Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma has appointed Mr Deodat Maharaj, from Trinidad and Tobago, to the post of Deputy Secretary-General (Economic and Social Development) at the Commonwealth Secretariat.
Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma has appointed Mr Deodat Maharaj, from Trinidad and Tobago, to the post of Deputy Secretary-General (Economic and Social Development) at the Commonwealth Secretariat.
Mr Sharma said: “I am very pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Deodat Maharaj. He brings to the Secretariat and the Commonwealth a wealth of experience in diverse areas of development. He also has strong management credentials in areas of priority and direct relevance to the Secretariat’s new Strategic Plan. Mr Maharaj will be a valuable addition to the Secretariat’s leadership team.”
Responding to the appointment by the Secretary-General, Mr Maharaj said: “I am delighted with the opportunity, and it will be an honour to serve the Commonwealth.”
Mr Maharaj will report to the Secretary-General on economic affairs, trade and debt, social development, and public sector governance. He will also have responsibility in particular for the sound management of the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation.
The incoming Deputy Secretary-General is currently Chief, Division for Afghanistan, Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Headquarters in New York. He has held amongst other posts that of Chief of Staff in the UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific, and has worked in Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Guyana and Tanzania.
He had also worked at the Caribbean Development Bank in Barbados and was Head of the Secretariat on the Ministerial Council for Social Development with the Government of Trinidad and Tobago.
Mr Maharaj holds an MSc in International Affairs from Florida State University, USA; first degrees in Government (University of West Indies) and Law (London University, UK); and a post-graduate diploma in International Affairs from the University of West Indies.
Mr Maharaj is expected to commence duties in the first quarter of 2014.
