Quintessential diplomat now the Global Candidate

UN NOMINEE: "Jayantha Dhanapala, nominee of the Sri Lankan Government for the post of UN Secretary General, is currently the Senior Advisor to the President of Sri Lanka.

Dhanapala was invited to manage the peace process by the Government in mid-2004 after a distinguished career as a national and international diplomat, peace-builder, disarmament expert and articulate champion of non-discriminatory global norms, the rule of law, the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and general concerns of developing countries in the collective interest of the international community.

He functioned as Secretary General of the Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process till the end of November 2005 when he relinquished duties to devote more time to bid for the post of Secretary General of the United Nations."

This modest introduction of the biography of Jayantha Dhanapala is found on website launched last week, by those seeking to give information about him through the Internet, and bring him closer to decision makers worldwide as the canvassing, diplomatic bargaining intensifies to choose the next Secretary General of the United Nations.

Jayantha Dhanapala described with some trepidation at the launch of the website http://www.jayanthadhanapala.com/ www.jayanthadhanapala.com, that it may be an instance of information overkill. No doubt we are today inundated with such an abundance of information of varying sorts.

Yet, this vast cache of information about Jayantha Dhanapala, the man, the scholar, diplomat, international civil servant, intellectual, peace builder, determined worker against nuclear proliferation, believer in the role that women can play for peace, and so many other very valid and timely interests.

This is indeed the story of an extraordinary man who seeks to devote himself to performing what is more than an extraordinary task.

Get on quick rewind to 1957. That was the year when a 19-year-old youth from Ceylon won an essay competition in the 'Herald Tribune'. The topic I understand, were his expectations for his country. The prize was a visit to the United States.

In the US the young man with a dream for his country went to Washington and was taken to meet President John F. Kennedy. To many this would have been mission accomplished.

But for this young man, Jayantha Dhanapala, it was only the beginning of a long mission, not only for his country but also for the entire world.

Having completed his secondary education at Trinity College, Kandy, winning the Ryde Gold Medal for best all-round student in 1956, he proceeded to the University of Peradeniya, where he obtained the degree of Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and was the recipient of the Pettah Library Prize, too.

From then on it has been a record of exceptional service in whatever field he was engaged in, be it the corporate executive, university teacher, and then in the Foreign Service. His appointment to the Sri Lanka Diplomatic Service followed an open competitive examination in 1965.

From then on, Dhanapala kept moving up the ladder in diplomatic service through his unquestioned capabilities and served in the highest positions in the diplomatic service.

Among the greatest of honours Jayantha must be cherishing today, is his being the consensus candidate of both the Government and Opposition of Sri Lanka.

No sooner had the late Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar informed Parliament that the Sri Lanka Government was officially supporting the candidature of Dhanapala to the post of UN Secretary General, his name was endorsed by the then Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe.

In a country where government and opposition can almost never see eye to eye even on trifling issues, this joint support for the candidature of Jayantha Dhanapala must surely stand out as the best example of the acceptance of his service to his country and to the world.

The selection of UN Secretary-General is done on the basis of regional rotation. Europe and the West has had three Secretaries-General, Latin America one, Africa two and Asia one, U. Thant of Burma, in the 1960s.

So far the candidature and diplomatic moves for the election of Jayantha Dhanapala has been done on the basis that it is now the turn of Asia, and there could possibly be no better candidate than this quintessential diplomat from Sri Lanka.

However, there is now some new thinking in the United States on geographic rotation. The present blunt and decidedly abrasive US Ambassador to the UN, John Bolton, articulates the view that the post of UN Secretary-General should not be decided on the basis of regional rotation.

When TIME magazine recently (27/02/06) asked him whether he had views on who should succeed Annan as UN Secretary General, he answered: ". ... the official American position is, we have never accepted the notion of geographical rotation and we favour the best qualified candidate, wherever that candidate comes from.

If the best-qualified person is an Asian, we'd be delighted. If the best-qualified person is from somewhere else, we'd be delighted at that too.

Western Europe has had three Secretaries-General, Latin America has had one, Africa has had two, and Asia has had one. Eastern Europe has never had any. If there really is a principle of geographic rotation, fairness dictates that Eastern Europe gets one."

The ways of diplomacy are no doubt interesting. Ambassador Bolton, who says the US never accepts the principle of geographic rotation, immediately throws in a wild card about Eastern Europe. It is an interesting question whether a region called Eastern Europe exists anymore, although it was so during the days of the Cold War.

Most of what was "Eastern Europe" is rapidly joining the European Union and even NATO, blurring the boundaries of region. But, it's good to take Bolton on for what he has said about being happy with the best-qualified man.

With even John Bolton rooting for the best-qualified man getting the job, it is now time to change the candidature of Jayantha Dhanapala from being the candidate of Asia, to the Asian who is in fact The Global Candidate.

Ambassador Bolton and others looking for the best man can now look up http://www.jayanthadhanapala.com/ www.jayanthadhanapala.com, and learn of how eminently qualified he is to succeed Kofi Annan.

The encomiums he has received from US centres of learning and excellence alone, apart from those in other parts of the world, should help those looking for the best man to realize that in the Sri Lankan nominee the world does indeed have the best man available.

Whether it be as a diplomat for one's country or serving the world as a UN diplomat, the role he has played in so many fields of UN activity with such commensurate skill, and the very scope and range of his interests especially with regard to the future world order should leave no room for doubt as to who the best-qualified person that John Bolton and many others must be looking for.

The position of UN Secretary-General will not be the summit of Jayantha Dhanapala's service to the world. It will give the world the opportunity to benefit from his vast cache of experience and capability, when both the UN and the world are at critical cross-roads.