Tyronne Fernando

Infobox MP
honorific-prefix = The Honourable
name = Tyronne Fernando
honorific-suffix =
PC, MA (Oxon)
order = Former Minister of Foreign Affairs & Information
order1 = Former Governor of the North Eastern Province
order2 = Former Sri Lanka Ambassador to France


caption =
constituency_MP = Moratuwa
parliament = Sri Lankan
majority =
term_start =1977
term_end =1994
predecessor =
successor =
birth_date = 8 August, 1941
birth_place = Ceylon
death_date = 26 February, 2008
death_place = Colombo, Sri Lanka
nationality = Sri Lankan
party = United National Party
otherparty =
spouse =
partner =
relations =
children =
residence =
alma_mater = Keble College, Oxford,
Royal College, Colombo
occupation = Politician and Diplomat
profession = Lawyer
net worth =
religion =


website =
footnotes =

Tyronne Fernando, PC (8 August 1941 – 26 February 2008) was a Sri Lankan politician who served as Foreign Minister from 2001 until 2004. cite news |first=|last=|title=Tyronne Fernando dead |url=http://www.dailynews.lk/2008/02/27/news18.asp |work= Daily News (Sri Lanka) |publisher=|date=2008-02-27 |accessdate=2008-03-26]

Early life and education

Fernando was born on August 8, 1941. Fernando was a descendant of Puran Appu. He attended Royal College, Colombo, one of Sri Lanka's premier schools and earned his MA in political science at Keble College Oxford University. At Oxford he was the first Asian to be the Chairman of the Labour Club. He also has a Diploma in journalism from the London School of Journalism.

Legal career

He entered Gray's Inn, London and was called to the Bar of England and Wales, as a Barrister. Returning to Sri Lanka, he worked as a Crown Counsel for period of 10 years and work as a criminal lawyer for another 10 years. He was later appointed a President's Counsel and elevated to Master of the Bench Gray's Inn.

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 LSSP 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. He also served as Minister of Information in 1993 during the presidency of Ranasinghe Premadasa. He also served as the head of Sri Lanka Cricket Board from 1991 until 1994.

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. He served as governor until January 2006. In 2007 he was appointed as Sri Lankan Ambassador to France.

Fernando died on 26 February 2008 at a private hospital in Colombo. At the time of his death, he was serving as a Senior advisor to President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Fernando had one child, Shehani Mathew. The Tyronne Fernando Cricket Stadium is named in his honor.

References

External links

* [http://www.dailynews.lk/2008/02/27/news18.asp Obituary] from the "Daily News"