The Human Dignity Trust pays tribute to one of its first patrons and a loyal supporter, Sir Shridath “Sonny” Ramphal, who died on 30 of August 2024 at the age of 95.
Sir Sonny was born in New Amsterdam in 1928, in what was then British Guiana, now Guyana. One of five children, he was schooled in the capital Georgetown, before going on to study law at King’s College London, in the late 1940s. He was called to the bar in 1951.
Upon returning to his homeland in 1952, he soon began work in the newly formed West Indies Federation, as a legal draftsman. This was followed by two years as British Guiana’s solicitor general, and the West Indies’ assistant attorney general.
Following some time in private practice, Sir Sonny became the Guyanese Attorney General in 1965, followed two years later by successive appointments as Minister of State in the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He left Guyana once again in 1975 to become Commonwealth Secretary-General for 15 years, until his retirement from the organisation in 1990.
He was knighted in 1970 and following his retirement from the Commonwealth Secretariat, amongst other positions, he went on to serve as chancellor of the University of Guyana from 1990 to 1992 and then later as chancellor of the University of the West Indies and the University of Warwick in Britain.
Sonny Ramphal was an extraordinary man. Principled, determined, vital and wholly dedicated to the protection of fundamental human rights throughout his long rich life. We were honoured to have his vision and guidance as one of the Human Dignity Trust’s first patrons in 2011. At one of our foundational events, confronting the scale of the task that lay ahead, he closed his remarks with the words, “Be of stout heart and you will prevail”. He did indeed have a very stout heart and will be remembered fondly by all at the Trust
It is with the greatest sorrow that we mourn the passing of Sir Shridath “Sonny” Ramphal. He was a giant of the Caribbean and one of the Commonwealth’s brightest lights. As a committed internationalist, and my longest-serving predecessor as Secretary-General, Sir Sonny served the Commonwealth with extraordinary vision, compassion, wisdom, and a steadfast commitment to the values which bind our family of nations
