George Reginald de Silva (8 August 1898–28 July 1968) was a Ceylonese politician. De Silva was elected as the member for

Ratnapura Ratnapura (; ) ("City of Gems" in Sinhala and Tamil) is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of Sabaragamuwa Province, as well as the Ratnapura District, and is a traditional centre for the Sri Lankan gem trade. It is located o ...

on State Council of Ceylon, upon the death of his uncle, A. H. E. Molamure. In January 1943 he was elected as the

Mayor of Colombo The Mayor of Colombo is the Mayor (and head) of the Colombo Municipal Council. The post was created in 1866 when the Colombo Municipal Council was established by the Legislative Council of Ceylon. The Mayor is assisted by the Deputy Mayor and a ...

, a position he retained under December that year. In 1947 the

Soulbury Constitution The Soulbury Commission ( si, සෝල්බරි කොමිෂන් සභාව ''Solbari Komishan Sabhawa''; ta, சோல்பரி ஆணைக்குழு), announced in 1944 was, like its predecessor, the Donoughmore Commission, a ...

replaced the State Council with the

Parliament of Ceylon The Parliament of Ceylon was the legislative body of British Ceylon & Dominion of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1947 by the Soulbury Constitution, prior to independence on 4 February 1948. Parliament replaced the State Council of Ceylon. ...

, as part of a process of constitutional development leading up to the country's independence. At the 1st parliamentary election, held between 23 August 1947 and 20 September 1947, de Silva successfully ran as the

United National Party The United National Party, often abbreviated as UNP ( si, එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය, translit=Eksath Jāthika Pakshaya, ta, ஐக்கிய தேசியக் கட்சி, translit=Aikkiya Tēciyak Kaṭci), ...

(UNP) candidate in the Colombo North electorate, securing 50.25% of the total vote. He was subsequently appointed as Parliamentary Secretary to the

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

in the

D. S. Senanayake cabinet The D. S. Senanayake cabinet was the central government of Ceylon led by Prime Minister D. S. Senanayake between 1947 and 1952. It was formed in September 1947 after the parliamentary election and it ended in March 1952 with Senanayake's death. ...

. In 1951 de Silva crossed the floor, with five other UNP members, when the government refused to accept a resolution passed by the Sinhala Maha Sabha to adopt Buddhism and Sinhalese as the country's official religion and language. At the 2nd parliamentary election, held between 24 May 1952 and 30 May 1952, de Silva re-contested the Colombo North electorate however this time as the Sri Lanka Freedom Party candidate. He was unsuccessful in his attempt, failing by 7,038 votes and finishing third out of a field of four, only securing 16% total of the vote.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:de Silva, George R. 1898 births 1968 deaths Members of the 2nd State Council of Ceylon Mayors of Colombo United National Party politicians Members of the 1st Parliament of Ceylon Date of death missing Parliamentary secretaries of Ceylon Sri Lanka Freedom Party politicians