The Commonwealth Association

[meteor_slideshow home]

Sir Ron Sanders to speak on ‘Sonny’ Ramphal’s legacy

Fifth Patsy Robertson Memorial Lecture to be held in Marlborough House

On 1 July Sir Ronald Sanders will speak in Marlborough House on the legacy of Sir Shridath ‘Sonny’ Ramphal. The lecture is the fifth in a series of lectures in memory of Patsy Robertson, who worked closely with Ramphal and was the founding chair of the Commonwealth Association, a body of former staff members of the Commonwealth Secretariat and other Commonwealth organisations.

Sir Shridath Ramphal, who was Secretary-General of the Commonwealth from 1975 to 1990, died last year. During his term of office he was involved in a wide range of issues and developed the Commonwealth Secretariat into a powerful international organisation.

Sir Ronald Sanders KCMG KCN AM(Hon), (above) is currently Ambassador of Antigua & Barbuda to the USA and to the Organisation of American States. He was Antigua & Barbuda’s High Commissioner in London from1983 to 1987 and 1994 to 2004. He was also a member and Rapporteur of the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group (2010-2011) which produced the report on Commonwealth reform,  A Commonwealth of the People: Time for Urgent Reform. He was also Sonny Ramphal’s son-in-law.

The lecture is being held in the afternoon and is preceded in the late morning by a memorial service to celebrate Sir Shridath Ramphal’s life in the Queen’s Chapel, adjacent to Marlborough House.