Biography
H.E. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey is the 7th Secretary-General of the Commonwealth and the first woman from Africa to hold the office. Appointed by Commonwealth Heads of Government at their meeting in Apia, Samoa, in October 2024, she took office on 1 April 2025. She leads the Commonwealth Secretariat, which serves 56 member countries with about 2.7 billion people, and has committed to placing trade and investment at the heart of the Commonwealth’s renewal, citing the potential of critical minerals, clean energy and sustainable supply chains.
Before joining the Commonwealth, Botchwey was Ghana’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration from January 2017 to January 2025 and sat on Ghana’s National Security Council. She also chaired the ECOWAS Council of Ministers from 2020 to 2022. Under President John Agyekum Kufuor she was a Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, for Information and for Trade and Industry between 2001 and 2009, and she was Member of Parliament for Weija and later Anyaa-Sowutuom for four consecutive terms from 2005 to 2021.
Botchwey is a qualified Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Ghana. She holds an Executive MBA in Project Management from the University of Ghana Business School, a Bachelor of Laws from the University of London, an MA in Public Communications and Public Relations from the University of Westminster and a Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice from The University of Law. She is a fellow of the African Leadership Initiative and the Aspen Global Leadership Network.
In her first year in office the Secretariat delivered the Commonwealth Strategic Plan 2025–2030 and convened the first Commonwealth Business Summit, in Namibia in June 2025, while the Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub helped unlock almost US$600 million in climate finance. She has described the energy transition as one of the greatest engines of growth in modern history, and notes that trade between Commonwealth countries costs on average about 21 per cent less, an advantage she aims to turn into investment and jobs.
Career Highlights
- 7th Commonwealth Secretary-General and first woman from Africa in the role, in office since 1 April 2025
- Ghana’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration from January 2017 to January 2025
- Chaired the ECOWAS Council of Ministers from 2020 to 2022
- Member of Ghana’s Parliament across four consecutive terms from 2005 to 2021
- Led the Secretariat’s delivery of the Commonwealth Strategic Plan 2025–2030
On the AETC Stage
“For Africa, this transition must become a transformation, not a recipient of change, but a driver of it. Too many economies remain exposed to old patterns of extraction, where value leaves the continent and vulnerability becomes destiny. Without justice in the energy transition, the countries with the greatest potential will once again be left carrying the greatest burden. The answer to fragmentation is not isolation; it is purposeful cooperation.”
