Commonwealth selects Ghana’s Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey as new secretary-general

Commonwealth members selected Ghana's Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey as secretary-general of the 56-nation club headed by Britain's King Charles, the Commonwealth said on Saturday, the final day of a summit in Samoa attended by Charles and Queen Camilla.

Representatives of the countries, most with roots in Britain's empire, are attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting that began in the Pacific Island nation on Monday, with slavery and the threat of climate change emerging as major themes.

"Today at #CHOGM2024, Commonwealth Heads of Government have selected the Hon Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, currently the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration of Ghana, as the incoming Secretary-General of the Commonwealth," the Commonwealth said on X.

Botchwey, a supporter of reparations for transatlantic slavery and colonialism, takes over from Britain's Patricia Scotland, who has been in the job since 2016.

Earlier on Saturday, Britain's king and queen flew out of Samoa, after a visit in which the monarch acknowledged the Commonwealth's "painful" history, amid a push for former colonial powers to pay reparations for their role in transatlantic slavery.

Charles and Camilla left Samoa about 12pm local time on a Royal Australian Air Force jet, waving farewell as they boarded the plane at Apia's Faleolo International Airport.

Before leaving, the royal pair attended a farewell ceremony at the village of Siumu, which took place in heavy rain.

Charles on Friday said in a speech to the summit that he understood "from listening to people across the Commonwealth how the most painful aspects of our past continue to resonate".