Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General
Three Commonwealth Deputy Secretaries-General assist the Secretary-General in running the Commonwealth Secretariat, which is the central institution of the Commonwealth of Nations. They are assigned an aspect of the Commonwealth's function to address particularly: one to economic affairs, one to political affairs and the other to corporate affairs.
They are elected by the Commonwealth Heads of Government, like the Secretary-General. However, as their terms overlap with those of the Secretary-General, and don't coincide with Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings (CHOGMs), the Heads of Government are represented through their respective High Commissioners in London.[1] Originally, the Secretariat only engaged two Deputy Secretaries-General, whilst the Corporate Affairs portfolio was overseen by an Assistant Secretary-General. This changed in 2014 with the appointment of Gary Dunn from Australia to the post. However, by the end of March 2017, references to the role and Dunn had been removed from the Secretariat's website, indicating that the role may have been abolished though no announcement had been made to that effect.
In addition to Dunn, the two Deputy Secretaries-General are Deodat Maharaj for Economic Affairs and Development from Trinidad and Tobago and Josephine Ojiambo for Political Affairs from Kenya since 2014 and 2015 respectively.
Lists of Deputy Secretaries-General
Economic Affairs and Development
Deputy Secretary-General for Economic Affairs and Development of the Commonwealth of Nations | |
---|---|
Incumbent Vacant since 2017 | |
Style | His Excellency |
Appointer | Commonwealth Heads of Government |
Term length | 3 years, renewable once |
Inaugural holder | Tilak E. Gooneratne |
Formation | 1965 |
Website | www.thecommonwealth.org |
Name | Country | Start | End |
---|---|---|---|
Tilak E. Gooneratne | 1965 | 1970 | |
Geoffrey Wilson | 1971 | 1971 | |
Hunter Wade | 1972 | 1974[2] | |
Incomplete | |||
C. John Small | 1979 | 1983 | |
Peter Marshall | 1983 | 1988 | |
Peter Unwin | 1989 | 1993 | |
Humphrey Maud | 1993 | 1999 | |
Veronica Sutherland | 1999 | 2001 | |
Winston Cox | 2001 | 2006 | |
Ransford Smith | 2006 | 2013 | |
Deodat Maharaj | 2014 | 2017 |
Political Affairs
Deputy Secretary-General for Political Affairs of the Commonwealth of Nations | |
---|---|
Josephine Ojiambo since 2015 | |
Style | Her Excellency |
Appointer | Commonwealth Heads of Government |
Term length | 3 years, renewable once |
Inaugural holder | A.L. Adu |
Formation | 1966 |
Website | www.thecommonwealth.org |
Name | Country | Start | End |
---|---|---|---|
A. L. Adu | 1966 | 1970 | |
M. A. Husain | 1970 | 1977 | |
Emeka Anyaoku | 1977 | 19901 | |
Anthony Siaguru | 1990 | 1995 | |
Krishnan Srinivasan | 1995 | 2002 | |
Florence Mugasha | 2002 | 2008 | |
Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba | 2008 | 2014 | |
Josephine Ojiambo | 2015 | Incumbent |
1 Initially served from 1977 to 1983, leaving his post for a few months to serve as Minister of Foreign Affairs in Nigeria. He was re-instated later that year.
Corporate Affairs
Deputy Secretary-General for Corporate Affairs of the Commonwealth of Nations | |
---|---|
Incumbent Vacant since 2016 | |
Style | His Excellency |
Appointer | Commonwealth Heads of Government |
Term length | 3 years, renewable once |
Inaugural holder | Gary Dunn |
Formation | 2014 - previously titled 'Assistant Secretary-General' |
Abolished | Unclear - possibly 2017 |
Website | www.thecommonwealth.org |
Name | Country | Start | End |
---|---|---|---|
Gary Dunn | 2014 | 2016 [3] |
Footnotes
- ↑ Doxey, Margaret (January 1979). "The Commonwealth Secretary-General: Limits of Leadership". International Affairs. 55 (1): 67–83. doi:10.2307/2617133.
- ↑ McIntyre, W. David (November 2001). "'Viewing the Iceberg from Down Under': A New Zealand Perspective". Commonwealth & Comparative Politics. 39 (3): 95–112. doi:10.1080/713999565.
- ↑ https://au.linkedin.com/in/gary-dunn-80689213a