17 Facts About Claude Corea

Sir George Claude Stanley Corea, KBE was a Sri Lankan politician and diplomat.

The Claude Corea family were landed proprietors, who established the Chilaw Association.

Stanley Claude Corea who was educated at Wesley College, Colombo took over managing the family land holdings.

Claude Corea was re-elected in the 1936 general election and was elected Minister of Labour, Industry and Commerce in the Second Board of Ministers of Ceylon serving from 1936 to 1946.

Claude Corea was elected to the presidency of the Ceylon National Congress in 1932,1939 and 1941.

Claude Corea served as chairman of the board of Ministers Sub Committee charged with resolving post-war problems in 1945 and was viewed as a potential first prime minister of Ceylon.

Records in the Truman Library reveal that Sir Claude Corea visited the President on 1 March 1949 and again on 21 July 1952, the dates roughly marking his period as Ambassador of Ceylon in the United States.

Claude Corea was knighted in the 1952 Birthday Honours as a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

Claude Corea was thereafter appointed as High Commissioner of Ceylon in United Kingdom on 16 February 1954.

Claude Corea was given concurrent accreditation to France and the Netherlands in January 1956.

Claude Corea served as High Commissioner at the Court of St James until 1958.

Sir Claude Corea chaired the 12th session of GATT in October 1957 in the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

Claude Corea was next appointed as Representative to the United Nations in June 1958 and was in office in September of that year when Prime Minister Solomon W R D Bandaranaike was assassinated in Ceylon.

Sir Claude Corea became President of the UN Security Council in May 1960.

Lady Claude Corea sported a diamond nose stud and is reported famously to have responded to a journalist's query as to why she wore a diamond on her nose thus: "I prefer diamonds to sapphires".

Harindra Claude Corea was a Minister of Telecommunications in the Government of President Ranasinghe Premadasa.

Claude Corea was appointed Deputy Foreign Minister by President Chandrika Kumaratunga in 2000.