International relations experts have identified Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Ghana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, as a strong contender to succeed the outgoing Commonwealth Secretary-General, Patricia Scotland, Baroness Scotland of the United Kingdom.
Experts attribute her potential success to her extensive experience, vision, and dedication to international service.
The election will occur during the 27th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Apia, Samoa, from October 21 to 26.
Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, a lawyer, diplomat, and politician, is competing against two other African candidates: Senator Joshua Setipa of Lesotho and Dr. Mamadou Tangara of The Gambia.
She has received endorsements from both President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and former President John Dramani Mahama.
The meeting’s theme, “One Resilient Common Future: Transforming our Common Wealth,” aims to strengthen resilient democratic institutions that uphold human rights, democracy, and the rule of law, while also addressing climate change and its impact on small states and island nations.
This will be the first full Commonwealth summit since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022 and the first presided over by King Charles III as Head of the Commonwealth.
President Akufo-Addo’s nomination of Madam Ayorkor Botchwey reflects a consensus among Commonwealth members that the next Secretary-General should be African. In nominating her, the President expressed strong confidence in her ability to lead the organization towards building resilient and thriving economies through community cooperation.
Since announcing her candidacy earlier this year, Madam Ayorkor Botchwey has presented her plans and priorities for the Secretary-General position to Heads of State and Governments of Commonwealth Member States worldwide.
In explaining her motivation to become the next Commonwealth Secretary-General, she stated, “I’ve put myself forward because I care about the Commonwealth and its diverse peoples; and I have the leadership skills and record, networks, and character for getting tough things done.
The Commonwealth has enormous potential yet to be realised for its 2.68 billion citizens that could make it the most consequential organization after the UN. I’m motivated to see that vision realised.”
As a seasoned diplomat, she has played significant roles in various international relations initiatives. For example, during Ghana’s tenure on the UN Security Council (2021-2023), she led the passage of Resolution 27/19, which secured UN funding for Africa-led peace support operations for the first time.
Additionally, as Chair of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers, she actively contributed to efforts to prevent coups in the region and reform the Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance.
She engaged with military leaders who seized power unconstitutionally to develop roadmaps toward restoring constitutional order and introduced reforms within the ECOWAS Commission that improved efficiencies and redirected savings to community programs.
Madam Botchwey also highlighted her collaboration with the G7 on issues related to international peace, security, and the reform of the development cooperation framework, emphasizing her capability to lead teams towards transformative results for the Commonwealth.
She outlined six key areas for repositioning the Commonwealth to meet the expectations of its hundreds of millions of citizens: Democracy; Commonwealth Values and Realizing the Democratic Dividend; Trade and Investment; Youth, Education, Skills, Innovation, and Start-Ups; Climate Change; and Small Island Developing States.
If elected, Madam Ayorkor Botchwey would become the second African and the second woman to hold the position, following Chief Emeka Anyaoku of Nigeria.
Ghana, under President Akufo-Addo’s leadership, is hopeful for her election, which would bring honor to both the nation and the African continent.
The Commonwealth is an international association of 56 member states, most of which are former territories of the British Empire.
The Secretary-General is nominated by Commonwealth leaders and can serve a maximum of two four-year terms.
