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Kamalesh Sharma
India

Kamalesh Sharma

Commonwealth Secretary-General

Date of Birth: 30/09/1941

Delhi's man runs for the Commonwealth

Kamalesh Sharma, the High Commisioner of India to Britain, was appointed Secretary General of the Commonwealth on the 1st April 2008.  Sharma joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1965. He was Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva from 1988 to 1990, acting as the UN Council for Trade and Development’s Spokesman for Developing Countries in the Uruguay round of trade negotiations. He later took on ambassadorial missions in Germany, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. From August 1997, he served five years at the UN headquarters in New York, where he worked on the Millennium Development Goals and occasionally sparred with Pakistan over terrorism and Kashmir. Retiring from the Foreign Service, he was appointed as UN Secretary General Kofi Annan’s Special Representative to East Timor from 2002 to 2004. 

We hear that Sharma turned down an offer of the Ambassadorship to the United States, preferring to pursue the Commonwealth position and that he is backed by Sonia Gandhi, President of the Indian National Congress. Sharma always seemed well ahead of his opponents. Though Rais Yatim, Malaysia’s Minister of Culture, enjoyed the support of several Muslim nations, he pulled out in July 2007. Michael Frendo, Foreign Minister of Malta, doggedly chased the seat, but was considered a long-shot.

In an unorthodox move, Mohan Kaul, Director-General of the Commonwealth Business Council, put himself into the race without the express backing of any country. A British citizen, he presented himself as an Indian candidate.  The selection took place during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Kampala, Uganda, on 23-25 November 2007. Behind closed doors, ministers decided which candidate was most favoured by member nations. The others then withdrew, leaving a field of one and the appearance of unanimity. There was a general view at the Commonwealth that it was Asia’s turn next, although many smaller Commonwealth countries might still have preferred Malta to India, the populous Goliath.