Commonwealth Secretary-General

Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations
Incumbent Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey since 1 April 2025
Style	Her Excellency
Residence	Garden House
Appointer	Commonwealth Heads of Government
Term length	Four years renewable once
Inaugural holder	Arnold Smith
Website	Official website

The Commonwealth Secretary-General is the head of the Commonwealth Secretariat, the central body which has served the Commonwealth of Nations since its establishment in 1965. They are responsible for representing the Commonwealth publicly.

The Commonwealth Secretary-General should not be confused with the Head of the Commonwealth, who is currently Elizabeth II.

List of secretaries-general

No.	Portrait	Name	Country	Term start	Term end	Background	Head (Tenure)
1		Arnold Smith	Canada	1 July 1965	30 June 1975	Canadian ambassador to Egypt (1958–1961) Canadian ambassador to the USSR (1961–1963)	Elizabeth II (1952–2022)
2		Sir Shridath Ramphal	Guyana	1 July 1975	30 June 1990	Foreign Minister of Guyana (1972–1975)
3		Emeka Anyaoku	Nigeria	1 July 1990	31 March 2000	Deputy Secretary-General for Political Affairs (1977–1990)
4		Don McKinnon	New Zealand	1 April 2000	31 March 2008	Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand (1990–1996) Minister of Trade (1990–1996) Minister of Foreign Affairs (1990–1999)
5		Kamalesh Sharma	India	1 April 2008	31 March 2016	Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations (1997–2002) Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (2004–2008)
6		Patricia Scotland Baroness Scotland of Asthal	Dominica  United Kingdom	1 April 2016	31 March 2025	Attorney General for England and Wales and Northern Ireland (2007–2010) UK Minister of State (Home Office; 2003–2007) UK Parliamentary Secretary (Lord Chancellor's Department; 2001–2003) UK Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (1999–2001) UK House of Lords (1997–present)
							Charles III (2022–present)
7		Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey	Ghana	1 April 2025	Incumbent	Minister for Foreign Affairs for Ghana (2017–2025)

References

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