Shridath Surendranath Ramphal (1928- ) was secretary-general of the Commonwealth from 1975 to 1990. During this period he served on five independent international commissions on global issues: the Brandt Commission on International Development Issues, the Palme Commission on Disarmament and Security Issues, the Brundtland Commission on Environment and Development, the Independent Commission on Humanitarian Issues and the South Commission. He was also co-chair of the Commission on Global Governance. He also served as special advisor to the secretary-general for the UN Conference on Environment and Development, president of the World Conservation Union, and chairman of the UN Committee on Development Planning. He was born in Guyana and educated there at Queens College and at Kings College, London and Harvard University. His publications include Our Country the Planet: Forging a Partnership for Survival.

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