Editing Commonwealth Secretary-General

{{Short description|Head of the Commonwealth Secretariat}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox political post
| post = Secretary-General
| body = the <br /> Commonwealth of Nations
| nativename = 
| flag = 
| flagsize = 175px
| flagborder = 
| flagcaption = [[Flag of the Commonwealth of Nations|Flag]]
| insignia = 
| insigniasize = 
| insigniacaption = 
| department = 
| image = File:Shirley Ayorkor Botchway.jpg
| imagesize = 200px
| alt = 
| incumbent = [[Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey]]<!--as styled on the Commonwealth website-->
| incumbentsince = 1 April 2025
| style = [[Excellency|Her Excellency]]
| residence = Garden House
| nominator = 
| nominatorpost = 
| appointer = [[List of Commonwealth Heads of Government|Commonwealth Heads of Government]]
| appointerpost = 
| termlength = Four years<br><small>renewable once</small>
| inaugural = [[Arnold Smith]]
| formation = 
| last = 
| abolished = 
| succession = 
| deputy = 
| salary = 
| website = {{official|https://thecommonwealth.org/secretary-general-shirley-botchwey}}
}}

The '''Commonwealth secretary-general''', formally the '''secretary-general of the Commonwealth of Nations''', is the head of the [[Commonwealth Secretariat]], the central body which has served the [[Commonwealth of Nations]] since its establishment in 1965, and responsible for representing the Commonwealth publicly.<ref name="Role of the Secretary-General">{{cite web |url=http://www.thecommonwealth.org/Internal/169940/role_of_the_commonwealth_secretary_general/ |title=Role of the Secretary-General |access-date=5 April 2008 |publisher=[[Commonwealth Secretariat]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071029114459/http://www.thecommonwealth.org/Internal/169940/role_of_the_commonwealth_secretary_general/ |archive-date=29 October 2007 }}</ref> The Commonwealth secretary-general should not be confused with the [[head of the Commonwealth]].

==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>

==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>

==Election==
Since the 1993 CHOGM, it has been decided that the secretary-general is elected to a [[term limit|maximum]] of two four-year terms.<ref name="Role of the Secretary-General" /> 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.<ref name="Role of the Secretary-General" />

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 and [[secret ballot|secret]] [[straw poll]]s.<ref name="Role of the Secretary-General" />

Secretaries-general seeking a second term in office are often elected unopposed.<ref name=Landale/> Although this practice was occasionally deemed to be a [[Convention (norm)|convention]],<ref>{{cite news |first=Amit |last=Baruah |title= PM, Blair for representative government in Iraq soon |url=http://www.hindu.com/2003/12/07/stories/2003120705120100.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031230224509/http://www.hindu.com/2003/12/07/stories/2003120705120100.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=30 December 2003 |location=India |date=7 December 2003 |work=The Hindu |access-date=27 July 2007 }}</ref> it was broken by a [[Zimbabwe]]-backed bid for Sri Lankan [[Lakshman Kadirgamar]] to displace New Zealand's [[Don McKinnon]] in 2003.  At the vote, however, Kadirgamar was easily defeated by McKinnon, with only 11 members voting for him against 40 for McKinnon.<ref name="Editorial: CHOGM 2003">{{cite journal |date=January 2004 |title=Editorial: CHOGM 2003, Abuja, Nigeria |journal=[[The Round Table Journal|The Round Table]] |volume=93 |issue=373 |pages=3–6 |doi=10.1080/0035853042000188139 }}</ref> In March 2019, the 53 high commissioners, meeting in London, confirmed the unwritten rule allowing secretaries-general to be challenged for a second term.<ref name=Landale/>

At the [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2011|2011 CHOGM]], India's [[Kamalesh Sharma]] was re-elected to his second term unopposed.  Sharma had won the position at the [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2007|2007 CHOGM]], when he defeated [[Malta]]'s [[Michael Frendo]] to replace McKinnon, who had served the maximum two terms.

At the [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2015|2015 CHOGM]], [[Patricia Scotland]], a former British cabinet minister, was nominated for Commonwealth secretary-general by her native country of [[Dominica]] and defeated [[Antigua and Barbuda|Antiguan]] diplomat Sir [[Ronald Sanders (diplomat)|Ronald Sanders]] and former [[Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General|deputy secretary-general for political affairs]] [[Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba]] of [[Botswana]] to become the 6th Commonwealth secretary-general and the first woman to hold the post. She took office on 1 April 2016.<ref>{{cite news|title=Commonwealth elects first woman secretary general|url=http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20151127/local/commonwealth-elects-first-woman-secretary-general.593722|access-date=27 November 2015|work=Times of Malta|date=27 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Lady Scotland vies to be next Commonwealth secretary general|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/nov/24/lady-scotland-vying-next-commonwealth-secretary-general|access-date=24 November 2015|work=The Guardian|date=24 November 2015}}</ref> Lady Scotland's re-election to a second term was challenged at the [[2022 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting]] but she won a second term, reportedly defeating Jamaican foreign minister [[Kamina Johnson Smith]] by a margin of 27 votes to 24. As the CHOGM had been delayed by two years due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], Scotland agreed to only serve for two additional years.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/australian-backed-candidate-fails-in-bid-to-topple-commonwealth-boss-patricia-scotland-20220624-p5awhl.html | title=Australian-backed candidate fails to topple Commonwealth boss Patricia Scotland | date=24 June 2022 }}</ref>

At the [[2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting|2024 CHOGM]], [[Ghana|Ghanaian]] foreign minister [[Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey]] was elected to succeed Baroness Scotland. She will begin her tenure as Secretary-General on 1 April 2025.<ref>{{cite news |title=Commonwealth Announces Ghana Foreign Minister As New Secretary General |url=https://www.barrons.com/news/commonwealth-announces-ghana-foreign-minister-as-new-secretary-general-bd700cd7 |access-date=26 October 2024 |work=Barron's |agency=Agence France-Presse |date=26 October 2024}}</ref>

==List of secretaries-general==
{| class="wikitable"
! width=2%| {{Abbr|No.|Number}}
! width=80px| Portrait
! Name
! Country
! Term start
! Term end
! width=40%| Background
! [[Head of the Commonwealth|Head]]<br>(Tenure)
|-
! style="text-align:center" | 1
| [[File:Arnold Cantwell Smith 1966 (cropped).jpg|100px]]
! style="text-align:center" | [[Arnold Smith]]
| {{flag|Canada}}
| 1 July 1965
| 30 June 1975
|<small>Canadian [[Canada–Egypt relations|ambassador to]] [[Egypt]] (1958–1961)<br />Canadian [[Canada–Soviet Union relations|ambassador to]] the [[Soviet Union|USSR]] (1961–1963)</small>
! rowspan="5" style="border-style: solid solid none solid ;" |[[File:Elizabeth II in Berlin 2015 (cropped).JPG|100px]]<br>[[Elizabeth II]]<br>{{small|(1952–2022)}}
|-
! style="text-align:center" | 2
| [[File:S. Ramphal 1975 (cropped).jpg|100px]]
! style="text-align:center" | Sir [[Shridath Ramphal]]
| {{flag|Guyana}}
| 1 July 1975
| 30 June 1990
|<small>[[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Guyana)|Foreign Minister of Guyana]] (1972–1975)</small>
|-
! style="text-align:center" | 3
| [[File:Chief Emeka Anyaoku 2006.jpg|100px]]
! style="text-align:center" | [[Emeka Anyaoku]]
| {{flag|Nigeria}}
| 1 July 1990
| 31 March 2000
|<small>[[Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General|Deputy Secretary-General]] for [[Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General#Political Affairs|Political Affairs]] (1977–1990)</small>
|-
! style="text-align:center" | 4
| [[File:Don McKinnon 2012.jpg|100px]]
! style="text-align:center" | [[Don McKinnon]]
| {{flag|New Zealand}}
| 1 April 2000
| 31 March 2008
|<small>[[Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand]] (1990–1996)<br>[[Minister of Trade (New Zealand)|Minister of Trade]] (1990–1996)<br>[[Minister of Foreign Affairs (New Zealand)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]] (1990–1999)</small>
|-
! style="text-align:center" | 5
| [[File:Kamalesh Sharma January 2015.jpg|100px]]
! style="text-align:center" | [[Kamalesh Sharma]]
| {{flag|India}}
| 1 April 2008
| 31 March 2016
|<small>[[Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations]] (1997–2002)<br />[[List of High Commissioners of India to the United Kingdom|Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom]] (2004–2008)</small>
|-
! rowspan="2" style="text-align:center" | 6
| rowspan="2" | [[File:Patricia Scotland 2013 (cropped).jpg|100px]]
! rowspan="2" style="text-align:center" | [[Patricia Scotland|Patricia Scotland<br/>{{Small|'''Baroness Scotland of Asthal'''}}]]
| rowspan="2" | {{flag|Dominica}}<br />{{flag|United Kingdom}}
| rowspan="2" | 1 April 2016
| rowspan="2" | 31 March 2025
| rowspan="2" |<small>[[Attorney General for England and Wales|Attorney General for England and Wales and Northern Ireland]] (2007–2010)<br /> UK [[Minister of State]] ([[Home Office]]; 2003–2007)<br /> [[Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State|UK Parliamentary Secretary]] ([[Lord Chancellor's Department]]; 2001–2003)<br /> [[Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs|UK Under-Secretary of State]] at the [[Foreign and Commonwealth Office]] (1999–2001)<br /> [[House of Lords|UK House of Lords]] (1997–present)</small> 
| style="background:#eaecf0 ; border-style: none solid solid solid ;" |
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[File:King Charles III (July 2023).jpg|100px]]<br>[[Charles III]]<br>{{small|(2022–present)}}

|-
! style="text-align:center" | 7
| [[File:Shirley Ayorkor Botchway.jpg|100px]]
! style="text-align:center" | [[Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey]]
| {{flag|Ghana}}
| 1 April 2025
| ''Incumbent''
|<small>[[Minister for Foreign Affairs (Ghana)|Minister for Foreign Affairs]] for [[Ghana]] (2017–2025)</small>
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Secretaries-General of the Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth Secretary-General}}
*{{official|https://thecommonwealth.org/secretary-general-shirley-botchwey}}

{{Commonwealth Secretary-General}}
{{Commonwealth of Nations topics}}

[[Category:Commonwealth secretaries-general| ]]
[[Category:Institutions of the Commonwealth of Nations|Secretary-General]]
[[Category:General secretaries]]