Deshamanya ( si, දේශමාන්‍ය, translit=Dēshamāṉya; ta, தேசமான்ய, translit=Tēcamāṉya; Pride of the Nation) is the second-highest national honour of

Sri Lanka 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 ...

awarded by the Government of Sri Lanka as a civil honour. It is awarded for "''highly meritorious service''", and is conventionally used as a

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

prefix A prefix is an affix which is placed before the stem of a word. Adding it to the beginning of one word changes it into another word. For example, when the prefix ''un-'' is added to the word ''happy'', it creates the word ''unhappy''. Particul ...

to the recipient's name.

Recipients

;1986 * P. R. Anthonis – surgeon and academic * Gamani Corea – economist, civil servant and diplomat * M. C. M. Kaleel * Malage George Victor Perera Wijewickrama Samarasinghe * Miliani Sansoni – Chief Justice of Ceylon *

Victor Tennekoon Deshamanya Justice Victor Tennekoon QC (9 September 1914 – April 1990) was a Sri Lankan lawyer and jurist. He served as the 35th Chief Justice of Sri Lanka, as well as the 33rd Attorney General and 23rd Solicitor General. From 1979 to 198 ...

– Chief Justice of Ceylon ;1987 * Edwin Felix Dias Abeysinghe * Neville Kanakeratne – diplomat * V. Manicavasagar – Supreme Court Justice,

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

University of Jaffna The University of Jaffna ( ta, யாழ்ப்பாணப் பல்கலைக்கழகம், translit=Yāḻppāṇap Palkalaikkaḻakam; si, යාපනය විශ්වවිද්‍යාලය, ''Yāpanaya Viśvavidyālaya''; ...

* Wijetunga Mudiyansela Tillekeratne ;1988 * Hector Wilfred Jayewardene – lawyer, member

United Nations Commission on Human Rights The United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) was a functional commission within the overall framework of the United Nations from 1946 until it was replaced by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2006. It was a subsidiary body of ...

* Thambiah Sivagnanam ;1989 *

Shiva Pasupati Deshamanya Shivakumaran Pasupati is a leading Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer, President's Counsel, Solicitor General and Attorney General. Early life and family Pasupati is the son of physician V. T. Pasupati and Kamalambikai. He was educated at the Ana ...

–

Solicitor General of Sri Lanka The Solicitor General of Sri Lanka is a post subordinate to the Attorney General of Sri Lanka. The Solicitor General of Sri Lanka assists the Attorney General, and is assisted by four Additional Solicitors General. Note that the post was Solicit ...

Attorney General of Sri Lanka The Attorney General of Sri Lanka is the Sri Lankan government's chief legal adviser, and its primary lawyer in the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. The Attorney General is usually a highly respected Senior Advocate, and is appointed by the ruling gov ...

;1990 * Sepala Attygalle – Commander of the Army * Nandadeva Wijesekera * Badi-ud-din Mahmud – politician, Minister of Education *

Baku Mahadeva Deshamanya Balakumara Mahadeva ( ta, பாலகுமாரன் மகாதேவா; 29 October 1921 – 29 November 2013; commonly known as Baku Mahadeva) was a leading Sri Lankan Tamil civil servant. Early life and family Mahadeva was b ...

– civil servant * Nanayakkara Wasam James Mudalige ;1991 * E. L. Senanayake – politician,

Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka The Speaker of the Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is the presiding officer of the chamber. The current Speaker of the Parliament is Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, in office since 20 August 2020. The Speaker fulfills ...

* Montague Jayawickrama * K. W. Devanayagam * Nissanka Wijeyeratne – civil servant, politician * Sivagamie Verina Obeyasekera *

Christopher Weeramantry Sri Lankabhimanya Christopher Gregory Weeramantry, AM (17 November 1926 – 5 January 2017) was a Sri Lankan lawyer who was a Judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) from 1991 to 2000, serving as its vice-president from 1997 to 2000. ...

* Neville Ubesinghe Jayawardena * Ivan Samarawickrema * Chandirapal Chanmugam * Abdul Caffoor Mohamed Ameer -

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister o ...

;1992 * Abdul Bakeer Markar – Politician *

Hewa Komanage Dharmadasa The Hewa are an indigenous people that live in the Koroba Lake Kopiago Electorate of Hela Province of Papua New Guinea near the junction of the Strickland River. They were one of the last peoples in Papua New Guinea to come into contact with the ...

* Ananda Weihena Palliya Guruge *

E. L. B. Hurulle Deshamanya Edwin Loku Bandara Hurulle ( Sinhala: එඩ්වින් ලොකු බණඩාර හුරුල්ලේ) (19 January 1919 – 6 April 2009) (known as ''E. L. B. Hurulle'') was a Sri Lankan politician. He was the Provincial ...

* Abdul Majeed Mohamed Sahabdeen * Suppiah Sharvananda *

Linus Silva Linus, a male given name, is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Linos''. It's a common given name in Sweden. The origin of the name is unknown although the name appears in antiquity both as a musician who taught Apollo and as a son of Apollo who di ...

Nissanka Wijewardane Deshamanya Nissanka Wijewardane (21 October 1925 - 9 May 2019) was a former Sri Lankan civil servant and diplomat. He was the former Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations. Having graduated from the University of Ceylon, he j ...

;1993 * Geoffrey Bawa – Architect *

C. A. Coorey Deshamanya Chandana Aelian Coorey, SLAS (March 18, 1921 - ) was a Sri Lankan civil servant. He was the former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance & Treasury. Early life and education Born in Panadura to Dr Henry Coorey and his wife Pusse ...

* Felix Stanley Christopher Perera Kalpage *

H. W. Thambiah Deshamanya Justice Henry Wijeyakone Thambiah (also spelt Tambiah) (1906–1997) was a Ceylonese academic, diplomat, lawyer and judge, born in Sri Lanka during British colonial rule. He was a Commissioner of Assize, High Commissioner and judge ...

* Richard Udugama – Major General * Ponna Wignaraja *

Noel Wimalasena Deshamanya Noel Wimalasena (23 March 1914 – 5 May 1994) was a Sri Lankan lawyer, politician and the first Governor of Sabaragamuwa. Early life and education Nanediri Wimalasena was born on 23 March 1914 in Kandy, Sri Lanka. He attended Ana ...

;1994 * Jayantha Kelegama *

Lalith Kotelawala Deshmanya Deshabandu Jeewaka Lalith Bhupendra Kotelawala is a Sri Lankan businessman, who was the chairman of Ceylinco Consolidated and also was the founding chairman of Seylan Bank. He was listed in 2007 Sri Lanka Richest List. He was remande ...

– Businessman * Nandadasa Kodagoda – Academic * Godfrey Gunatilleke * Arulanandam Yesuadiam Samuel Gnanam * Nugegoda Gabadage Pablis Panditharatna * Surendra Ramachandran * Deraniyagalage Basil Ivor Pieris Samaranayake Siriwardhana ;1996 * Duleep Mendis – Sri Lanka national cricket captain *

Arjuna Ranatunga Deshamanya Arjuna Ranatunga ( si, අර්ජුන රණතුංග; ta, அர்ஜூன ரணதுங்க; born 1 December 1963), is a former Sri Lankan cricketer and politician, who was the 1996 Cricket World Cup winning capta ...

– Sri Lanka national cricket captain ;1998 * Charitha Prasanna de Silva * Ken Balendra – Businessman *

Doreen Winifred Wickramasinghe Doreen Wickremasinghe (''née'' Young;15 February 1907 – 29 May 2000) was a British leftist who became a prominent Communist politician in Sri Lanka and a Member of Parliament (MP). She was one of the handful of European Radicals in Sri Lank ...

Tamara Kumari Illangaratne Tamara Kumari Ilangaratne ( Aludeniya; 15 March 1925 – 5 October 2000) was a Ceylonese politician. She was the third female member to be elected to parliament in Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon). Ilangaratne was elected as the independent represe ...

* Elanga Devapriya Wickremanayake * R. K. W. Goonesekera – Academic, Lawyer *

Vernon Mendis Deshamanya Dr Vernon Loraine Benjamin Mendis (5 December 1925 – 23 June 2010) was a prominent Sri Lankan diplomat, who served as the United Nations' Special Envoy to the Middle East. He is referred to as the ''Sri Lanka's Father of Diplomacy ...

– Diplomat * H. L. de Silva – Diplomat * A. T. Kovoor – Academic * Ranjit Abeysuriya – lawyer *

Duncan White Major Deshamanya Duncan M. White MBE, ED (1 March 1918 – 3 July 1998) was a Sri Lankan sportsman. He was the first Ceylonese athlete to win an Olympic medal, winning silver in the 400-metre hurdles at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, Eng ...

– Olympic medalist * Christopher Rajindra Panabokke * W. D. Amaradeva – Music Director *

Chitrasena Deshamanya Chitrasena (born Amaratunga Arachige Maurice Dias) (26 January 1921 – 18 July 2005) was a dancer from Sri Lanka, internationally known for his work in establishing a modern Sri Lankan tradition of dance and popularising traditiona ...

– Dancer ;2005 * Kamalika Priyaderi Abeyaratne * William Alwis * Mahesh Amalean – Engineer and industrialist *

Sohli E. Captain Sahali ( fa, سهلی or سهیلی, also Romanized as Saḩalī and Sohlī; also known as Soheylī) is a village in Salakh Rural District, Shahab District, Qeshm County, Hormozgan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Repub ...

* Radhika Coomaraswamy – Academic, Human Rights Activist,

Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations An under-secretary-general of the United Nations (USG) is a senior official within the United Nations System, normally appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the secretary-general for a renewable term of four years. Under ...

* Lalith de Mel * Rohan de Saram – Cellist * Chandrananda de Silva * Ashley de Vos – Architect * Jayaratne Banda Dissanayake * M. T. A. Furkhan * D. Basil Goonesekera * Cyril Herath – Inspector General of Police * Asoka Kanthilal Jayawardhana * A. S. Jayawarden – Sri Lankan economist and civil servant * Harry Jayawardena – Businessman * Nihal Jinasena – industrialist and sportsman * Premasiri Khemadasa – Composer *

W. D. Lakshman Deshamanya Weligamage Don Lakshman (commonly known as W. D. Lakshman) popularly known as Professor W. D. Lakshman is a Sri Lankan economist, professor, lecturer, academic and author who also served as the 15th Governor of the Central Bank of Sri ...

* Paddy Mendis – Air Chief Marshal * Sunil Mendis – former Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka * J. B. Peiris – Senior Neurologist, Researcher and Pioneer of Neurology * M. D. D. Peiris *

Denis Perera General Deshamanya Joseph Everard Denis Perera, VSV, FCMI (10 October 1930 – 11 August 2013) was a senior Sri Lanka Army officer who served as Commander of the Sri Lankan Army from 1977 to 1981. He was also the Sri Lankan High Commission ...

– Lieutenant General *

P. Ramanathan Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan, CMG, KC ( ta, பொன்னம்பலம் இராமநாதன், translit=Poṉṉampalam Irāmanātaṉ; 16 April 1851 – 26 November 1930) was a Ceylon Tamil lawyer, politician and Solicitor-General o ...

– Former Justice of the Supreme Court and Provincial Governor * P. Deva Rodrigo * Mano Selvanathan * A. H. Sheriffdeen – Surgeon, academic and voluntary worker *

Roland Silva Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...

* Bradman Weerakoon – Civil servant * Kandekumara Hapudoragamage Jothiyarathna Wijayadasa *

Ray Wijewardene Deshamanya Philip Revatha Wijewardene, better known as Ray Wijewardene, (Sinhala language, Sinhala:පිලිප් රෙවත විජයවර්ධන) (20 August 1924 - 18 August 2010) was a Sri Lankan engineer, aviator, inventor, and O ...

– Academic, Engineer ;2007 * James Peter Obeyesekere III – Politician and aviator ;2008 * Ramesh Mahendran ;2017 * Abbasally Akbar * K. M. de Silva * Tissa Devendra * Colvin Goonaratna * Amaradasa Gunawardana * Devanesan Nesiah * Nandadasa Rajapaksha *

Priyani Soysa Deshamanya Priyani Elizabeth Soysa ( si, ප්‍රියානි සොයිසා; 23 November 1925 – 7 April 2023) was a Sri Lankan scientist who was Emeritus Professor of Paediatrics of the University of Colombo and the first woman to ...

* Latha Walpola * Mineka Presantha Wickramasingha * Bhanuka Wimalasooriya ;2019 *

Indrajit Coomaraswamy Indrajit Coomaraswamy ( ta, இந்திரஜித் குமாரசுவாமி, si, ඉන්ද්‍රජිත් කුමාරස්වාමි; born 3 April 1950) is a Sri Lankan economist and the 14th Governor of the Ce ...

* Ajith De Soyza * Dr. Don Dilshan Abeywardane * Merrill J. Fernando * Mohan Munasinghe * Moragoda Christopher Walter Pinto * Surath Wickremesinghe 2021 • Dr. Nuwarapakshage Auranga Sathyajith Jayadewa. ( The youngest title holder of the country )

References

External links

National Awards Conferred by His Excellency the President of Sri Lanka
{{Honors and decorations of Sri Lanka Civil awards and decorations of Sri Lanka