The Hindu : International : Oxford Union honours Kadirgamar

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Mar 20, 2005

International

International

Oxford Union honours Kadirgamar

By Hasan Suroor

A portrait of Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar was unveiled in the Macmillan Room at the Oxford Union on Friday. Mr. Kadirgamar, who was President of the Oxford Union in 1959, is seen here with, from left, present Union president Richard Tydeman, Fellow of All Souls College and Queen's Counsel Jeremy Lever, and Oxford University Chancellor Chris Patten, who unveiled the portrait.

OXFORD, MARCH 19. For Lakshman Kadirgamar, the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister, the evening brought back old memories when he was a student at Oxford University in the 1950s and led the prestigious Oxford Union — an experience which he still cherishes. He describes it as an "icing on a cake... that was baked in Sri Lanka."

The occasion was the unveiling of his portrait at a special function organised by the Oxford Union — a rare honour accorded to only a select few in its over 180-year-old history. Other former office-bearers, whose busts or portraits are displayed at the Union, include several former British Prime Ministers such as William Gladstone, Herbert Asquith, Harold Macmillan and Edward Heath, the former Viceroy of India, George Curzon, the former Sri Lankan Prime Minister, S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, and the former Pakistani Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto.

Chris Patten, the Chancellor of Oxford University, who unveiled the portrait, paid tribute to Mr. Kadirgamar's "statesmanship" and his contribution to "international relations."

Contribution to peace

"I much admire what you have done so that peace has a better chance (in Sri Lanka)," Mr. Patten said. He also recalled Mr. Kadirgamar's contribution to regional cooperation as chairman of SAARC.

Mr. Patten quipped that having himself suffered the mortification of being presented, once, with a portrait that bore no resemblance to him ("I had no idea who it was"), Mr. Kadiragamar was lucky to have been awarded with an "excellent" portrait.

Sir Jeremy Lever, QC and a former Union president, said Mr. Kadirgamar added "lustre" to the post and his term (1959) was marked by a "series of excellent debates" which were still remembered. "We are proud to have his splendid portrait in the Union."

Mr. Kadirgamar felt at home in the Union premises, the scene of many of his achievements and some "local difficulties" as a student leader. He said he recognised many old friends in the audience, though thanks to the passage of time "faces have changed, hairlines receded and waistlines expanded." And, turning to Lord Patten, he said: "You have done a great honour to me."

Mr. Kadirgamar said he was touched by the messages of felicitation he had received from around the world, including India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, its Foreign Minister Natwar Singh, the Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Panchayati Raj, Mani Shankar Aiyar, and the former Foreign Ministers, Jaswant Singh and Yashwant Sinha.

Manmohan's message

Dr. Manmohan Singh, in his message, said: "It is a richly deserved honour that will celebrate the long and fruitful years that you have spent in the service of the people and the Government of Sri Lanka, and in other worthy causes."

The former United States President, Bill Clinton, and the former Secretary of State, Colin Powell, had also sent messages, Mr. Kadirgamar said.

Recalling his Oxford days, he said as president of the Union he often had to cope with difficult situations such as when a distinguished guest came to a function so heavily drunk that when his name was called he barely rose to his feet and "said Mr. President and collapsed."

Mr. Kadirgamar came to Oxford in 1956 as a post-graduate student at Balliol and was elected president of the Oxford Union three years later.

He said he wanted to share the honour with "all my South Asian compatriots."

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

International