Robert Edward Jayatilaka (16 August 1911 - ??) was a Ceylonese politician.
Education and teaching career
Robert Edward, also known as "Eric", Jayatilaka, attended
Richmond College, Galle
Richmond College ( si, රිච්මන්ඩ් විද්යාලය) is a primary and secondary school in Galle, Sri Lanka which was established as Galle High School in 1876. The founder of school was the Wesleyan Missionary George B ...
and once qualified as a teacher, he taught for a number of years at
S. Thomas' College, Mt. Lavinia. After which Jayatilaka was appointed as the principal of
Anuruddha College, Kandy.
Political career
He became a member of the
Ceylon Labour Party
The Ceylon Labour Party (CLP) was a political party in Sri Lanka.
History
The Ceylon Labour Party was formed in October 1928, with A. E. Gunasinha as president and Proctor Marshall Perera as secretary. Its executive committee included C. H. Z. ...
, following which he was elected Chairman of the
Nawalapitiya
Nawalapitiya ( si, නාවලපිටිය, ta, நாவலப்பிட்டி, translit=Nāvalappiṭṭi) is a town in Kandy District, Sri Lanka. It is governed by an Urban Council. It is away from Kandy and from Colombo, at a he ...
Urban Council.
In February 1943 he was appointed as a member of the
State Council, replacing
N. M. Perera in the seat of
Ruwanwella, after Perera and
Philip Gunawardena
Don Philip Rupasinghe Gunawardena (11 January 1901 – 26 March 1972) was a Sri Lankan Marxist politician and leftist. A founder of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party, the first political party in Ceylon which was known for having introduced Trotskyi ...
were arrested and detained in
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...
in late 1942 and unable to fill their positions on Council. He was a supporter of
C. W. W. Kannangara, the Minister of Education, in the State Council. When Kannangara moved the Free Education Bill,
D. S. Senanayake, the leader of the State Council, and an avid opponent of the legislation, adjourned the House, with Jayatilaka opposing the adjournments stating: The Free Education bill was ultimately passed when Senanayake was away in England negotiating for Independence.
At the
first parliamentary election, held between 23 August 1947 and 20 September 1947, Jayatilake ran for parliament in the seat of
Nawalapitiya
Nawalapitiya ( si, නාවලපිටිය, ta, நாவலப்பிட்டி, translit=Nāvalappiṭṭi) is a town in Kandy District, Sri Lanka. It is governed by an Urban Council. It is away from Kandy and from Colombo, at a he ...
, representing the
Ceylon Labour Party
The Ceylon Labour Party (CLP) was a political party in Sri Lanka.
History
The Ceylon Labour Party was formed in October 1928, with A. E. Gunasinha as president and Proctor Marshall Perera as secretary. Its executive committee included C. H. Z. ...
. The result saw the election of the
Ceylon India Congress
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
candidate,
K. Rajalingam, who received 7,933 votes to Jayatilaka's 6,491 votes, a margin of 1,442 votes.
He re-contested the electorate at the
subsequent parliamentary elections, held between 24 May 1952 and 30 May 1952, where he was successful polling 4,995 votes (75% of the total vote) and 4,030 votes ahead of his nearest rival. He retained the seat at the
3rd parliamentary elections, held between 5 April 1956 and 10 April 1956, where he received 3,592 votes, (46% of the total vote) 631 votes ahead of 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), ...
candidate, H. E. Wijesuriya.
In December 1959 Jayatilaka was appointed as the
Minister of Transport and Works in the
Dahanayake cabinet
The Dahanayake Cabinet was the central government of Ceylon led by Prime Minister W. Dahanayake between 1959 and 1960. It was formed in September 1959 after the assassination of Dahanayake's predecessor S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike
Solom ...
, introducing the '
Podi Menike
"Podi Manike" ( Sinhala:පොඩි මැණිකේ, meaning "Little Maiden") is a Sri Lankan passenger train running from Colombo Fort to Badulla. This journey covers about 300 km and is renowned for being the most beautiful train journ ...
' express train, which ran between
Hatton and Colombo. He also formed the Ceylon Chamber of Industries in Colombo, of which he was Chairman for many years. He also declared open the
Castlereigh Dam
The Castlereigh Dam (also spelled Castlereagh) is a gravity dam built across the Kehelgamu Oya, a major tributary to the Kelani River, approximately south-west of Hatton, Sri Lanka, Hatton, in the Central Province, Sri Lanka, Central Province of ...
, which supplied water and hydro electric power to Nawalapitiya electoral district.
Following dissolution of the Ceylon Labour Party, Jayatilaka joined the
Lanka Prajathanthravadi Pakshaya(Ceylon Democratic Party) but failed to win the Nawalapitiya election for a third time, at the
4th parliamentary election, held on 19 March 1960, losing to
R. S. Pelpola, representing the newly created
Sri Lanka Freedom Party
The Sri Lanka Freedom Party ( si, ශ්රී ලංකා නිදහස් පක්ෂය, translit=Śrī Laṁkā Nidahas Pakṣaya; ta, இலங்கை சுதந்திரக் கட்சி, translit=Ilaṅkai Cutantirak Ka� ...
, 4,200 votes and falling behind the United National Party candidate, T. A. Keerthinanda, 4,545 votes, only polling 2,707 votes. However as the election left neither of the country's two major parties with a majority, another election was called. At the
subsequent election, held in July that year, Jayatilaka ran again but only polled 1,731 votes (10% of the total vote) losing again to Pelpola, who received 8,600 (50% of the total vote).
He ran again at the
6th parliamentary election, held on 22 March 1965, however this time as an
Independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independe ...
but again failing to get elected. Jayatilaka receiving 1,403 votes (5.5% of the total vote) as opposed to the successful United National Party representative,
Chandra Karunaratne
Chandra Amarakone Karunaratne is a Sri Lankan politician and a former member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka.
In 1989 she was elected to the seat of Badulla
Badulla ( si, බදුල්ල, ta, பதுளை) is the capital and the largest ...
, he obtained 12,754 votes (50% of the total vote). In 1965, his civic rights were suspended for seven years following the enactment of the ''Imposition Of Civic Disabilities (Special Provisions) Act (No. 14 of 1965)'' based on the
Thalagodapitiya Bribery Commission Report.
Family
His wife, Effie
née
A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
Samarakkody, (the younger sister of
Lanka Sama Samaja Party
The Lanka Sama Samaja Party, often abbreviated as LSSP (literally: Lanka Socialist Party, Sinhala: ලංකා සම සමාජ පක්ෂය, Tamil: லங்கா சமசமாஜக் கட்சி), is a major Trotskyist politica ...
leader,
Edmund Samarakkody, and the former wife of
Panini Ilangakoon), was elected as the Chairman of the Nawalapitiya Urban Council, the first female in the country to head an Urban Council.
Anarkali Akarsha is his granddaughter.
Legacy
In 2012 the
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Mahinda Rajapaksa
Mahinda Rajapaksa ( si, මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ, ta, மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to ...
officially opened the R. E. Jayatilaka Sports Complex at Nawalapitiya in his memory.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jayatilaka, Robert Edward
1911 births
Alumni of Richmond College, Galle
Date of death missing
Local authority councillors of Sri Lanka
Members of the 2nd State Council of Ceylon
Members of the 2nd Parliament of Ceylon
Members of the 3rd Parliament of Ceylon
Sinhalese politicians
Sinhalese teachers
Transport ministers of Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan politicians convicted of crimes