Sir Sonny RamphalSecretary-General, Mrs. Ramphal, your Excellencies, your Grace, my Lords, ladies and gentlemen.
First, may I welcome you all here to this occasion—inevitably a slightly sad one—to say goodbye to Sonny Ramphal. It is only slightly sad because nothing connected with Sonny can be really sad. You may remember the line in A Midsummer's Night Dream—I cannot recall who speaks it:
“Sweet moon, I thank thee for thy sunny beams.”
Well, one thing you can be sure of with Sonny: however difficult things are, Sonny beams.
Mark you, I am not at all sure I approve of the idea of retiring so young and after a mere fifteen years: I see that as a time when you are just getting nicely into your stride! [end p1] but Sonny 's departure will remove a great landmark from our lives. After all, while he has been ensconced at Marlborough House and you were driving down the mall, you always knew which was the sonny side of the street.
So, Sonny, our main purpose in coming together tonight is to say thank you. Your fifteen years as Secretary-General have been remarkable ones for the Commonwealth: — It has grown from thirty-four members to fifty. — It has seen Rhodesia come through to independence as Zimbabwe. — It has seen Namibia come through to independence and join the Commonwealth. — It has seen Pakistan restored to the Commonwealth and the Maldives joining it. — It has seen malaysia move from being highly critical of the Commonwealth to chairing a Commonwealth [end p2] Prime Ministers' meeting. — It is seen the practical side of the Commonwealth's work, which is what matters most to the smaller states, continually strengthened and made more effective.
I think all of us would pay particular tribute to the special concern which you have always demonstrated for the Commonwealth's smallest members, for their security and for their prosperity.
You and I have not always agreed, in particular over the best way to deal with the very real problems of South Africa—although we always shared the aim of wanting to see the end of apartheid. And that is now in sight.
But where we have disagreed at Commonwealth heads of government meetings, you have always tried to find a constructive way to accommodate differences, and that [end p3] has made it possible to avoid damage to the Commonwealth itself.
It is a remarkable institution. No-one could ever have invented or designed it. It depends very much on the genuine enthusiasm of its members—above all the Commonwealth heads of government—for maintaining the historic links and traditions. It depends on the easy way we communicate—there is no need for any interpretation—the informality, the deep and genuine personal friendships. They are what make the Commonwealth and give it a unique influence. We don't try to duplicate the work of other international organisations. We consult. We help each other. We cherish our professional, sporting, legal links. We have in common our parliamentary traditions and style—a style which allows room for controversy, indeed encourages it, but always on the basis of respect and friendship. Many is the time I have taken part in quite heated debates at Commonwealth Prime [end p4] Ministers' meetings and then we have gone out for a cup of coffee and been the best of friends. We don't tell each other what to do: we listen and we make up our own minds.
In all this the personality and the energy of the Secretary-General are very important indeed: and, Sonny, you have had both. With it goes one of the most silver tongues of all time. You will be a very hard act to follow. And may I say how delighted we all were when Her Majesty the Queen recently appointed you an honorary G.C.M.G.
I am very pleased that some of your family are here with us tonight to celebrate and say thank you. We know you will continue to live here with us for much of the time, and that is a great delight.
We all wish you well, and I ask everyone here to rise and drink a toast to Sonny Ramphal, to Mrs. Ramphal and the [end p5] family, to say thank you to them and to add our best wishes for the future.