two years due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, Scotland agreed to only serve for two additional years.[10]
At the2024 CHOGM,Ghanaian foreign ministerShirley Ayorkor Botchwey was elected to succeed Baroness Scotland. She will begin her tenure as secretary-general on 1 April 2025.[11]
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