Editing Commonwealth Secretary-General (section)

==Role==
The position was created, along with the Secretariat itself, after [[1965 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference|the fourteenth]] [[Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conference]] in London in 1965, issued a memorandum describing the role of the Secretary-General:
{{cquote|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 of [[Commonwealth Heads of Government]]; and in the discharge of his/her responsibilities in this connection the Secretary-General should have access to Heads of Government...<ref name="Role of the Secretary-General" />}}

The headquarters of the secretary-general, as with the Secretariat generally, is [[Marlborough House]], a former royal residence in London, which was placed at the disposal of the Secretariat by Queen [[Elizabeth II]], who was the [[head of the Commonwealth]].  However, as the building cannot house all of the Secretariat's staff in London, additional space is rented elsewhere in London.<ref name="Doxey">{{cite journal |last=Doxey |first=Margaret |date=January 1979 |title=The Commonwealth Secretary-General: Limits of Leadership |journal=[[International Affairs (journal)|International Affairs]] |volume=55 |issue=1 |pages=67–83 |doi=10.2307/2617133}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Doxey" />

The secretary-general receives a salary of nearly £160,000 (2015) and a four‑storey mansion, Garden House, in [[Mayfair]] as an official residence.<ref>{{cite news|title=Baroness Patricia Scotland becomes first UK citizen to be elected secretary‑general of Commonwealth|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/baroness-patricia-scotland-becomes-first-uk-citizen-to-be-elected-secretary-general-of-commonwealth-a6752211.html|access-date=27 November 2015|work=The Independent|date=27 November 2015}}</ref>