Charles Hubert Zaleski Fernando (18 November 1892 - 5 July 1973) was a Ceylonese lawyer and colonial era politician. He was a member of the

Legislative Council of Ceylon The Legislative Council of Ceylon was the legislative body of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1833, along with the Executive Council of Ceylon, on the recommendations of the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission. It was the first form of represe ...

and the

Colombo Municipal Council The Colombo Municipal Council is the municipal governing body of Colombo, the largest city and financial centre in Sri Lanka. It consists of a directly elected executive Mayor of Colombo, and elected 119 municipal councilors. The council was f ...

Early life and education

Fernando was born to Charles Matthew Fernando, a

Crown Counsel Crown counsel are lawyers, generally in Common Law jurisdictions, who provide advice to the government and acts as prosecutors in cases. In various jurisdictions their title can vary and they could also be known as the Queen's Advocate, King's Adv ...

and Jane Maria Caroline, third daughter of

Charles Henry de Soysa Charles Henry de Soysa Dharmagunawardana Vipula Jayasuriya Karunaratna Disanayaka popularly known as Charles Henry de Soysa, JP (3 March 1836 – 29 September 1890) was a Ceylonese entrepreneur and philanthropist. He was a pioneering planter, i ...

, Sir Marcus Fernando was his uncle. He was educated at

St. Joseph's College, Colombo St. Joseph's College is a selective-entry Roman Catholic school in Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1896 by French Missionaries led by Rev. Father Christophe Ernest Bonjean. The college has over 4,000 enrolled students with a staff of over 450 as o ...

and

Royal College, Colombo Royal College, Colombo also known as; Royal Colombo, Colombo Royal College or Colombo Royal) is a Single-sex education, boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started by Joseph Marsh (priest), Joseph Mar ...

before proceeding to the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the union of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into one sovereign state, established by the Acts of Union 1800, Acts of Union in 1801. It continued in this form until ...

in 1907. There, he was drawn to the activities of the

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...

and had met

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

at party meetings. Having graduated from the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

in 1913, with a BA and a

LLB A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

, on his return to Ceylon, Fernando became an

Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. List of country legal systems, Different countries and legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a ba ...

Business career

He soon took to business with holdings in tea and rubber plantations, plumbago (graphite) mining and shipping, which he consolidated in the holding company C. H. Z. Fernando & Co. In 1928 he became the owner of the

Mount Lavinia Hotel The Mount Lavinia Hotel, in Mount Lavinia, Sri Lanka, is a 275-room hotel, situated at 100 Hotel Road in Mount Lavinia. It is recognised as one of the oldest and most famous hotels in the country. It has been continuously operating as a hote ...

. He was the Chairmen of the Ceylon Import Merchants Association and a member of the Low-Country Products Association.

Political career

He became a founding member of the radical political association named Young Lanka League in 1915 and together with

A. E. Gunasinha Alexander Ekanayaka Goonesingha (1 May 1891 – 1 August 1967) was a Sri Lankan trade unionist and politician. A pioneering trade union leader, known as the "Father of the Labour Movement", he was the founder of the Ceylon Labour Party, Sri Lan ...

, E. A. P. Wijerathne, A. P. Thambayah and Valentine S. Perera, going on to form the Workers’ Welfare League in 1919. In the same year he became a co-founder of the

Ceylon National Congress The Ceylon National Congress ( Sinhala: ලංකා ජාතික කොන්ග්‍රසය ''Lanka Jathika Kongrasaya'') (CNC) was a political party in colonial-era Ceylon founded on 11 December 1919. It was founded during a period where ...

. In the Municipal Council he presented the motion to repeal the

Poll tax A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources. ''Poll'' is an archaic term for "head" or "top of the head". The sen ...

, which lead to its repeal in 1922.Traversed new paths making History
Ananda E. Goonesinha (The Island) Retrieved 2 November 2015 He was elected to the

in 1924 from

Chilaw Chilaw (, ) is a city in Puttalam District, North Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is governed by an urban council, whereas the outskirts are governed by a pradeshiya sabha of the same name. The town is located 80 kilometers away from Colombo via ...

as the member for the Western division of the North-western province defeating

Charles Edgar Corea Charles Edgar Corea (16 October 1866 – 7 February 1946) was a politician and a prominent freedom fighter of Sri Lanka. Early life C.E.Corea was born in the west coast town of Chilaw, in Sri Lanka. His parents were Charles Edward Bandarana ...

. He was a founder 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. ...

in 1928 and in July 1928 he along with A. E. Gunasinha represented Ceylon at the British Empire Labour Conference in London. Fernando was a strong campaigner for

universal suffrage Universal suffrage or universal franchise ensures the right to vote for as many people bound by a government's laws as possible, as supported by the " one person, one vote" principle. For many, the term universal suffrage assumes the exclusion ...

including for the plantation Tamils, which was introduced by the

Donoughmore Constitution The Donoughmore Constitution (; ), created by the Donoughmore Commission, served Sri Lanka (Ceylon) from 1931 to 1947 when it was replaced by the Soulbury Constitution. It was a significant development. First, it was the only constitution in the ...

in 1931. Between 1920 and 1941, he was elected as a member of the

for

Kotahena Kotahena is a suburb of Colombo, Sri Lanka, and is known as ''Colombo 13''. Places of worship Local houses of worship include: * St. Lucia's Cathedral (1881), Catholic * St. Anthony's Shrine, Kochchikade, St. Anthony's Shrine, Catholic *St. ...

and served as Chairman of the Ceylon Coconut Board, the Rubber Research Board and the Plumbago Trade Wages Board. He was made a

Chevalier Chevalier may refer to: Honours Belgium * a rank in the Belgian Order of the Crown * a rank in the Belgian Order of Leopold * a rank in the Belgian Order of Leopold II * a title in the Belgian nobility France * a rank in the French Legion d'h ...

of the

Order of the Holy Sepulchre Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre may refer to: * Order of the Holy Sepulchre (Catholic), chivalric order belonging to the Holy See (the Roman Catholic Church) * Order of the Holy Sepulchre (Orthodox), chivalric ...

Family

He married Daisy M. Fernando daughter of Hethakandage Bastian Fernando, their sons were P. C. S. Fernando and Chitra Bhanu Fernando

R. A. de Mel Reginald Abraham de Mel (8 November 1894 – 1961) was a Ceylonese politician. Having served as the Mayor of Colombo, he served as the Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Committees in the first parliament of Ceylon, until he was unseated by a ...

was their brother-in-law.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernando, Charles Hubert Zaleski Sri Lankan social workers Sinhalese people Sri Lankan lawyers Ceylonese advocates Colombo municipal councillors Members of the Legislative Council of Ceylon People from Western Province, Sri Lanka Alumni of Saint Joseph's College, Colombo Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Alumni of the University of Cambridge Ceylon Labour Party politicians Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre De Soysa family People from British Ceylon