Who should be the next Secretary-General?

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Commonwealth Foundation

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Oct 14, 2024, 11:35:54 AMOct 14
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Watch the debate between the candidates.
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Stu,

 

In one week’s time, a new Commonwealth Secretary-General will be selected and appointed at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa. 

 

The successful candidate will shape the future of the Commonwealth at a time when its 56 member states are navigating a period of dramatic global change.

 

So, who’s been nominated for the role and what’s their vision for the coming years? 


A debate we hosted with Chatham House and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association gave the three candidates— Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey from Ghana, Dr Mamadou Tangara from Gambia, and Mr Joshua Setipa from Lesothoan opportunity to set out their vision for the Commonwealth.

 

The most common questions were posed by our moderator Zeinab Badawi and you can now watch the full debate online:

Panelists speaking at the Chatham House debate

The candidates vying for the top job put forward a range of views:

 

  • Dr Mamadou Tangara spoke of the need to ‘leverage the opportunities offered by the past to build a better future’ when questioned about the Commonwealth’s colonial legacy. 

 

  • Mr Joshua Setipa talked about how he had been inspired by previous Secretaries-General: ‘I was taken aback by the scale of what they were able to achieve through the quiet diplomacy of the Commonwealth’.

 

  • Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey spoke about the climate crisis, and threats to democracy and human rights. She offered ‘leadership based on my track record which will, I believe, serve us well to address these challenges’.

 

Watch a replay of the debate to hear the conversation in full.

 

Whoever wins the vote in Samoa, the new Secretary-General will have to work hard to ensure the organisation remains at the heart of international cooperation, and to ensure the Commonwealth continues to be a bastion of human rights and democratic values. 

 

With the appointment of a new Secretary-General just days away, now’s the time to hear what the candidates have to say.

 

With warm wishes,

Commonwealth Foundation

 

P.S. Following the debate at Chatham House, we posed more of civil society's key concerns to the candidates for Commonwealth Secretary-General. Read what they had to say.
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