By Web Desk TWA ______ The Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies (LKI) held an almsgiving on August 12 to invoke merit on the country’s beloved former Minister of Foreign Affairs, the late Lakshman Kadirgamar, PC, who was assassinated by an LTTE sniper 19 years ago. Delivering the anusasana (sermon), the Chief Incumbent of the Sri Sambodhi Viharaya, Colombo, Ven. Boralande Vajiraggnana Thera, paid tribute to the life and legacy of the late Minister, highlighting his statesmanship and dedication to the country, reported by Sri Lankan media. Following the alms giving, a pirith was chanted to invoke blessings. Aruni Wijewardane, Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Suganthie Kadirgamar, wife of the late Minister and Life Member of the LKI Board of Management, Members of the LKI Board of Management Thusantha Wijemanna and Dr. Harinda Vidanage, Ambassador Ravinatha Aryasinha, Executive Director of LKI, Admiral Ravindra C. Wijegunaratne (Retired), Sri Lanka High Commissioner to Pakistan, senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and LKI staff participated in this ceremony. Lakshman Kadirgamar was born in Colombo on 12 April 1932. He completed his secondary education at Trinity College, Kandy, where he excelled in academics and in a wide range of sports, including cricket, rugby, and athletics. In 1950, he studied law at the University of Ceylon and graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree in 1953. Lakshman Kadirgamar was admitted to the Ceylon Bar in 1955. He later pursued his graduate studies at Balliol College, University of Oxford, where he became President of the Oxford Union in 1959 and obtained a Bachelor of Letters (B.Litt.) in 1960. He pursued legal practice both in Sri Lanka as an Advocate and the UK as a Barrister of the Inner Temple and was appointed as a President’s Counsel in 1991. In 2004 he was appointed as an Honorary Bencher of The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple. The late Lakshman Kadirgamar held the office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for over a decade and was one of the most respected political leaders in Sri Lanka’s recent history. He held the position of Foreign Minister until his assassination on 12 August, 2005.