Commonwealth Secretariat
Encyclopedia
The Commonwealth Secretariat is the main intergovernmental agency and central institution of 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...

. It is responsible for facilitating cooperation between members; organising meetings, including the 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); assisting and advising on policy development; and providing assistance to countries in implementing the decisions and policies of the Commonwealth.

The Secretariat has observer
United Nations General Assembly observers
In addition to the current 193 member states, the United Nations welcomes many international organizations, entities, and non-member states as observers. Observer status is granted by a United Nations General Assembly resolution...

 status in the United Nations General Assembly
United Nations General Assembly
For two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:* General Assembly members* General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...

. It is located at 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"...

 in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, a former royal palace that was given by 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,...

, 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...

.

History

The Secretariat was established by Heads of Government in 1965, taking over many of the functions of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 Government's Commonwealth Relations Office
Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations
The Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations was a British Cabinet office existing between 1947 and 1966, responsible for dealing with British relationship with members of the Commonwealth of Nations . The position was created out of the old position of Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs...

, as part of a major shake-up of the organisation of the Commonwealth. At the same time, the United Kingdom succeeded in advocating the creation of the Secretariat's sister organisation, the Commonwealth Foundation
Commonwealth Foundation
The Commonwealth Foundation is an intergovernmental organisation that was established by the Commonwealth Heads of Government in 1965, the same year as its sister organisation, the Commonwealth Secretariat...

 was founded to foster non-governmental relations and the promotion of the Commonwealth Family
Commonwealth Family
The Commonwealth Family is a network of associations, organisations, and charities affiliated to the Commonwealth of Nations. Although associated with the Commonwealth, they are not fully a part of it, and membership is on a voluntary basis from within the membership of the Commonwealth...

 network of civil societies. Other attempts by members to create similar central bodies, such as a medical conference (proposed by New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

), a development bank (Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...

), and an institution for satellite communications (Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

) failed.

The creation of the Secretariat itself was a contentious issue. The United Kingdom and other long-established countries had hoped to slow the tide of expansion of Commonwealth membership to prevent the dilution of their traditional power within the Commonwealth (particularly after the admission of Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...

). This may have involved a dual-tiered Commonwealth, requiring the continuation of the organisation of Commonwealth cooperation by meetings, rather than a central administration. However, the new African members were keener to create an independent inter-governmental 'central clearing house' (as Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...

's Kwame Nkrumah
Kwame Nkrumah
Kwame Nkrumah was the leader of Ghana and its predecessor state, the Gold Coast, from 1952 to 1966. Overseeing the nation's independence from British colonial rule in 1957, Nkrumah was the first President of Ghana and the first Prime Minister of Ghana...

 described it) to remove power from the older dominions. Milton Obote
Milton Obote
Apolo Milton Obote , Prime Minister of Uganda from 1962 to 1966 and President of Uganda from 1966 to 1971, then again from 1980 to 1985. He was a Ugandan political leader who led Uganda towards independence from the British colonial administration in 1962.He was overthrown by Idi Amin in 1971, but...

 of Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...

 was the first to propose a specifically titled 'secretariat', which was then formally proposed by Eric Williams
Eric Williams
Eric Eustace Williams served as the first Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago. He served from 1956 until his death in 1981. He was also a noted Caribbean historian, and is widely regarded as "The Father of The Nation."...

 of Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...

, who wished to see it based upon the secretariats of the OAS
Organization of American States
The Organization of American States is a regional international organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States...

, EEC
European Economic Community
The European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) The European Economic Community (EEC) (also known as the Common Market in the English-speaking world, renamed the European Community (EC) in 1993The information in this article primarily covers the EEC's time as an independent...

, and OAU.

Earlier attempts at the formation of a central secretariat had been made and failed. Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 had proposed the establishment four times (in 1907, 1924, 1932, and 1944), whilst New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 had also made proposals in 1909 and 1956.

Staff

The chief executive of the Secretariat, and of the Commonwealth as a whole, is the Commonwealth Secretary-General
Commonwealth Secretary-General
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, and responsible for representing the Commonwealth publicly...

. All Secretariat staff report to the Secretary-General, who is also responsible for spending the Secretariat's budget, which is granted by the 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...

. It is the Secretary-General, and not the ceremonial 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...

, that represents the Commonwealth publicly. The Secretary-General is elected by the Heads of Government at the 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 for terms of four years; previously, until 2000, the terms were five years long. The current Secretary-General India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

'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....

, who replaced 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:...

 as Secretary-General on 1 April 2008.

The Secretary-General is assisted 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...

: one responsible for economic affairs (currently 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....

 of Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...

) and one for political affairs (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...

 of Botswana
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...

). 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...

. There are ten Directors from the Commonwealth Secretariat. 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.

All members of staff are exempt from income tax, under the International Organisations Act 2005
International Organisations Act 2005
The International Organisations Act 2005 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Its purpose is to enable the United Kingdom to fulfil a number of international commitments.-Section 2 - Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal:...

, which redefined the legal status of the Secretariat.

Headquarters

The Secretariat is headquartered at 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"...

, in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. Marlborough House is located on Pall Mall
Pall Mall, London
Pall Mall is a street in the City of Westminster, London, and parallel to The Mall, from St. James's Street across Waterloo Place to the Haymarket; while Pall Mall East continues into Trafalgar Square. The street is a major thoroughfare in the St James's area of London, and a section of the...

, Westminster
City of Westminster
The City of Westminster is a London borough occupying much of the central area of London, England, including most of the West End. It is located to the west of and adjoining the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and its southern boundary...

, next to St. James's Palace
St. James's Palace
St. James's Palace is one of London's oldest palaces. It is situated in Pall Mall, just north of St. James's Park. Although no sovereign has resided there for almost two centuries, it has remained the official residence of the Sovereign and the most senior royal palace in the UK...

, which is formally the location of the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 Royal Court
Court of St. James's
The Court of St James's is the royal court of the United Kingdom. It previously had the same function in the Kingdom of England and in the Kingdom of Great Britain .-Overview:...

. Marlborough House was previously a royal palace in its own right, but was given by 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,...

, 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...

, to the British government in September 1959 for use for Commonwealth purposes. This was first realised three years later. Another three years later, in 1965, the building passed to the Secretariat upon its foundation. The building itself was designed by Christopher Wren
Christopher Wren
Sir Christopher Wren FRS is one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history.He used to be accorded responsibility for rebuilding 51 churches in the City of London after the Great Fire in 1666, including his masterpiece, St. Paul's Cathedral, on Ludgate Hill, completed in 1710...

, and served as the London residence of the dukes of Marlborough until it was given to Princess Charlotte
Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales
Princess Charlotte of Wales was the only child of George, Prince of Wales and Caroline of Brunswick...

 in 1817.

The Commonwealth Secretariat Act 1966
Commonwealth Secretariat Act 1966
The Commonwealth Secretariat Act 1966 was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that established the legal character of the Secretariat of the Commonwealth of Nations. The act granted the Secretariat full legal immunity...

, which applied retroactively from the establishment of the Secretariat in 1965, first granted the organisation full diplomatic immunity
Diplomatic immunity
Diplomatic immunity is a form of legal immunity and a policy held between governments that ensures that diplomats are given safe passage and are considered not susceptible to lawsuit or prosecution under the host country's laws...

. This has been subjected to a number of lawsuits challenging this, including Mohsin v Commonwealth Secretariat, and in 2005, Sumukan Limited v Commonwealth Secretariat
Sumukan Limited v Commonwealth Secretariat
The Sumukan Limited v Commonwealth Secretariat case was first heard in February 2005 before the internal, administrative tribunal of the Commonwealth Secretariat [CSAT] and on 20 February 2006 an appeal was heard in the Commercial Court of England and Wales before Justice Colman.-Overview:In this...

. The 1966 Act had been interpreted by English
England and Wales
England and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...

 courts as allowing the courts to exercise supervisory jurisdiction under the Arbitration Act 1996
Arbitration Act 1996
The Arbitration Act 1996 is an Act of Parliament which regulates arbitration proceedings within the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom.-Overview:*Section 69 allows for an appeal on a point of law to a court if parties have agreed for this to happen....

 over the Commonwealth's arbitration tribunal, which had been envisaged as the sole organ to arbitrate on matters related to the Secretariat's operations in the United Kingdom. In light of this interpretation, the Commonwealth Secretariat Act was amended by the International Organisations Act 2005
International Organisations Act 2005
The International Organisations Act 2005 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Its purpose is to enable the United Kingdom to fulfil a number of international commitments.-Section 2 - Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal:...

, which gave the Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal the same legal immunity as the Secretariat itself, guaranteeing independence of the English courts.

External links

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