Lakshman Kadirgamar: 20 Years Since Passing Away
Source : Dæhæna – August 2025
12 August marks the 20th death anniversary of Hon Lakman Kadirgarmar, shot by an LTTE sniper as he was getting out of the swimming pool at his residence in Colombo.
Born on 12 April 1932, he had his education at Trinity College, Kandy where he excelled in academia as well as in sports: Cricket, Rugby and Athletics. He studied law at University of Ceylon, Colombo and then Peradeniya and graduated with a Bachelor of Law degree in 1953. He later pursued his graduate studies at Balliol College at the University of Oxford, where he became President of the Oxford Union in 1959 and obtained a Bachelor of Letters (B.Litt.) in 1960.
He began his political career at the age of 62 when he was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs in 1994. He was recognised around the world and loved in Sri Lanka for his patriotism. During a BBC interview he was asked if he thought he was a traitor to the Tamil people since he was a minister in
Sinhalesedominated government. He said “People who live in Sri Lanka are first and foremost Sri Lankans, then we have our race and religion, which is something given to us at birth”. “We have to live in Sri Lanka as Sri Lankans tolerating all races and religions”.
Lakshman Kadirgamar was posthumously awarded Sri Lanka’s highest honorary title, Sri Lankabhimanya, by the state for his invaluable contributions.
Courtesy: https://lki.lk/ and https://en.wikipedia.org/
