Kamalesh Sharma Re-appointed Commonwealth Secretary General

Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma was re-appointed to the coveted post on 30 October 2011. The Commonwealth Leaders agreed to re-appoint him at the 21st Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Perth in Australia. Sharma who served as a veteran Indian diplomat was re-appointed for a four-year term beginning in April 2012.

Kamlesh Sharma’s Background

Sharma was first elected to as the Secretary General of Commonwealth during the biennial summit of the 54-nation grouping in Kampala, Uganda, in 2007. He took over from Sir Don McKinnon of New Zealand on 1 April, 2008.

Kamalesh Sharma previously served as India's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, where he was closely involved in Commonwealth activities. In that capacity, he served as a member of the Board of Governors of the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Commonwealth Foundation. He was associated with the Commonwealth since 2004 when he was a member of the Board of Governors of the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Commonwealth Foundation.

From 2002 to 2004, Mr Sharma served as the special representative of the United Nations secretary-general to Timor Leste, with the rank of Under Secretary-General. He helped building up a newly independent Timor Leste by strengthening internal security and public administration, including justice, financial administration, policing and protection of human rights.

From 1988 to 1990, he was India's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva. There he acted as the spokesperson for developing countries in the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) during the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade talks. During his tenure as an Ambassador and the Indian Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, from 1997 to 2002, Kamlesh Sharma chaired the Working Group on Financing for Development, which led to the Monterrey Consensus.