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A. T. Moorthy

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A. T. Moorthy
Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom
In office
January 1981 – May 1984
Preceded byNoel Wimalasena
Succeeded byChandra Monerawela
Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Pakistan
In office
1978–1981
Personal details
Born(1928-08-10)10 August 1928
Batticaloa District, Ceylon
Died1 April 2008(2008-04-01) (aged 79)
London, United Kingdom
Alma materUniversity of Ceylon, Colombo
ProfessionDiplomat
EthnicitySri Lankan Tamil

Arambamoorthy Thedchana Moorthy (10 August 1928 – 1 April 2008) was a Sri Lankan Tamil diplomat and High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.

Early life and family

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Moorthy was born on 10 August 1928 in Batticaloa District in eastern Ceylon.[1] He was educated at Sivananda Vidyalayam, Batticaloa and Jaffna College.[1] After school he joined the University of Ceylon, Colombo, graduating in 1948 with a degree in economics.[1]

Moorthy married Suseela, daughter of P. Sriskandarajah, in 1959.[1] They had two daughters (Uma and Ima) and a son (Sri Ayilavan).[1]

Career

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Chinese Premier Chou En Lai and his interpreter speaking to Moorthy, Ceylonese Charge d'Affaires, at a reception in Peking to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Ceylon's independence on 4 Feb 1958.

Moorthy joined the Ceylon Overseas Service in 1953 and his first diplomatic posting was in Jakarta, Indonesia.[1] He became chargé d'affaires of the Ceylonese embassy in Beijing, China in 1957, meeting leaders such as Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai.[1] He was first secretary at the High Commission of Ceylon, London between 1961 and 1963.[1] During this time Moorthy and Suseela studied for the bar at Gray's Inn.[1] He was called to the bar in 1965.[1]

Moorthy then served in various diplomatic positions: first secretary in West Germany (1964–66); chargé d'affaires in Thailand (1969–70); permanent representative to the United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East; and chargé d'affaires in Iraq (1970).[1] He returned to Sri Lanka in 1974 to co-ordinate the fifth Non-Aligned Summit which was to be held in Colombo in 1976.[1] He was appointed High Commissioner to Pakistan in 1978 (also accredited to Iran).[1] After the 1979 Iranian Revolution Moorthy played an important role in Sri Lankan government's attempts to free the US hostages in Iran.[1]

In 1981 Moorthy was appointed High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.[1][2][3] Back in Sri Lanka violence against the country's Tamils escalated, culminating in the Black July riots of 1983.[1] Sinhalese expatriates living in the UK started a campaign to have Moorthy replaced by a Buddhist Sinhalese.[4] He received a letter, allegedly from a member of the Sinhala Association in UK, threatening his life.[5] The Sri Lankan government ordered Moorthy to declare that his appointment was evidence that there was no serious discrimination against the Tamils.[1] Moorthy refused make such a declaration and resigned in 1984.[1]

Moorthy and his family remained in the UK.[6] He died on 1 April 2008 in London.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Farrell, Tom (19 May 2008). "Obituary: AT Moorthy". The Guardian.
  2. ^ "The History of the High Commission". High Commission of Sri Lanka, London. Archived from the original on 3 March 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  3. ^ de Silva, Bandu (21 February 2007). "Reply to I. P. C. Mendis: Sri Lanka Foreign Service". The Island (Sri Lanka).
  4. ^ "The London Hilton Jamboree" (PDF). Tamil Times. IV (11): 12. September 1985. ISSN 0266-4488.
  5. ^ Niwunhella, Sujeeva (18 February 2001). "Britain will not name banned terrorists tomorrow". The Island (Sri Lanka).
  6. ^ "The chimes of peace". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). 11 August 2002.
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