Antony Rushford CMG
House:Fairwater
Class Of:1937
Deceased:
A leading expert in colonial and Commonwealth constitutional law and practice. Drafted many colonial and independence constitutions for countries which would become members of the Commonwealth. Retiring from the FCO as deputy legal adviser in 1982, he became principal legal adviser to the British Indian Ocean Territory (which includes Diego Garcia), Attorney General of Anguilla, Attorney-General of St Helena, and - briefly - legal adviser to the Governor-General of the Caribbean island-state of Grenada after the US intervention in that country. He was a constitutional adviser to St Kitts-Nevis and St Lucia. Drafting the constitutions of the more advanced colonies, and independence constitutions for future members of the Commonwealth, involved reducing to writing many of the principles underlying Britain's unwritten constitution, as well as in the inclusion of chapters on human rights. Antony was one of the great exponents of this art. He played a leading role in negotiating the terms of independence, and drafting independence constitutions for many Commonwealth countries, including Kenya, Cyprus, Mauritius, Antigua, Dominica, Grenada, St Lucia, St Vincent and St Kitts-Nevis. In the course of this work he came to know, and earned the respect of, many leaders of future independent members of the Commonwealth, including Jomo Kenyatta, in Kenya, Julius Nyerere, in Tanzania, Archbishop Makarios, in Cyprus, and Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, in Mauritius. They would consult him from time to time after independence as a person with a deep understanding of their constitutional arrangements and heritage.