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June 1965: Arnold Smith is elected first Secretary-General of the Commonwealth

The 1965 Commonwealth Prime Ministers meeting took place -- as was then the usual practice -- in London. Marlborough House had already been established as the location for the headquarters of the new Commonwealth Secretariat. It was therefore a happy circumstance that the actual voting on the appointments of the first Secretary-General should happen to take place in what were to become his official offices.

In his memoirs Stitches in Time Arnold Smith recalls the first question he received from the media in his new role: 'What do countries as diverse as Sierra Leone, India and Canada have in common?' To which he replied: 'We all need to learn to share a planet, and we believe that using the Commonwealth can help.'*

Mr Smith was an internationally respected Canadian diplomat, however Lester B Pearson, the Prime Minister of Canada, stated that the appointment had not been sought for Canada. They had thought it right to offer the best man they could because they believed in the Commonwealth and the great hope it held for the future.

Mr Smith served two terms until 1975, witnessing six more Commonwealth summits. Among Mr Smith's papers held in the Library and Archives of the Commonwealth Secretariat are files relating to succeeding CHOGMs as well his involvement with other Commonwealth conferences.

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*Smith, A with Sanger, C, Stitches in Time: the Commonwealth in World Politics, London: Andre Deutsch, 1981; 18

Former Secretaries-General