The Commonwealth Secretary-General is the head of the Commonwealth Secretariat

Commonwealth Secretariat

The Commonwealth Secretariat is the main intergovernmental agency and central institution of the Commonwealth of Nations. It is responsible for facilitating cooperation between members; organising meetings, including the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings ; assisting and advising on policy...

, the central body which has served the Commonwealth of Nations

Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...

 since its establishment in 1965, and responsible for representing the Commonwealth publicly. The Commonwealth Secretary-General should not be confused with the Head of the Commonwealth

Head of the Commonwealth

The Head of the Commonwealth heads the Commonwealth of Nations, an intergovernmental organisation which currently comprises 54 sovereign states. The position is currently occupied by the individual who serves as monarch of each of the Commonwealth realms, but has no day-to-day involvement in the...

, who is currently Queen Elizabeth II

Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...

.

Role

The position was created, along with the Secretariat itself, after the fourteenth Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conference in London in 1965, which issued a memorandum describing the role of the Secretary-General:
The headquarters of the Secretary-General, as with the Secretariat generally, is Marlborough House

Marlborough House

Marlborough House is a mansion in Westminster, London, in Pall Mall just east of St James's Palace. It was built for Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, the favourite and confidante of Queen Anne. The Duchess wanted her new house to be "strong, plain and convenient and good"...

, a former royal residence in London, which was placed at the disposal of the Secretariat by Queen Elizabeth II. However, as the building cannot house all of the Secretariat's staff in London, additional space is rented elsewhere in London. 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.

The Secretary-General is responsible for formulating the Commonwealth's four-year Strategic Plan, which outlines the Secretariat's goals, plans, and programmes for the following four years. In coordinating this plan, the Secretary-General is entitled to regular discussion with all Commonwealth Heads of Government

Commonwealth Heads of Government

The leaders of the nations with membership in the Commonwealth of Nations are collectively known as the Commonwealth Heads of Government. They are invited to attend Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings every two years, with most countries being represented by either their Head of Government...

. Indeed, in this position of having the ear of every Head of Government, the Secretary-General has been described as "probably the contemporary Commonwealth's major resource".

Staff and responsibility

The Secretary-General is in the head of the Commonwealth Secretariat, and all Secretariat staff are responsible and answerable to him or her. He or she is supported by two Deputy Secretaries-General

Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General

Two Commonwealth Deputy Secretaries-General assist the Secretary-General in running the Commonwealth Secretariat, which is the central institution of the Commonwealth of Nations...

, which are elected by the Heads of Government via the members' High Commissioners in London. Currently, the two Deputy Secretaries-General are Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba

Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba

Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba is currently Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General.Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba, is a national of Botswana. She advises and reports to the Secretary-General on Political Affairs, Human Rights, Youth Affairs, Legal and Constitutional Affairs...

 and Ransford Smith

Ransford Smith

Ransford Smith , is a senior public servant from Jamaica, and is the Deputy Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations.Smith was appointed Deputy Secretary-General of the Commonwealth in August 2006....

. He is also assisted by an Assistant Secretary-General for Corporate Affairs Stephen Cutts

Stephen Cutts

Steve Cutts assumed office as Commonwealth Assistant Secretary-General for Corporate Affairs on 4 May 2010.In this capacity, Mr Cutts reports to the Secretary-General on corporate affairs, with oversight responsibilities for the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Finance and Administration Division, its...

. The Secretary-General may appoint junior staff at his 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. 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.

Formally, the Secretary-General is given the same rank as a High Commissioner

High Commissioner (Commonwealth)

In the Commonwealth of Nations, a High Commissioner is the senior diplomat in charge of the diplomatic mission of one Commonwealth government to another.-History:...

 or ambassador. However, in practice, his or her rank is considerably higher. At CHOGMs, he or she is the equal of the Heads of Government, except with preference deferred to the longest-serving Head of Government. At other ministerial meetings, he or she is considered primus inter pares

Primus inter pares

Primus inter pares is Latin phrase describing the most senior person of a group sharing the same rank or office.When not used in reference to a specific title, it may indicate that the person so described is formally equal, but looked upon as an authority of special importance by their peers...

. But for the first 3 years (of the job's existence) the Foreign Office refused to invite the Secretary-General to the Queen's annual diplomatic reception at Buckingham Palace, much to Arnold Smith

Arnold Smith

Arnold Cantwell Smith, OC, CH was a Canadian diplomat. He was the first Commonwealth Secretary-General, serving from 1965–1975.A talented student, he won a Rhodes Scholarship to Christ Church, Oxford....

's irritation, until in 1968 this refusal was overridden by the Queen herself

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

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, , is a biennial summit meeting of the heads of government from all Commonwealth nations. Every two years the meeting is held in a different member state, and is chaired by that nation's respective Prime Minister or President, who becomes the...

s (CHOGM). The Secretary-General is held responsible by the Commonwealth's Board of Governors in London.

Election

Since the 1993 CHOGM, it has been decided that the Secretary-General is elected to a maximum

Term limit

A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms a person may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method to curb the potential for monopoly, where a leader effectively becomes "president for...

 of two four-year terms. 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.

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

Secret ballot

The secret ballot is a voting method in which a voter's choices in an election or a referendum are anonymous. The key aim is to ensure the voter records a sincere choice by forestalling attempts to influence the voter by intimidation or bribery. The system is one means of achieving the goal of...

 straw poll

Straw poll

A straw poll or straw vote is a vote with nonbinding results. Straw polls provide dialogue among movements within large groups, reflecting trends like organization and motivation...

s.

There is usually a convention that an incumbent seeking a second term in office is elected unopposed for his or her second term. However, this was broken by a Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...

-backed bid for Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

n Lakshman Kadirgamar

Lakshman Kadirgamar

Sri Lankabhimanya Lakshman Kadirgamar PC was a Sri Lankan diplomat, politician and a lawyer. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka from 1994 to 2001 and again from April 2004 until his assassination in August 2005...

 to displace New Zealand's Don McKinnon

Don McKinnon

Sir Donald Charles "Don" McKinnon, ONZ, GCVO is a former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of New Zealand. He was the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations from 2000 until 2008.-Early life:...

 in 2003. At the vote, however, Kadirgamar was easily defeated by McKinnon, with only 11 members voting for him against 40 for McKinnon.

In the most recent election, at the 2011 CHOGM

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2011

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2011, commonly known as CHOGM 2011, was the twenty-second Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations...

, India's Kamalesh Sharma

Kamalesh Sharma

H.E Kamalesh Sharma is the current Secretary General of the Commonwealth of Nations from 2008, having previously served as the High Commissioner for India in London....

 was re-elected to his second term unopposed. Sharma had won the position at the 2007 CHOGM

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2007

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2007 was the twentieth Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations. It was held in Kampala, Uganda, between 23 November and 25 November 2007, and was hosted by President Yoweri Museveni....

, when he defeated Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

's Michael Frendo

Michael Frendo

Michael Frendo is a Maltese politician who has been Speaker of the House of Representatives of Malta since 2010. Previously he served in the government of Malta as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2004 to 2008.-Political life:...

 to replace McKinnon, who had served the maximum two terms.

List of Secretaries-General

	Name	Country	Birth	Death	Start	End
1st	Arnold Smith Arnold Smith Arnold Cantwell Smith, OC, CH was a Canadian diplomat. He was the first Commonwealth Secretary-General, serving from 1965–1975.A talented student, he won a Rhodes Scholarship to Christ Church, Oxford....	Canada	18 January 1915	7 February 1994	1 July 1965	30 June 1975
2nd	Sir Shridath Ramphal Shridath Ramphal Sir Shridath Surendranath "Sonny" Ramphal, GCMG, AC, ONZ, OE, OM, QC, FRSA served as the second Commonwealth Secretary-General from 1975-1990. Ramphal previously served as the Foreign Minister of Guyana from 1972-1975...	Guyana	3 October 1928	Living	1 July 1975	30 June 1990
3rd	Chief Emeka Anyaoku Emeka Anyaoku Emeka Anyaoku, GCVO, CON was the third Commonwealth Secretary-General. He is a Nigerian of Igbo descent.-Education:Born in Obosi, he attended the University College of Ibadan, then a college of the University of London, from which he obtained an honours degree in Classics.-Political career:In...	Nigeria	18 January 1933	Living	1 July 1990	31 March 2000
4th	Sir Don McKinnon Don McKinnon Sir Donald Charles "Don" McKinnon, ONZ, GCVO is a former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of New Zealand. He was the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations from 2000 until 2008.-Early life:...	New Zealand	27 February 1939	Living	1 April 2000	31 March 2008
5th	Kamalesh Sharma Kamalesh Sharma H.E Kamalesh Sharma is the current Secretary General of the Commonwealth of Nations from 2008, having previously served as the High Commissioner for India in London....	India	30 September 1941	Living	1 April 2008	Incumbent