Interview with Sir Shridath Ramphal: Commonwealth Oral History Project

Interview with Sir Shridath Ramphal, conducted 23rd November 2013 in London and 29th January 2015 in Bridgetown, Barbados, as part of the Commonwealth Oral History Project. The project aims to produce a unique digital research resource on the oral history of the Commonwealth since 1965 through sixty oral history interviews with leading figures in the recent history of the organisation. It will provide an essential research tool for anyone investigating the history of the Commonwealth and will serve to promote interest in and understanding of the organisation. Biography: Ramphal, Sir Shridath Surendranath ‘Sonny’. 1928- . Born in New Amsterdam, British Guiana. Educated at King’s College London and Gray’s Inn, London, 1947-51. Assistant Attorney General of the West Indies Federation, 1958-62. Guggenheim Fellow, Harvard Law School, 1961. Attorney General of British Guiana, 1965-67. Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Guyana, 1967-72, and then Minister of Foreign Affairs, 1972-75. Commonwealth Secretary General, 1975-90. Co-Chair, Commission on Global Governance, 1995. Chancellor of the University of Guyana, 1988-92. Chancellor of the University of Warwick, 1989-2001. Chancellor of the University of the West Indies, 1989-2003.