Editing Commonwealth Secretariat (section)

==History==
[[File:Marlborough House.jpg|thumb|[[Marlborough House]], London, the headquarters of the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Commonwealth's principal intergovernmental institution]]
The Secretariat was established by the [[Commonwealth Heads of Government|Heads of Government]] in 1965, taking over many of the functions of the United Kingdom Government's [[Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations|Commonwealth Relations Office]], as part of a major shake-up of the organisation of the Commonwealth. The purpose of the Secretariat was to serve as an "information exchange" for the [[List of Commonwealth of Nations prime ministers|Commonwealth Prime Ministers]].<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal |last=Vivekanandan |first=B. |date=July 1967 |title=The Commonwealth Secretariat |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/002088176700900303 |journal=International Studies |language=en |volume=9 |issue=3 |pages=301–331 |doi=10.1177/002088176700900303 |issn=0020-8817|url-access=subscription }}</ref> At the same time, the United Kingdom succeeded in advocating the creation of the Secretariat's sister organisation, the [[Commonwealth Foundation]], which was founded to foster non-governmental relations and the promotion of the [[Commonwealth Family]] network of civil societies.<ref name="Canada and the creation of the Commonwealth Secretariat">{{cite journal |doi=10.2307/40203725 |last=McIntyre |first=W. David |author-link=W. David McIntyre |date=October 1998 |title=Canada and the creation of the Commonwealth Secretariat |jstor=40203725 |journal=International Journal |volume=53 |issue=4 |pages=753–777  }}</ref> Other attempts by members to create similar central bodies, such as a medical conference (proposed by [[New Zealand]]), a development bank ([[Jamaica]]), and an institution for satellite communications ([[Canada]]) failed.<ref name="Canada and the creation of the Commonwealth Secretariat" />

The creation of the Secretariat itself was a contentious issue. The [[United Kingdom]] and other long-established countries had hoped to slow the expansion of Commonwealth membership to prevent the dilution of their traditional power within the Commonwealth (particularly after the admission of [[Cyprus]]).<ref name="Canada and the creation of the Commonwealth Secretariat" /> The newer members of the Commonwealth wanted to reduce British power and influence, so formed the Secretariat which would be operated and financed by members from all Commonwealth countries.<ref name=":02"/> By diversifying the staff who worked in the Commonwealth, different points of view and perspectives would be seen. This may have involved a dual-tiered Commonwealth, requiring the continuation of the organisation of Commonwealth co-operation by meetings, rather than a central administration. However, the new African members were keener to create an independent inter-governmental "central clearing house" (as [[Ghana]]'s [[Kwame Nkrumah]] described it) to remove power from the older dominions.<ref name="Canada and the creation of the Commonwealth Secretariat" /> [[Milton Obote]] of [[Uganda]] was the first to propose a specifically titled "secretariat", which was then formally proposed by [[Eric Williams]] of [[Trinidad and Tobago]], who wished to see it based upon the secretariats of the [[Organization of American States|OAS]], [[European Economic Community|EEC]], and [[Organisation of African Unity|OAU]].<ref name="Canada and the creation of the Commonwealth Secretariat" />

Earlier attempts at the formation of a central secretariat had failed. [[Australia]] had proposed the establishment four times (in 1907, 1924, 1932, and 1944), whilst [[New Zealand]] had also made proposals in 1909 and 1956.<ref name="Canada and the creation of the Commonwealth Secretariat" /> Finally, in July 1964, the Commonwealth Prime Ministers met in London to discuss the establishment of an independent secretariat for the Commonwealth. Many of these members agreed and were unopposed to this idea as they believed this Secretariat would help centralize and broaden the Commonwealth for all members, not solely on Britain.<ref name=":02"/>

=== The Rhodesian Crisis ===
[[Arnold Smith]], a Canadian Diplomat, was the first Commonwealth Secretary-General with Amishadai Larson Adu (A. L. Adu) of Ghana and [[Tilak Goonaratne|Tilak Gooneratne]] of Ceylon as the first deputy secretaries-general.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Leach |first=Richard H. |date=June 1971 |title=The Secretariat |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/002070207102600207 |journal=International Journal: Canada's Journal of Global Policy Analysis |language=en |volume=26 |issue=2 |pages=374–400 |doi=10.1177/002070207102600207 |issn=0020-7020|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In 1965, the [[Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence|Rhodesian Declaration of Independence]] was issued, gaining its sovereignty from the British in [[Southern Africa]]. Simultaneously, Smith was performing his first official visit as Secretary General to East and Central Africa. Due to his diplomatic peacemaking abilities, he was able to save the Commonwealth from dissolving due to clashing opinions. As a result, the prime ministers of the Commonwealth formed a sanctions committee that taught prime ministers how the sanctions they implemented on the "illegal" Salisbury regime were maintained, and a standing committee primarily focused on assisting to train Rhodesian Africans. More state crises occurred after, shifting the Secretariat's dominant focus to peacemaking efforts.<ref name=":2" /> The Rhodesian Crisis proved the  Commonwealth Secretariat's competence and credibility as their professional diplomat skills allowed them to respond to crises immediately and efficiently.