Tyronne Fernando PC ( Sinhala:ටිරොන් ෆර්නැන්ඩො) (8 August 1941 – 26 February 2008) was a Sri Lankan politician who served as foreign minister from 2001 until 2004.

Early life and education

Fernando was born on 8 August 1941. Fernando was a relation of

Puran Appu Weerahannadige Francisco Fernando alias Puran Appu (Sinhala language, Sinhala පුරන් අප්පු) is one of the notable personalities in History of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka's history. He was born on 7 November 1812 in the coastal town of ...

. He attended Royal College, Colombo, and

S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia , motto_translation = Be Thou Forever , song = Thomian Song , athletics = Yes , sports = Yes , nickname = Thora , denomination = Anglican , patron ...

, and earned his MA in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

at Keble College, Oxford. At

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

he was the first Asian to be the chairman of the Labour Club. He also gained a diploma in

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (pro ...

from the London School of Journalism. He entered

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and W ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

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 Crown counsel are lawyers, generally in Common Law jurisdictions, who provide advice to the government and acts as prosecutors in cases. In various jurisdictions their title can vary and they could also be known as the Queen's Advocate, King's Advo ...

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 President's Counsel (postnominal PC) is an eminent lawyer who is appointed by the President of Sri Lanka to be one of the "President's Counsel learned in the law". The term is also recognized as an honorific which replaced the practice of appoi ...

and elevated to Master of the Bench

Political career

In 1974, Fernando entered politics after he joined the

United National Party The United National Party, often abbreviated as UNP ( si, එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය, translit=Eksath Jāthika Pakshaya, ta, ஐக்கிய தேசியக் கட்சி, translit=Aikkiya Tēciyak Kaṭci), ...

. He was elected to

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

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. He also served as

Minister of Information An information minister (also called minister of information) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with information matters; it is often linked with censorship and propaganda. Sometimes the position is given to ...

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 Ranil Wickremesinghe ( si, රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ, ta, ரணில் விக்கிரமசிங்க; born 24 March 1949) is a Sri Lankan politician who is the current president of Sri Lanka since 21 July 2 ...

appointed him to serve as

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...

. He served in this capacity until 2004. During his tenure, he sought the position of

Secretary General of the United Nations The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-ge ...

. 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 the Sri Lankan Ambassador to France. Fernando died on 26 February 2008 at a private hospital in

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo m ...

. At the time of his death, he was serving as a Senior advisor to President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Fernando had one child, Tehani Mathew.

References

External links

Obituary
from the '' Daily News''
Tyronne Fernando passed away (update)
from

Asian Tribune The ''Asian Tribune'' is an online newspaper. Their funding is unknown, and critics, such as the Sri Lanka Guardian, consider their journalism to be of poor quality. The publication is owned by K.T. Rajasingham, who is also a writer for the publi ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Fernando, Tyronne 1941 births 2008 deaths Sri Lankan diplomats Foreign ministers of Sri Lanka Governors of North Eastern Province, Sri Lanka Ambassadors of Sri Lanka to France United National Party politicians Sinhalese lawyers President's Counsels (Sri Lanka) Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Members of Gray's Inn Alumni of Keble College, Oxford Members of the 8th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 9th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 10th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 11th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 12th Parliament of Sri Lanka Sinhalese politicians Ministers of state of Sri Lanka Non-cabinet ministers of Sri Lanka Deputy ministers of Sri Lanka Sri Lankan cricket administrators People of British Ceylon