An appreciation of Alfie David He was a selfless public servant

Since the sad news of our father’s passing away on July 15 (Sunday), the many messages of condolence we have received have been filled with vivid memories of his kindness, compassion, generosity and gregarious personality. We have been gladly reminded of the respect, admiration and love which people around the world felt for him.   

Alfred Kulendran David, or Alfie to his friends, was a diplomat, a selfless public servant for his beloved Sri Lanka. he was also a sportsman, a scholar, a man of deep religious faith and, above all, a man who loved his family and friends.   

His thirty-five-year diplomatic career spanned to three continents and eight postings, bookended by arriving in Paris and his retirement from Islamabad in 2000. He spoke fondly of the cohort of six who topped the entrance exams and together joined the Foreign Service in 1965: Jayantha Dhanapala, Nihal Rodrigo, Willhelm Wouterz, N. Navarathnarajha and Nandasiri De Silva. He revelled in their camaraderie and the sense of purpose that they shared. As Head of Mission, he was responsible for an ever growing number of countries. As High Commissioner to Bangladesh (1988-1993) he was also Ambassador to Nepal. As Ambassador to Sweden (1995-1998), he took responsibility for Denmark, Finland and Norway. Subsequently, he expanded Sri Lanka’s formal diplomatic relations to concurrently become Sri Lanka’s first Ambassador to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.  

There were many memorable highlights to his career, notably representing Sri Lanka at the 1988 UN General Assembly and the SAARC Summits of the80s and 90s. Though perhaps meeting Mother Teresa in New Delhi, where he was Deputy High Commissioner stood out. His work, experiences and studies gave him an abiding interest in approaches to peace and conflict management, particularly in South Asia. 

He was proud to be Sri Lankan, proud of his Tamil and Christian heritage, and wanted above all else a peaceful, united and reconciled country.    

 He was an athlete, a cricketer, a ruggerite and a tennis player. A renowned schoolboy athlete, he held the Public School Boys’ and the Peradeniya Hop Step and Jump record for many years and captained the Peradeniya rugby team. 

Wesley College bore a special place in his heart. For the school’s 125th anniversary, he wrote eloquently about the school’s history and of his own time when there.  He was Passmore House Secretary, Captain of the Athletics team, College Prefect, Editor of the Double Blue Magazine (1958), Student President of the Student Christian Movement (SCM) and a member of the debating team.  In the year 1958 he was the recipient of the Moscrop Award for the best all-rounder. When he graduated with a History degree from Peradeniya, it was to Wesley that he returned to teach for a year.

Recommended by his friend from Jayatilake Hall, Jayantha Dhanapala, he joined Whittall Bousteads while preparing for the highly competitive Foreign Service exams. 

His strong religious beliefs and concept of service to others were ignited through his association with the SCM at Wesley. His passionate activism is well remembered by those also at the 1960 SCM conference in Lahore and by his appointment as Acting General Secretary of the National SCM in 1965. 

Alfie was fiercely loyal to his family. He aspired to always honour the memory of his parents, Paul (Deputy-Principal of Zahira College) and Mabel (neé Gnanapragasam). After his father’s early death, as the eldest child, he felt a deep responsibility for the well-being of his mother, his sister Sarojini and his brothers, Joe, Paul and Charlie.They too, till his very last days showed to him that same love and care. Alfie met Ranji in 1965 in Colombo.  After a Parisian engagement and a London wedding in 1967, Alfie and Ranji embarked on a sometimes adventurous, and sometimes challenging, diplomatic life. 

For us, his three daughters, Shona (Sudeshna), Shantha and myself, we know that he is at last at peace. We are thankful to have been loved and cherished by him and to have been encouraged to always “reach for the moon (and you will at least end up on the coconut tree!)”. We have been blessed that his legacy will live on in his grandchildren, Oliver Elliot Rae (12), Ella Ranjini Baalham (9) and James Alexander Baalham (7). 
-Dr. Sumi David