Editing Commonwealth Secretary-General (section)

==Staff and responsibility==
The secretary-general leads the Commonwealth Secretariat, and all Secretariat staff are responsible and answerable to them. They are supported by three [[Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General|deputy secretaries-general]], which are elected by the [[Commonwealth heads of government]] via the members' [[High Commissioner (Commonwealth)|high commissioners]] in London.<ref name="Doxey" /> 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.<ref name="Doxey" /> 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.<ref name="Doxey" />

Formally, the secretary-general is given the same rank as a high commissioner or ambassador.  However, in practice, their rank is considerably higher.<ref name="Doxey" /> 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 considered ''[[primus inter pares]]''.<ref name="Doxey" /> For the first three years of the job's existence the [[Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office|Foreign Office]] refused to invite the secretary-general to the Queen's annual diplomatic reception at Buckingham Palace, much to [[Arnold Smith]]'s irritation, until in 1968 this refusal was over-ridden by Queen Elizabeth II herself.<ref>''Final Approaches: A Memoir'' by Gerald Hensley, page 99 (2006, Auckland University Press, New Zealand) {{ISBN|1-86940-378-9}}</ref>

The Secretary-General was originally required to submit annual reports to the Heads of Government, but this has since been changed to reporting at biennial [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting]]s (CHOGM).<ref name="Doxey" /> The Secretary-General is held responsible by the Commonwealth's Board of Governors in London.<ref name="Role of the Secretary-General" />

Between 2016 and 2019, the staff of the Commonwealth secretariat declined in number, from 295 to 223.<ref name=Landale>James Landale, [https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-48602852 Commonwealth Secretariat in 'urgent need' of reform], BBX News (12 June 2019).</ref>