Sri Lankan politician and lawyer (1941–2008)
Tyronne Fernando PC (Sinhala :ටිරොන් ෆර්නැන්ඩො) (8 August 1941 – 26 February 2008) was a Sri Lankan lawyer and politician who served as foreign minister from 2001 until 2004.[ 1]
Early life and education
Fernando was born on 8 August 1941.[ 1] Fernando was a relation of Puran Appu .[ 1] He attended Royal College, Colombo , and S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia ,[ 2] and earned his MA in political science at Keble College, Oxford .[ 1] At Oxford he was the first Asian to be the chairman of the Labour Club . He also gained a diploma in journalism from the London School of Journalism . He entered Gray's Inn , London and was called to the Bar of England and Wales, as a barrister .
Legal career
Returning to Ceylon, he became an advocate and started his legal practice in the unofficial bar . He then joined the Attorney-General's Department and worked as a Crown Counsel for period of ten years, before reverting to the unofficial bar and building a practice in criminal law for another 10 years. He was later appointed a President's Counsel and elevated to Master of the Bench Gray's Inn .[ 1]
Political career
In 1974, Fernando entered politics after he joined the United National Party . He was elected to Parliament in 1977 as a representative of the Moratuwa constituency, a stronghold of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party , he won with a record majority of 15,000. Fernando served as the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs during the presidency of J.R. Jayewardene .[ 1] He also served as Minister of Information in 1993 during the presidency of Ranasinghe Premadasa .[ 1] He also served as the head of Sri Lanka Cricket Board from 1991 until 1994.[ 1]
In 2001, the new prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe appointed him to serve as Minister of Foreign Affairs . He served in this capacity until 2004. During his tenure, he sought the position of Secretary General of the United Nations .
Fernando resigned from the United National Party after the 2004 election , during which he lost his parliamentary seat. He was later appointed by President Chandrika Kumaratunga as Governor of the former North-East Province on 8 December 2004.[ 1] He served as governor until January 2006.[ 1] In 2007 he was appointed the Sri Lankan Ambassador to France .
Fernando died on 26 February 2008 at a private hospital in Colombo .[ 1] At the time of his death, he was serving as a Senior advisor to President Mahinda Rajapaksa .[ 1] Fernando had one child, Tehani Mathew.[ 1]
References
External links
Multi–member (1989 – Present)