Rodney Clement Austen Vandergert was a prominent Sri Lankan diplomat and civil servant, who served as the Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka and Chairman of the Public Service Commission. He had served as Sri Lankan High Commissioner of Canada and Ambassador to People s Republic of China & Soviet Union. Vandergert was educated at the prestigious Royal College Colombo where he won the Governor-General's prize. He then pursued higher studies at the University of Ceylon graduating with LLB and qualified as a Advocate of the Supreme Court at the Colombo Law College. Later would gain a Masters degree in Law from the New York University, specializing in International Public Law.