Patricia Scotland - first woman Commonwealth Secretary General

Patricia Scotland, a Dominican-born British lawyer has been appointed as the Commonwealth’s Secretary General, she becomes the first woman to occupy the top post in the 53-member organization.

Heads of Commonwealth countries chose the 60-year-old to take over from India’s Kamalesh Sharma starting April 1, 2016.

“I am incredibly proud to be the first woman to hold the post of Secretary-General,” she had told a press conference. The Commonwealth Secretary-General is the head of the Commonwealth Secretariat, the central body which has served the Commonwealth of Nations since its establishment in 1965, and responsible for representing the Commonwealth publicly.