Shridath Ramphal
Encyclopedia
Sir Shridath Surendranath "Sonny" Ramphal, GCMG
, AC
, ONZ
, OE
, OM
, QC
, FRSA
(born 3 October 1928, New Amsterdam
, British Guiana
) served as the second Commonwealth Secretary-General
from 1975-1990. Ramphal previously served as the Foreign Minister
of Guyana
from 1972-1975. He was born in Guyana to an Indo-Guyanese
family.
Ramphal was educated at King's College London
and Harvard Law School
.
He worked as the Chancellor of the University of Warwick
from 1989 to 2002, the University of the West Indies
until 2003 and also served as Chancellor of the University of Guyana
.
During his time as Commonwealth
Secretary-General, the United Kingdom
represented by Margaret Thatcher
was found to be in a minority
of one on the issue of economic sanctions
against apartheid
South Africa
.
With Ingvar Carlsson
, he was in 1995 one of the co-chairs of the Commission on Global Governance
, which reported on issues of international development
, international security
, globalization
and global governance
.
He was made an Honorary Fellow of Royal Society of Arts
in May 2006. He is a Vice-President of the Royal Commonwealth Society
.
The Ramphal Building at the University of Warwick
was named in his honour.
Ramphal has two daughters, Susan and Amanda and two sons, Ian and Mark.
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
, AC
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
, ONZ
Order of New Zealand
The Order of New Zealand is the highest honour in New Zealand's honours system, created "to recognise outstanding service to the Crown and people of New Zealand in a civil or military capacity"...
, OE
Order of Excellence
The Order of Excellence is one of the six civil decorations of Jamaica which are awarded annually to "deserving citizens." The Order of Excellence is the most recent honor to be created, having been brought into being in 2003...
, OM
Jamaican Order of Merit
The Order of Merit is part of the Jamaican honours system and is the third highest honour conferred by the nation of Jamaica. The Order of Merit is conferred upon Jamaicans or on distinguished citizen of another country who has achieved eminent international distinction in the field of science,...
, QC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
, FRSA
Royal Society of Arts
The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce is a British multi-disciplinary institution, based in London. The name Royal Society of Arts is frequently used for brevity...
(born 3 October 1928, New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam, Guyana
New Amsterdam , located in the East Berbice-Corentyne Region, 62 miles from the capital, Georgetown, is one of the largest towns in Guyana. It is located four miles upriver from the Atlantic Ocean mouth of the Berbice River, on its eastern bank, immediately south of the Canje River...
, British Guiana
British Guiana
British Guiana was the name of the British colony on the northern coast of South America, now the independent nation of Guyana.The area was originally settled by the Dutch at the start of the 17th century as the colonies of Essequibo, Demerara, and Berbice...
) served as the second Commonwealth Secretary-General
Commonwealth Secretary-General
The Commonwealth Secretary-General is the head of the Commonwealth Secretariat, the central body which has served the Commonwealth of Nations since its establishment in 1965, and responsible for representing the Commonwealth publicly...
from 1975-1990. Ramphal previously served as the Foreign Minister
Foreign minister
A Minister of Foreign Affairs, or foreign minister, is a cabinet minister who helps form the foreign policy of a sovereign state. The foreign minister is often regarded as the most senior ministerial position below that of the head of government . It is often granted to the deputy prime minister in...
of Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
from 1972-1975. He was born in Guyana to an Indo-Guyanese
Indo-Guyanese
Indo-Guyanese are mostly descendants of indentured labourers from India who are citizens or nationals of Guyana. They are often referred to as Indians or East Indians...
family.
Ramphal was educated at King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
and Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
.
He worked as the Chancellor of the University of Warwick
University of Warwick
The University of Warwick is a public research university located in Coventry, United Kingdom...
from 1989 to 2002, the University of the West Indies
University of the West Indies
The University of the West Indies , is an autonomous regional institution supported by and serving 17 English-speaking countries and territories in the Caribbean: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Dominica,...
until 2003 and also served as Chancellor of the University of Guyana
University of Guyana
The University of Guyana, in Georgetown, Guyana is a public university established in 1963 by the Guyanese government.-History:Cheddi Jagan, then Premier of British Guiana considered that the University of the West Indies, to which his government had contributed since 1948, was not meeting the...
.
During his time as Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
Secretary-General, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
represented by Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
was found to be in a minority
Minority group
A minority is a sociological group within a demographic. The demographic could be based on many factors from ethnicity, gender, wealth, power, etc. The term extends to numerous situations, and civilizations within history, despite the misnomer of minorities associated with a numerical statistic...
of one on the issue of economic sanctions
Economic sanctions
Economic sanctions are domestic penalties applied by one country on another for a variety of reasons. Economic sanctions include, but are not limited to, tariffs, trade barriers, import duties, and import or export quotas...
against apartheid
History of South Africa in the apartheid era
Apartheid was a system of racial segregation enforced by the National Party governments of South Africa between 1948 and 1994, under which the rights of the majority 'non-white' inhabitants of South Africa were curtailed and white supremacy and Afrikaner minority rule was maintained...
South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
With Ingvar Carlsson
Ingvar Carlsson
Gösta Ingvar Carlsson is a Swedish politician, Prime Minister of Sweden and leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party ....
, he was in 1995 one of the co-chairs of the Commission on Global Governance
Commission on Global Governance
The Commission on Global Governance was an organization co-chaired by Swedish Prime Minister Ingvar Carlsson, and former Commonwealth Secretary-General Shridath Ramphal, that produced a controversial report, Our Global Neighborhood, in 1995 . The report was attacked by pro-sovereignty groups for...
, which reported on issues of international development
International development
International development or global development is a concept that lacks a universally accepted definition, but it is most used in a holistic and multi-disciplinary context of human development — the development of greater quality of life for humans...
, international security
International security
International security consists of the measures taken by nations and international organizations, such as the United Nations, to ensure mutual survival and safety. These measures include military action and diplomatic agreements such as treaties and conventions. International and national security...
, globalization
Globalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
and global governance
Global governance
Global governance or world governance is the political interaction of transnational actors aimed at solving problems that affect more than one state or region when there is no power of enforcing compliance. The modern question of world governance exists in the context of globalization...
.
He was made an Honorary Fellow of Royal Society of Arts
Royal Society of Arts
The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce is a British multi-disciplinary institution, based in London. The name Royal Society of Arts is frequently used for brevity...
in May 2006. He is a Vice-President of the Royal Commonwealth Society
Royal Commonwealth Society
The Royal Commonwealth Society is an international educational charity and a private members' club. Its mission is to support and promote the modern Commonwealth, its culture and core values...
.
The Ramphal Building at the University of Warwick
University of Warwick
The University of Warwick is a public research university located in Coventry, United Kingdom...
was named in his honour.
Ramphal has two daughters, Susan and Amanda and two sons, Ian and Mark.