Benjamin Franklin Perera, CMG,

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, CCS (1901-19??) was a

Ceylonese Sri Lankan or Ceylonese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Sri Lanka ** Demographics of Sri Lanka * Sri Lankan people, or of Sri Lankan descent; this includes: ** Sinhalese people, the ethnic majority ** Sri Lankan T ...

civil servant and diplomat. He was the

Permanent Secretary A permanent secretary is the most senior Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil servant of a department or Ministry (government department), ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day activities. Permanent secretaries are ...

Ministry of Home Affairs An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the i ...

. He was Ceylon's Ambassador to the Soviet Union (1968-1969), Ceylon's Ambassador to West Germany (1961-1965), Ceylon's High Commissioner to Australia and New Zealand (1958-1961) and Deputy High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (1956-1958). Graduating from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

with the

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree, Perera was appointed to the

Ceylon Civil Service The Ceylon Civil Service, popularly known by its acronym CCS, was the premier civil service of the Government of Ceylon under British colonial rule and in the immediate post-independence period. Established in 1833, it functioned as part of th ...

by the Secretary of State in December 1924. He served in the

kachcheri A kachcheri or district secretariat is the principal government department that administrates a district in Sri Lanka. Each of the 25 districts has a kachcheri. The main tasks of the District Secretariat involve coordinating communications and ac ...

s of Colombo and Anuradhapura as a cadet; as an acting

police magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a ''Roman magistrate, magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and pos ...

and office assistant to the Assistant Government Agent of Puttalam. Promoted to Cass 4 officer, he served as a police magistrate, office assistant and additional assistant government agent. Promoted to Class 2, he served as assistant government agent, Galle; additional secretary, Minister of Home Affairs; assistant government agent, Gamapaha; assistant government agent, Kegalle; acting government agent, North Western Province and acting director of rural development. Promoted to Class 1, he was appointed acting government agent, Western Province. In February 1951, he was appointed Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health and Local Government and in January 1952, he was appointed Permanent Secretary, Home Affairs. His father was K. S. Perera and in 1930 he married Phoebe Elaine de Fonseka, daughter of Dr. C. P. de Fonseka and sister of Sir Susantha de Fonseka. He was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the

1949 New Year Honours The 1949 New Year Honours were appointments by many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. T ...

and a

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George I ...

(CMG) in the

1955 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1955 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1955 to celebra ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perera, Benjamin Franklin 1901 births Ambassadors of Sri Lanka to the Soviet Union Ambassadors of Sri Lanka to Germany High commissioners of Sri Lanka to Australia High commissioners of Sri Lanka to New Zealand Ceylonese Officers of the Order of the British Empire Ceylonese Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Sinhalese people Sri Lankan civil servants Magistrates of Sri Lanka Year of death missing