| A. T. Moorthy | |
| Office1: | Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom |
| Term Start1: | January 1981 |
| Term End1: | May 1984 |
| Predecessor1: | Noel Wimalasena |
| Successor1: | Chandra Monerawela |
| Office2: | Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Pakistan |
| Term Start2: | 1978 |
| Term End2: | 1981 |
| Birth Date: | 10 August 1928 |
| Birth Place: | Batticaloa District, Ceylon |
| Death Place: | London, United Kingdom |
| Alma Mater: | University of Ceylon, Colombo |
| Profession: | Diplomat |
| Blank1: | Ethnicity |
| Data1: | Sri Lankan Tamil |
Arambamoorthy Thedchana Moorthy (10 August 1928 - 1 April 2008) was a Sri Lankan Tamil diplomat and High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.
Moorthy was born on 10 August 1928 in Batticaloa District in eastern Ceylon.[1] He was educated at Sivananda Vidyalayam, Batticaloa and Jaffna College.[1] After school he joined the University of Ceylon, Colombo, graduating in 1948 with a degree in economics.[1]
Moorthy married Suseela, daughter of P. Sriskandarajah, in 1959.[1] They had two daughters (Uma and Ima) and a son (Sri Ayilavan).[1]
Moorthy joined the Ceylon Overseas Service in 1953 and his first diplomatic posting was in Jakarta, Indonesia.[1] He became chargé d'affaires of the Ceylonese embassy in Beijing, China in 1957, meeting leaders such as Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai.[1] He was first secretary at the High Commission of Ceylon, London between 1961 and 1963.[1] During this time Moorthy and Suseela studied for the bar at Gray's Inn.[1] He was called to the bar in 1965.[1]
Moorthy then served in various diplomatic positions: first secretary in West Germany (1964–66); chargé d'affaires in Thailand (1969–70); permanent representative to the United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East; and chargé d'affaires in Iraq (1970).[1] He returned to Sri Lanka in 1974 to co-ordinate the fifth Non-Aligned Summit which was to be held in Colombo in 1976.[1] He was appointed High Commissioner to Pakistan in 1978 (also accredited to Iran).[1] After the 1979 Iranian Revolution Moorthy played an important role in Sri Lankan government's attempts to free the US hostages in Iran.[1]
In 1981 Moorthy was appointed High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.[1] [2] [3] Back in Sri Lanka violence against the country's Tamils escalated, culminating in the Black July riots of 1983.[1] Sinhalese expatriates living in the UK started a campaign to have Moorthy replaced by a Buddhist Sinhalese.[4] He received a letter, allegedly from a member of the Sinhala Association in UK, threatening his life.[5] The Sri Lankan government ordered Moorthy to declare that his appointment was evidence that there was no serious discrimination against the Tamils.[1] Moorthy refused make such a declaration and resigned in 1984.[1]
Moorthy and his family remained in the UK.[6] He died on 1 April 2008 in London.[1]