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Sir Shridath “Sonny” Ramphal, former Guyana government minister and Commonwealth secretary-general, died on Friday at the age of 95, according to a statement released by his family.
The statement said Sir Shridas was “a towering figure in international diplomacy and a beloved elder statesman in the Commonwealth and the Caribbean” and that he died surrounded by his children.
Sir Shridath’s distinguished career encompassed many key roles: Assistant Attorney General for the Commonwealth of the West Indies, Minister of Justice and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Guyana, and Secretary-General of the United Nations. federal. He also serves as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Guyana, the University of the West Indies and the University of Warwick.
He was the only individual to serve on all the global commissions between 1980 and 1995, all of which issued landmark reports on the environment, development and disarmament. As Chairman of the West Indies Commission, his 1992 report, Time for Action, remains a groundbreaking blueprint for development in the Caribbean.
After attending Georgetown, Ramfar studied law at King’s College London, where he received his LL.B. and LL.M. degrees. In 1951, he was called to the Bar at Gray’s Inn in London. As a trainee solicitor, he worked with British politician and lawyer Dingle Foote. In 1962, Ramfar continued his law studies at Harvard Law School in the United States for a year on a Guggenheim Fellowship.
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Ramfar began his legal career in 1953 as a prosecutor in the Attorney General’s Office, later becoming Solicitor General and Assistant Attorney General of the Federation of the West Indies. After a period in private practice in Jamaica, he returned to British Guiana in 1965 as Attorney General. Two years later, he was also appointed Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, later becoming Minister of Justice (from 1973) and Minister of Foreign Affairs (from 1972). In 1975, he left Guyana to become Secretary General of the Commonwealth.
He also served as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Warwick from 1989 to 2002, Vice-Chancellor of the University of the West Indies from 1989 to 2003, and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Guyana from 1990 to 1992.
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