The Commonwealth Secretariat is the main intergovernmental agency and central institution of the Commonwealth of Nations. It is responsible for facilitating co-operation between members; organising meetings, including the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings (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 status in the United Nations General Assembly. It is located at Marlborough House in London, the United Kingdom, a former royal residence that was given by Queen Elizabeth II, Head of the Commonwealth at the time. Today, the Head of the Commonwealth is King Charles III.

History

thumb|[[Marlborough House, London, the headquarters of the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Commonwealth's principal intergovernmental institution]]

The Secretariat was established by the Heads of Government in 1965, taking over many of the functions of the United Kingdom Government's Commonwealth Relations Office, as part of a major shake-up of the organisation of the Commonwealth. The purpose of the Secretariat was to serve as an "information exchange" for the Commonwealth Prime Ministers. At the same time, the United Kingdom succeeded in advocating the creation of the Secretariat's sister organisation, the Commonwealth Foundation, which was founded to foster non-governmental relations and the promotion of the Commonwealth Family network of civil societies. Other attempts by members to create similar central bodies, such as a medical conference (proposed by New Zealand), a development bank (Jamaica), and an institution for satellite communications (Canada) failed. In 1965, the Rhodesian Declaration of Independence was issued, gaining its sovereignty from the British in Southern Africa. Simultaneously, Smith was performing his first official visit as Secretary General to East and Central Africa. Due to his diplomatic peacemaking abilities, he was able to save the Commonwealth from dissolving due to clashing opinions. As a result, the prime ministers of the Commonwealth formed a sanctions committee that taught prime ministers how the sanctions they implemented on the "illegal" Salisbury regime were maintained, and a standing committee primarily focused on assisting to train Rhodesian Africans. More state crises occurred after, shifting the Secretariat's dominant focus to peacemaking efforts. 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. It is the secretary-general, and not the ceremonial Head of the Commonwealth, that represents the Commonwealth publicly. The Head of the Commonwealth is more of a symbolic role, chosen by the Commonwealth leaders with no maximum set term. The secretary-general is elected by the Heads of Government at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meetings for a maximum of two terms of four years; until 2000, a term was five years. The current Secretary-General is Ghana's Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, who replaced Patricia Scotland as secretary-general on 1 April 2025.

The secretary-general is assisted by three deputy secretaries-general: one responsible for economic affairs (currently Deodat Maharaj), one for political affairs (Josephine Ojiambo), and one for corporate affairs (Gary Dunn). The secretary-general may appoint junior staff at his own discretion, provided the Secretariat can afford it, whilst the 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 secretaries-general have also at times submitted nominations of their own.

Headquarters

The Secretariat is headquartered at Marlborough House, in London, the United Kingdom. Marlborough House is located on Pall Mall, Westminster, next to St. James's Palace, which is formally the location of the British Royal Court. Marlborough House was previously a royal residence in its own right, but was given by Queen Elizabeth II, the former Head of the Commonwealth, 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. In light of this interpretation, the Commonwealth Secretariat Act was amended by the International Organisations Act 2005, which gave the Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal the same legal immunity as the Secretariat itself, guaranteeing independence of the English courts. As of November 2007, when the Commonwealth Heads of Government held a meeting in Uganda, they reviewed and solidified the rules for membership into the Secretariat. The Commonwealth Secretariat outlines these membership rules:

  1. The applicant country should have had a past constitutional association with an existing Commonwealth member.
  2. Applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis, except in save for exceptional circumstances.
  3. The applicant country is expected to abide by the fundamental values written out in the 1971 Declaration of Commonwealth Principles
  4. The applicant country should show commitment to democracy and its processes, such as "free and fair elections and representative legislatures; the rule of law and independence of the judiciary; good governance, including a well-trained public service and transparent public accounts; and protection of human rights, freedom of expression, and equality of opportunity."
  5. The applicant country should embrace the Commonwealth norms and agreements, such as "the use of the English language as the medium of inter-Commonwealth relations, and acknowledge His Majesty King Charles III as the Head of the Commonwealth."
  6. Lastly, newly admitted members are encouraged to join the Commonwealth Foundation and to advance strong civil society and business organizations within their respective countries, and promoting democratic practices.

Any country can join the Commonwealth Secretariat. Gabon and Togo were the most recent states to join in 2022.