Secretary-General
A new Commonwealth Secretary-General was elected to replace the outgoing Chief Emeka Anyaoku. There were two candidates: Don McKinnon, Minister of Foreign Affairs of New Zealand; and Farooq Sobhan, Foreign Minister of Bangladesh. In line with criticism of the role of CMAG from other parties, Sobhan ran on a platform of reforming the role of CMAG to cover not just democratic infringements, but economic and environmental ones, too. On the first day of the CHOGM, McKinnon was announced as the new Secretary-General-elect. The result of the vote (which remains secret) is reputed to have been thirty six votes for McKinnon to sixteen for Sobhan, but it was declared as 'unanimous' by chair Thabo Mbeki, in line with the formula established in 1989.
The CHOGM saw the creation of the position of Chairperson-in-Office, which was intended to give inter-governmental continuity between CHOGMs. Thabo Mbeki became the first Chairperson-in-Office, although he did little in the following two and a half years in the role.
Read more about this topic: Commonwealth Heads Of Government Meeting 1999