H.E. Kamalesh Sharma biography

Kamalesh Sharma became Commonwealth Secretary-General on 1 April 2008 after being appointed to the post by Commonwealth Heads of Government at their meeting in Kampala, Uganda, in November 2007.

Mr Sharma served in the Indian Foreign Service from 1965 to 2001, including as India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations. From 2002-04 he was the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative to East Timor. In 2004, he became India’s High Commissioner to the UK, 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 and represented India at the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) meeting in London in February and November 2005. Mr Sharma also led the Indian delegation at the Commonwealth Foreign Ministers Meeting held on the eve of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Malta in November 2005.