Neranjan Priyadarshana Dullewe Wijeyeratne ( Sinhala: නෙරංජන් ප්‍රියදර්ශන දූල්ලෑව විජයරත්න) (born 9 August 1956) (known as ''Neranjan Wijeyeratne'') is a Sri Lankan. He was Diyawadana Nilame (Chief lay Custodian) of the Sri Dalada Maligawa, Kandy for 20 years from 1985 to 2005. Wijeyeratne was former

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), ...

politician and ex chief organiser for the Galagedara Electorate in

Kandy District Kandy District ( si, මහනුවර දිස්ත්‍රික්කය, ta, கண்டி மாவட்டம்) is a district of the Central Province of Sri Lanka. Its area is 1906.3 km². Administrative divisions Ethnic ...

and former Leader of the Opposition in the

Kandy Municipal Council The Kandy Municipal Council ( Sinhala: මහනුවර මහ නගර සභා ''Mahanuwara Maha Nagara Sabha'') is the local council for Kandy, the second largest city and ''hill capital'' of Sri Lanka. The council was formed under the M ...

Early life

Born to

Nissanka Wijeyeratne Deshamanya Nissanka Parakrama Wijeyeratne ( si, නිශ්ශංක පරාක්‍රම විජයරත්න) (14 June 1924 – 7 January 2007), known as ''Nissanka Wijeyeratne'', was a Sri Lankan politician, civil servant, dipl ...

& Nita Dullewe Wijeyeratne he is the eldest of three brothers and a sister. They are Mano, Anuradha, Lankesh & Nishangani. His father Nissanka Wijeyeratne and grandfather Sir Edwin Wijeyeratne were prominent politicians who had become cabinet ministers and his brothers Mano was a Non-Cabinet Minister of Enterprise Development and Plantation Services and Anuradha is a former Provincial Councillor and had been the Acting Diyawadana Nilame on several occasions. Neranjan Wijeyeratne was educated at Royal College, Colombo.

Diyawadana Nilame

Following his father's footsteps, he was elected Diyawadana Nilame (Chief lay Custodian) of the Sri Dalada Maligawa, Kandy in March 1985 and served for a total of 20 years, until 2005, being re-elected once again in May 1995. Prior to being named the Diyawadana Nilame he served a term of 5 years as Basnayake Nilame (Lay Custodian) of Lankathilaka Maha Vishnu devalaya, Kandy. He was noted for his ability when the temple was restored following the LTTE bombing in 1998. He was also responsible for the construction of the famous 'golden fence' around Sri Dalada maligawa. He set up the Dalada Museum, which houses a historic collection of artifacts related to the

Temple of the Tooth The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic or Sri Dalada Maligawa, ( si, ශ්‍රී දළදා මාළිගාව) is a Buddhist temple in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is located in the royal palace complex of the former Kingdom of Kandy, which hou ...

and

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...

in Sri Lanka. A sacred display
Sunday Times, Retrieved on 28 November 1999. The '

Special Development Fund and Sri Dalada Maligawa Buddhist Welfare Fund was set up by him. Meanwhile, the Pallekale Sri Lanka International Buddhist Academy (Thai Sri Lanka International Buddhist Institution) with a modern conference hall that can accommodate up to 1000 guests was established by Neranjan Wijeyeratne while he was Diyawadana Nilame. During his tenure, he maintained close links with

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

, Thai and

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

religious dignitaries and played a major role in promoting Sri Lanka's

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

heritage.

Politics

After stepping down as Diyawadana Nilame following his second term, he went into active politics.

Family

He is married to Devika Mediwake Daughter of Dr Laxminath & Chintha Mediwake, and Grand Daughter of

William Gopallawa William Gopallawa (, ; 17 September 1896 – 31 January 1981) was the last Governor-General of Ceylon from 1962 to 1972 and became the first and only non-executive and ceremonial President of Sri Lanka when Ceylon declared itself a republic in ...

(first President of Sri Lanka) and has two children, a daughter Mokshana (Environmental Specialist, The World Bank (Colombo office).Mokshana Wijeyeratne,Environmental Specialist, The World Bank (Colombo office
World Bank Blogs. & a son, Navindra.

References

;Sources
My two Decades at Sri Dalada Maligawa - A

My two Decades at Sri Dalada Maligawa - B

External links