The Maltese government announced Wednesday that it is putting forward the candidacy of Foreign Minister Michael Frendo for the post of Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, according to dpa. In a letter seeking support, sent to High Commissioners of Commonwealth countries in London, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, currently chair-in-office of the Commonwealth, described Frendo's candidacy as "further proof of Malta's commitment to the Commonwealth and this international organisation's important role." Frendo, 51, who has been foreign minister since July 2004, is currently president of the Commonwealth Ministers' Action Group, which monitors member states' adherence to the principles of good government expressed in the Harare Declaration. After the most recent Commonwealth summit, held in Malta in November 2005, the current secretary-general, Don McKinnon, appointed Frendo chairman of the Steering Committee of Commonwealth Connects, the Commonwealth Action Programme for the Digital Divide. The election of McKinnon's successor as secretary-general of the Commonwealth will be held at the next Commonwealth Summit being held in Kampala, Uganda, in November this year. The new secretary-general takes office in April 2008. Malta has been a member of the 53-nation Commonwealth since it became independent in September 1964.
