Tomas Stangeland (centre) and Jon Westborg (to Mr. Stangeland's left) talking to LTTE political heads Anton Balasingham and S.P. Thamilselvan.

News that Norwegian diplomat Tomas Stangeland passed away last week on February 12th, aged 43, from cancer caused widespread dismay amongst those who interacted with him during the Oslo-facilitated peace process in Sri Lanka.

The main Norwegian point of contact for local and international media and many others at the time, Tomas is remembered as unassuming, intelligent and deeply engaged with a sophisticated grasp of the complexities of Sri Lanka.

A Second Secretary the Norwegian embassy in Colombo during the negotiation period, he later rose to lead Norway’s global peace efforts as head of the Peace and Reconciliation section of the Norwegian Foreign Ministry.

In a joint statement, the two most senior Norwegian figures during the peace process, Vidar Helgesen and Erik Solheim, said:

“He was a pillar of the Norwegian peace efforts in Sri Lanka. He was one of our most able diplomats destined to do great things and carry even bigger responsibilities, though Tomas’ humility could mask the breadth of his ability to those who had not seen him in action.”

See full statement here, published on the Foreign Correspondents' Association of Sri Lanka website yesterday.

The leader of the TNPF, Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, who was one of the five leaders of the TNA at the time of the peace talks, told Tamil Guardian:

“For those of us who were working on the Norwegian brokered process, Tomas became the daily point of contact. Even though he was Second Secretary at the Embassy at the time, it was clear to all that his knowledge and ability to grasp very complex situations far exceeded his official rank."

"One can safely say, he will go down in Tamil history as being synonymous with the few good memories that peace process had to offer. But for all his knowledge, Tomas was one of the most down-to-earth and unassuming individuals I've ever known."

"He will be dearly missed not just by his family but by all those who knew him. Surely that has to be the mark of the success of being born a human being.

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Apart from being the main external liaison for the Norwegians, Tomas was also deeply involved in Oslo’s shuttle diplomacy between Colombo, Kilinochchi and London, where LTTE chief negotiator Anton Balasingham was based.

“Given how highly charged and acrimonious the peace process was, it is notable that Tomas was highly respected and much liked by everyone involved. I know the LTTE’s senior political figures had the highest regard for him,” said former Tamil Guardian editor, Sutha Nadarajah.

“Invariably good humoured and easygoing, with a keen intellect, Tomas was the archetypal diplomat.”