(Commonwealth)_ Sir Shridath “Sonny” Ramphal, who served as Commonwealth Secretary-General from 1975 to 1990, is the most distinguished of the organisation’s heritage figures. During his unprecedented 15 years’ service as Secretary-General, he was zealously dedicated to the mission of justice, fairness, and international cooperation. A Guyanese diplomat, lawyer, and statesman, Ramphal’s period in office spanned the newer aspect of the Commonwealth, setting its vision far beyond the colonial experience.
Ramphal pioneered in 1975 when he was elected the first secretary-general of a Third World nation. His election created a new dawn in Commonwealth history, with the Global South’s interests and perspectives framing decision-making. This revolution cleared the space for the ground to reshape the institution to be more reflective, inclusive, and significant.
Ramphal’s greatest achievement was his uncompromising stand against apartheid in South Africa. He rallied the Commonwealth to put diplomatic and economic pressure on the apartheid government under the guise of sanctions, and collective pressure against racism was rooted in it. Through him, the Commonwealth facilitated the Eminent Persons Group, which confronted South African politicians and political detainees in bold moves. Although their move may not have resulted in immediate change, it laid the groundwork for subsequent negotiations that ultimately dismantled apartheid.
Ramphal also had an important role to play in shaping Southern Africa. In guiding the decolonization of Southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, he witnessed one of Africa’s most intricate power transfers. The 1979 Lusaka Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference (CHOGM) provided the venue for the first-ever election observation mission in the region and paved the way for the peaceful majority-ruled independence of Zimbabwe.
His dedication to justice extended beyond the political transition. Ramphal firmly believed in the structural disadvantage faced by weak, small, and island states in general. He diligently endeavoured to secure their inclusion in multilateral forums and on the agenda for climate change, debt relief, and economic resilience.
Ramphal was also among the earliest crusaders of economic justice. While the rest of the world’s trade and aid system favoured more developed nations at the expense of others, Ramphal’s Commonwealth maintained moral integrity and advocated for more equitable reforms. He was against the then-existing world economic practices of operations and demanded more equitable trade agreements and aid allocations to better represent the interests of the developing nations.
Even in Ramphal’s time, the global issue of climate change was recognised for its visionary yet destructive power. Under him, the Commonwealth was one of the world’s first institutions to document sea-level rise and environmental degradation. His early reserve about sustainable development foreshadowed the importance of environmental stewardship as an issue of global concern.
His peacemaking diplomacy secured global respect outside the Commonwealth. During the Cold War and post-colonial times, Ramphal used his calm, statesmanlike judgement to negotiate international disputes in the background. His achievement at negotiating settlements with warring parties raised the reputation of the Commonwealth as a capable international mediator.
Ramphal’s legacy extended beyond his diplomatic life. He was a talented writer and thinker whose speeches and writings were the source of unimaginable inspiration in bringing debate to matters of world justice, unification, and development. His writings encouraged generations of thinkers and leaders to go back to the moral obligation of states towards one another.
From his existence, Sir Shridath Ramphal was universally known for his contribution. He was honored by Caribbean, African, Asian, European, and Pacific governments and institutions for his decoration, a sign of universal esteem in which he was regarded as a moral force and a visionary. They are the global respect in which he was regarded as a moral force and a visionary.
But his greatest lasting legacy of all may be his remaking of the Commonwealth itself. While he was alive, the organisation was remade from a colonial anachronism to a modern, values-based organisation that could speak for democracy, human rights, and solidarity to the world. His achievement was to remake the Commonwealth not just as a collection of states but as a global movement for equality and common progress.
