Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General

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The Deputy Secretary-General of the Commonwealth assists the Secretary-General in managing the operations of the Commonwealth Secretariat, which is the central institution of the Commonwealth of Nations. The current Deputy Secretary-General is Dr Arjoon Suddhoo of Mauritius. Dr Suddhoo's appointment was announced in February 2019 after an open and competitive process, and he took up the post in April 2019. [1]

Contents

History

Until 2016, three Commonwealth Deputy Secretaries-General assisted the Secretary-General in running the Commonwealth Secretariat, each 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 were 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. [2] 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.

Under Baroness Scotland's tenure as Secretary-General, the vacancies left by the departures of Dunn, Deodat Maharaj, and Josephine Ojiambo were not filled and the three roles merged into a single post.

Lists of Deputy Secretaries-General

NameCountryStartEnd
Arjoon Suddhoo Mauritius 2019Incumbent

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 holderTilak E. Gooneratne
Formation1965
Final holderDeodat Maharaj
AbolishedPossibly June 2017
Website www.thecommonwealth.org
NameCountryStartEnd
Tilak E. Gooneratne Flag of Sri Lanka.svg  Sri Lanka 19651970
Geoffrey WilsonFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 19711971
Hunter Wade Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 19721974 [3]
Incomplete
C. John SmallFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 19791983
Peter MarshallFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 19831988
Peter Unwin 19891993
Humphrey Maud 19931999
Veronica Sutherland 19992001
Winston CoxFlag of Barbados.svg  Barbados 20012006
Ransford Smith Flag of Jamaica.svg  Jamaica 20062013
Deodat MaharajFlag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg  Trinidad and Tobago 20142017

Political Affairs

Deputy Secretary-General for Political Affairs of the Commonwealth of Nations
Incumbent
Vacant (Appointments Suspended)
since 2018
Style His/Her Excellency
Appointer Commonwealth Heads of Government
Term length 3 years, renewable once
Inaugural holderA.L. Adu
Formation1966
Website www.thecommonwealth.org
NameCountryStartEnd
A. L. AduFlag of Ghana.svg  Ghana 19661970
M. A. HusainFlag of India.svg  India 19701977
Emeka Anyaoku Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria 197719901
Anthony SiaguruFlag of Papua New Guinea.svg  Papua New Guinea 19901995
Krishnan Srinivasan Flag of India.svg  India 19952002
Florence MugashaFlag of Uganda.svg  Uganda 20022008
Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba Flag of Botswana.svg  Botswana 20082014
Josephine Ojiambo Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 20152018

1 Initially served from 1977 to 1983, leaving his??[ who? ] 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 holderGary Dunn
Formation2014 – previously titled 'Assistant Secretary-General'
AbolishedUnclear – possibly 2017
Website www.thecommonwealth.org
NameCountryStartEnd
Gary DunnFlag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 20142016 [4]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ "New Deputy Secretary-General appointed | The Commonwealth". thecommonwealth.org. 28 February 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  2. ↑ Doxey, Margaret (January 1979). "The Commonwealth Secretary-General: Limits of Leadership". International Affairs . 55 (1): 67–83. doi:10.2307/2617133. JSTOR   2617133.
  3. ↑ 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. S2CID   154047070.
  4. ↑ https://au.linkedin.com/in/gary-dunn-80689213a%5B‍%5D


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