Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Cyril Pinto Jayatilake Seneviratne (23 April 1918 - 26 December 1984) was a

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

n military officer and politician. He was the Member of Parliament for

Mahiyangana Mahiyanganaya is a town situated close to the Mahaweli River in Badulla District, Uva Province of Sri Lanka. It is said that Gautama Buddha visited Mahiyanganaya on the Duruthu full moon poya day in order to settle a dispute arose between Yakkas ...

from 1960-1970 and 1977-1984 and served as the

Minister of Labour Minister of labour (in British English) or labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...

in the Jayewardene cabinet (1977-1984).

Education

Seneviratne attended school at

Gampaha Gampaha (Sinhala: ගම්පහ ; Tamil: கம்பஹா ) is an urban city in Gampaha District, Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is situated to the north-east of the capital Colombo. It is the sixth largest urban area in Western Provinc ...

and 1942 he obtained a certificate as an instructor from the Physical Training Institute in

Ambala Ambala () is a city and a municipal corporation in Ambala district in the state of Haryana, India, located on the border with the Indian state of Punjab (India), Punjab and in proximity to both states capital Chandigarh. Politically, Ambala ...

, India.

Military service

Following his return he gained a commission as an officer of Ceylon Engineers Corps. In 1947 Seneviratne was appointed a Captain of the Ceylon Pioneers and served with the Corps when they were sent to Malaysia to oversee the construction of the railway line from Taiping to Port Weld (now known as Kuala Sepetang). While in Malayasia he played a leading part in the construction of Lankaramaya, the Buddhist Vihara in Singapore. Seneviratne claims that in 1949 he obtained a sapling of the Sri Maha Bodhi tree in

Anuradhapura Anuradhapura (, ; , ) is a major city located in the north central plain of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of North Central Province, Sri Lanka, North Central Province and the capital of Anuradhapura District. The city lies north of the cur ...

, which he planted at Lankaramaya. He left the army in 1950.

Political career

Senerviratne contested the 4th parliamentary elections, held on 19 March 1960, in the newly created seat of

, representing the

United National Party The United National Party (UNP; , ) is a Centre-right politics, centre-right political party in Sri Lanka. Founded in 1946, the party was one of Sri Lanka's two main parties for several decades. The UNP has served as the country's ruling party ...

. He was successful, polling 3,164 votes (36% of the total vote) defeating the

Sri Lanka Freedom Party The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP; ; ) is a centre-left political party in Sri Lanka. Founded by S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike in 1951, the party was one of Sri Lanka's two main parties from the 1950s to the 2010s, serving as the main rival of the c ...

candidate by 359 votes. At the subsequent

parliamentary elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

in July 1960 he retained the seat receiving 4,811 votes (50% of the total vote). He won the seat again at the 6th parliamentary elections, held on 22 March 1965, increasing his vote to 51% of the total vote. At the subsequent

parliamentary election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

, held on 27 May 1970, he was defeated by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party candidate, D. D. E. Wickremaratne, by 2,556 votes, only obtaining 43% of the total vote. Senerviratne however was successful in regaining the seat of Mahiyangana at the 8th parliamentary election, held on 21 July 1977, where he defeated the Sri Lanka Freedom Party candidate, Navaratna Banda Galketiya, by 8,801 votes (obtaining 70% of the total vote).

Death

Senerviratne died at the Colombo Hospital on 26 December 1984, whilst still serving as the Minister for Labour. Senerviratne's son, Lakshman, was subsequently elected to parliament representing his father's seat of

at a by-election on 18 April 1985. His son is a current Minister and Member of Parliament for

Badulla Badulla (, ; ,) is the capital and the largest city of Uva Province situated in the central hills of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of Uva Province and the Badulla District. Geography Badulla is located in the southeast of Kandy, almost enci ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seneviratne, C. P. J. 1918 births 1984 deaths Sri Lankan Buddhists Government ministers of Sri Lanka United National Party politicians Members of the 4th Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 5th Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 6th Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 8th Parliament of Sri Lanka Ceylon Engineer Corps officers Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force officers

Education

Military service

Political career

Death

See also

References