Robin Bradman Weerakoon was born on 20 October 1930. His naming at birth as Bradman coincided with the arrival of the legendary Australian cricketer Don Bradman, who sailed to Colombo on the day of his birth. As a student, Weerakoon also excelled in cricket. If I am permitted to write with cricketing parlance, at his departure on 7 July, I may say he ‘left the crease, a sixer short of a century.’
He studied at Holy Cross College, Kalutara initially and was later one of the first boarding students at S. Thomas’ College, Gurutalawa. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree with second-class honours (upper division) in Economics and Sociology from the University of Ceylon, and was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study at the University of Michigan for one year, where he did his Master’s degree in Sociology.
A versatile civil servant
Weerakoon joined the Ceylon Civil Service in 1954 and was assigned to the Anuradhapura Kachcheri as a cadet, an understudy of the Government Agent (GA) of Anuradhapura, learning the duties of district administration.
This stint was followed by another year’s training in Jaffna, where he learnt Tamil. Although he was transferred to Badulla, he could not assume duties because he was assigned to the Prime Minister’s office as an Assistant Secretary to Prime Minister (PM) Sir John Kotelawala.
He later became the Secretary to the PM and continued with S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike from 1956. Upon the sudden death of Bandaranaike, he continued as the Secretary to the successor PM, Wijayananda Dahanayake, and later Sirimavo Bandaranaike.
Thereafter, he worked with PM Dudley Senanayake, and it is believed that some in the United National Party (UNP) Government felt uneasy about him serving the new administration since he had served Sirimavo Bandaranaike, although he did not possess any unholy partisanship towards former bosses when he was assigned to a ‘successor’ office.
This suspicion has been inherited by all successive governments to date. He later received ‘political transfers’ under the Sirimavo Bandaranaike Government, disproving the suspicions among the UNPers. Best quoted is his transfer to Ampara as the GA from the position of Secretary to the PM – a heavy fall – followed by transfers to Batticaloa and later to Galle. In a way, the latter developments could be interpreted as dilutions of the original cause, or venom, as time lapsed.
After J.R. Jayewardene (JRJ) formed the Government in 1977, he was appointed as the Secretary to the Ministry of Plantations. In 1980, he became the Secretary to the PM again upon Ranasinghe Premadasa assuming premiership.
Under President Premadasa, Weerakoon was appointed Presidential Adviser on International Affairs during a period when Indo-Sri Lankan relations were at their lowest, following the expulsion of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF), and with many criticisms being levelled against the Sri Lankan military by the West on account of misdemeanours in the war against terrorism in the north and east.
After President Premadasa’s death, he continued as an adviser to President D.B. Wijetunga and resigned in 1994 when President Chandrika Kumaratunga assumed duties as the President.
Ringside holistic views
From the commencement of his career, Weerakoon had a ringside view of all critical happenings because he had access to top political and administrative authorities.
The passage of the Sinhala Only Act in 1956, the Sinhalese-Tamil clashes during S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike’s reign and the emergence of politicised nationalist movements among the Sinhalese and Tamils, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) insurgencies of 1971 and 1989, Black July in 1983, the unforgettable ‘food drop’ by Indians on 4 June 1987, the JRJ-Rajiv Gandhi accord in 1987, the invitation and expulsion of the IPKF, the signing of the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) between Velupillai Prabhakaran and PM Ranil Wickremesinghe, the Chinese intrusions into the Sri Lankan economy and the collapse of the economy later, etc. were all events that were seen and experienced by Weerakoon, and in which he was sometimes personally involved in on account of his association with the powers that be. For a single public officer to be so widely involved in administering crucial issues is unimaginable.
Right now, when criticism is being levelled against the incumbent Government against its Memorandum of Understanding on Defence Cooperation with India, I am reminded of an agreement reached between PM Wickremesinghe and Indian PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee to conclude a defence arrangement in 2003. After mutual agreement, mentioned even in the joint statement between the two PMs, it is not well known that its follow-up was stopped (‘overruled?’) on verbal instructions received from Weerakoon when I was Secretary of the Ministry of Defence.
At present, when drastic action appears to be taken on ‘verbal instructions’ and when Ranga Dissanayake offers remedial action by ‘log entries,’ it reminds us of the confidence officials had in Weerakoon, as well as the confidence PM Wickremesinghe had in him to handle the issue in that manner.
I am unaware of how it came about and what prevailed on that decision, but with his instructions to me, I believe Weerakoon was looking at the issue holistically, weighing other international considerations and even conflicting domestic compulsions due to Kumaratunga being the President. I am perturbed that such serious understanding and advice are rarer today, but the suspicions Weerakoon unearthed still lie underground.
Bradman: A man for all seasons
Once, Weerakoon retired from his post to join the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), a Non-Governmental Organisation located in London involved in family planning, as its Secretary General.
His contacts with civil society and diplomatic organisations were extremely close, so much so that he was a founding father of the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) and provided “not only solidarity and support, which he did in abundance, but also invaluable advice and guidance in charting the inhospitable environment” in which they were placed at various times. The public appreciation by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and many diplomats who paid respect at the Restpect in Colombo was proof of his diplomacy.
As the CPA has declared, “He championed the role of a dynamic and resilient civil society as an integral part of public policymaking in a functioning democracy.” This sentiment will be repeated by many other civil society groups too, and it may be an apt reminder for those who consider civil society organisations worthless.
Weerakoon always had a holistic view of his job. I remember when he was Secretary to the Ministry of Plantations, he was keen on supporting estate worker social condition enhancement, including housing, through UNICEF involvement. In April 1980, then British PM Margret Thatcher sent James Hill, a parliamentarian from Southampton Test, to Sri Lanka to observe how the estate labour was being treated.
Hill was sent to Nuwara Eliya by Weerakoon, and he briefed me in my position as the GA of Nuwara Eliya about this visit with a long explanation of the value of the interactions with Hill, minutely advising me about accommodating the latter’s interests, scheduling field visits, whom the meetings had to be organised with, dealing with the estate trade unions, etc. since the reporting by Hill mattered much to the Sri Lankan Government’s image in Britain. Such was his wholesome attitude to work and focus on the objectives of official actions.
After the civil/criminal violence of Black July, in order to address the problems of displacement, violence, and the urgent relief, return, and rehabilitation of the affected, the Government created the office of the Commissioner General of Essential Services. Further, the issues regarding affected properties and businesses required solutions, and the Government established the Rehabilitation of Property and Industries Authority (REPIA). Since there was no specific legal base in existence, both institutions had to function under the Emergency Regulations that were promulgated and imposed after the 23 July 1983 riots.
Since there were no previous experiences, these institutions required a leader who could make decisions to suit the emerging problems, closing upon legality and appropriateness of actions. Weerakoon was the obvious choice due to his longstanding public service career, knowledge and experience, high level of public relations, and acceptance by all parties that mattered.
He engaged selected public and military officials and planned, organised, staffed, directed, coordinated, and reviewed performances, always supporting victims and affected populations swiftly and with the highest level of integrity. As an officer who later succeeded him in these two offices, I saw his embedded vision and honest approach in making these two offices serve their intended purposes. His vision involved equality in treatment, humaneness to the affected, conciliation, and compensation for victims.
Learning from Bradman
Weerakoon’s uniqueness lay not in serving for long years politicians of diverse hues and affiliations, and thus different agendas, but in his contribution to revive and renew the ethics of civil service, especially by bringing a combination of vision and integrity to civil service.
Those who served with him in ministries and departments, as well as in district administrations, observed this approach of his in serving his clientele – the poor farmer, the worker, the disabled, the suffering, etc. He related himself to the public to such an extent that after floods in the Galle District, it is said in lighter vein that he was called ‘Breadman,’ not Bradman!
His objectivity was not affected by personal attachments, and this was a great lesson one could learn from him. I have heard of a humorous anecdote where he exhibited it.
When a committee was discussing the disputed boundary between the Ampara and Batticaloa Districts when he was the GA of Ampara, he had argued for certain units of the River Valleys Development Board to be attached to Ampara. After his transfer to Batticaloa as GA, at the same forum, he had argued for these units to be attached to the Batticaloa District. He gave credence not to his personal ambition, but to the larger objective concerning his district for which he was responsible and accountable.
After Wickremesinghe’s assumption as PM in 2001, Weerakoon was reappointed as Secretary to the PM. He was an influential bureaucrat in PM Wickremesinghe’s team, who had to manage two politically offensive leaders, one being the Executive President, Kumaratunga.
The bureaucracy had to maintain a clear balance due to this political issue, and we learnt from Weerakoon ways in which to handle conflicts. To quote one, likely on the advice of the PM, he coordinated with the secretaries of ministries to maintain ‘political peace’ by close supervision of Cabinet memoranda, involving the PM also, to avoid conflicting deliberations at the Cabinet in the presence of the President, sometimes even withdrawing such memoranda from being submitted.
He was keen on the implementation of the CFA by the Ministry of Defence, with the military leadership and the Police. He was accessible to us in the defence establishment, as well as to our Peace Secretariat and that of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). In short, he was the ‘moderator’ of CFA-related conflicts that arose on and off.
Again, he showed his firm interest in the objectivity of peacemaking, however difficult it was. Hence, he was prepared to facilitate peacemaking efforts without any reservations, even by going the extra mile to achieve the intended goal, irrespective of receiving criticisms.
His memoir, ‘Rendering Unto Caesar,’ was published in 2004; he had left State office by then. It was a fascinating story of one man’s tenure under nine Prime Ministers and Presidents of Sri Lanka, a book that speaks of many achievements. Another book he wrote was ‘Premadasa of Sri Lanka,’ of course, for which he was criticised by some. His book ‘Kalutara – An Odyssey’ was his revisiting of his origins.
Weerakoon was honoured by the Government with the ‘Deshamanya’ award, which he most certainly deserved to receive as a public officer, a wonderful human being with the highest integrity in every sense, and always, a pleasant friend, leader, adviser, and guide.
There is an interesting anecdote in Sri Lanka Administrative Service circles about Weerakoon’s diplomacy and tender amiability. They say that even if a person came to stab him, Weerakoon’s gentleness and tact in handling his potential attacker would be such a beautiful act that the murderer would present the dagger to him and worship him before leaving his room! The magic of his wise, tender understanding of human beings merited such accolades.
Conclusion
With Weerakoon’s demise, the only man of his stature and experience bids goodbye. He takes with him knowledge, experience, expertise, and the secrets of a State that he protected.
I do not foresee another Bradman Weerakoon in public service soon. And for me, there will not be another boss, friend, mentor, adviser, confidante, listener, and legend all rolled in one to illuminate me. With his demise, not only has an era ended for public service in Sri Lanka, but we have also seen the closure of a chapter of a voluminous book, which we have strived hard to read.
Our administration is criticised as extensively politicised and even corrupt, although the real culprits may be few. In that scenario, with nearly 45 years of official and personal association, Bradman Weerakoon will always remain in my heart as a role model of a professional State employee. Hence, his departure, despite being an extremely sad event, leaves an epitaph of his supreme commitment, integrity, and humane responses to the public and all his associates.
May he attain the supreme bliss of Nibbana.
(The writer is a former Secretary to the President)