Lawyer, politician and international statesman…Sir Shridath Ramphal is a ‘Special Person’
While attending primary school at Grove, East Bank Demerara, in the late 1980s, my Common Entrance teacher, June Appiah, during the months leading up to the exams, was intent on ensuring we were well aware who the President and his ministers were. She was short in stature but was a giant with her “wild cane”.
Sir Shridath Ramphal
Being one of the smallest, too, in terms of size, in the class, I was in constant terror because of the cane… Not that I fell victim too often. I avoided it at all cost. But somehow I still managed to always mix up the names of the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). That was when I first heard the name of Shridath Ramphal.
Known as ‘Sonny’ to those close to him, Sir Shridath is perhaps this country’s and region’s most remarkable and revered diplomat, rubbing shoulders over the years with powerful world leaders, including the likes of former US President Jimmy Carter, Germany’s Willy Brandt, South Africa’s Nelson Mandela, India’s Indira Gandhi and Britain’s ‘Iron Lady’ Margaret Thatcher. [Read more]
