The knight in shining armour of Lankan politics

British High Commissioner Dominick Chilcott will deliver the 10th Dudley Senanayake Memorial Oration at Committee Room A of the BMICH on Monday, December 10 at 6 p.m. This lecture is organized by the Dudley Senanayake Foundation in co-ordination with the Friedrich Naumann Stiftung, Sri Lanka.

The late Dudley Senanayake was educated at S. Thomas College, Mount Lavinia, and later at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. He was first elected to the State Council to represent the Dedigama constituency in 1936; was Minister of Agriculture in Ceylon's first cabinet after Independence and Prime Minister three times. He was a cricketer at school and University, and loved music and photography.

He was known as the knight in shining armour of Sri Lankan politics, a reluctant politician, who nevertheless strode the political arena like a colossus till his death. He was an excellent speaker with a powerful voice and famed for his wit and repartee in Parliament. This was in a Parliament that had the crème a la crème of Sri Lankan politicians, many of them educated at British universities.

He was respected for his loyalty to his party even when he was temporarily out of politics and refused office when offered to him by another party which was in power. In these days of political crossovers for high office, his example is a good one for young aspiring politicians to emulate.

British High Commissioner Dominick Chilcott who delivers the oration on this occasion was born in Hong Kong in 1959, and is the son of a regular Army officer. He was educated at St. Joseph's College, Ipswich and at Greyfriars Hall, Oxford, where he got a 2nd class Honours degree in Philosophy and Theology. He first served the Royal Navy as a Midshipman for one year and joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1982 where he served as Director Europe, and Director of Iraqi Planning. He has served abroad in Brussels, Lisbon and Ankara and in several other important posts in the Foreign and Commonwealth office. His posting to Colombo was his first in South East Asia and his first as Head of Mission.

Something which has endeared him to people in every posting is that he has learned the language of the country and spoken in it too. He leaves Colombo in January for Washington where he will serve as No. 2 in the British Embassy. His subject for the oration is 'The New Diplomacy in the New Century'.

Previous speakers at this annual event have been David Steel, MP, former Leader of the British Liberal Party, Sir Russell Johnston MP, Deputy Leader of the British Liberal Democrats, Dr. Zach de Beer MP, Leader of the Democratic Party South Africa, Steingrimur Hermannsonn, MP, Prime Minister of Iceland, Earl Russell, spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, House of Lords, Otto Count Lamsdorff, MP, Chairman Friedrich Naumann Stiftung Foundation and former leader, Free Democratic Party, Germany and Past President, Liberal International, Bradman Weerakoon, former secretary to 8 Prime Ministers, Ranil Wickremesinghe, Leader of the Opposition and Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama.
(IMK)