A lawyer from one of the Commonwealth’s smallest countries, Shridath Surendranath Ramphal did much to keep the "club" of former British colonies together as a functioning political force. Respected worldwide for his diplomatic skills, Ramphal received many honours, including being named an Honorary Member of the Order of New Zealand. Born in what was then British Guiana, now Guyana, "Sonny", as he was universally known, was the descendant of indentured Indian labourers who had arrived in the country in the 1880s. Ramphal went to London in the late 1940s to study law at King’s College, and was called to the bar in 1951. A decade later he spent a year studying at Yale on a fellowship. He soon became involved in West Indian law and politics, and in 1965 became attorney-general of British Guiana. Two years later he became minister of external affairs, then justice and foreign affairs minister. In 1975, he left Guyana to become the second Commonwealth secretary-general. He joined the organisation at a time of great division: the long-standing dispute over the destiny of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) was still a hot topic, and the temperature was also rising on Commonwealth efforts to end apartheid in South Africa. Those particular disputes meant that the Commonwealth — and by extension the secretary-general — were often directly in conflict with British policy, particularly when Margaret Thatcher was prime minister. Ramphal helped push through settlements which have endured. He also turned the role of secretary-general from a bureaucratic one into something far more influential. He stood down in 1990 and served as chancellor of three universities. In 1995 he became a co-chairman of the Commission on Global Governance, which produced a controversial report on international development, security and globalisation. Sir Sonny died on August 30, aged 95. — Agencies
