Shridath Ramphal

Sir Shridath Surendranath "Sonny" Ramphal (3 October 1928 – 30 August 2024) was a Guyanese politician and lawyer. He was the second Commonwealth Secretary-General, from 1975 to 1990. He was the Foreign Minister of Guyana, from 1972 to 1975, and Assistant Attorney General of the West Indies Federation from 1958 to 1962.

Career
Ramphal was an Earth Charter International Commission member.

He also was the Chancellor of the University of Warwick from 1989 to 2002, of the University of the West Indies from 1989 to 2003, and of the University of Guyana from 1990 to 1992.

With former Swedish Prime Minister Ingvar Carlsson, in 1995, he was one of the co-chairs of the Commission on Global Governance, which reported on issues of international development, international security, globalization and global governance.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, at the age of 92, Ramphal was the first lawyer to appear virtually before the International Court of Justice, representing Guyana in a border dispute with Venezuela.

Personal life
Ramphal studied law at King's College London, graduating with LL.B. and LL.M. degrees. He became a lawyer in London in 1951. Ramphal continued studying law for a year at Harvard Law School in the United States.

Ramphal was married to Lois Winifred King from 1951 until her death in 2019. They had four children.

Ramphal died on 30 August 2024, at the age of 95.

References

Other websites

Transcript of the interview, part one
Transcript of the interview, part two
The Ramphal Institute - Official website for the continuation of the work of Sir Shridath Ramphal: promoting good governance, economic development and social justice around the world.

Category:1928 births
Category:2024 deaths
Category:Guyanese diplomats
Category:Guyanese politicians
Category:Commonwealth Secretaries-General
Category:Guyanese writers
Category:Academics
Category:South American lawyers