Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part ...

Cyril de Zoysa () (26 October 1896 – 2 January 1978) 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, ...

industrialist A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who is a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or ser ...

, Senator and a philanthropist. The President of the Senate of Ceylon from 1960 to 1965, he was a leader in the

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

revival movement in Ceylon (now

) in the 20th century. He was distantly related to Sri Lankan tycoon Sir Ernest de Silva.

Early life and education

He was born on 26 October 1896 to Solomon and Harriet de Zoysa in

Galle Galle (, ; , ) (formerly ) is a major city on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, south of Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Southern Province, Sri Lanka and is the capital of Galle District. Galle was known as ''Gi ...

, and was their second son. His brother V. T. De Zoysa, who 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 ...

, established

Air Ceylon Air Ceylon was the former flag carrier airline of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). The airline discontinued flights to Europe in early 1978 and finally ceased all local services on 31 August 1979, when it was replaced by Air Lanka. Air Lanka was later ...

.A tireless servant of the Dhamma
Colombo Daily News - 27 October 2007 He was educated at St. Thomas' College, MataraSir Cyril de Zoysa’s contribution to uplifting Buddha Sasana
/ref> for his primary studies and then moved on to Richmond College in Galle. His father was a

notary public A notary public ( notary or public notary; notaries public) of the common law is a public officer constituted by law to serve the public in non-contentious matters usually concerned with general financial transactions, estates, deeds, powers- ...

and for this reason, de Zoysa moved many times during childhood. He completed his secondary education at

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 ...

, where his contemporaries included Sir Nicholas Attygalle and

Sir John Kotelawala General Sir John Lionel Kotelawala (; 4 April 1897 – 2 October 1980) was a Sri Lankan statesman, who served as the 3rd Prime Minister of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) from 1953 to 1956. Born to a wealthy landholding and mining family, Kotelawala had ...

. At the young age of twenty, he began pursuing his legal studies at

Ceylon Law College Sri Lanka Law College (abbreviated as SLLC), formerly known as Ceylon Law College, is a law college, and the only legal institution where one can enrol as an Attorney-at-Law in Sri Lanka. It was established in 1874, under the then Council of Le ...

.Sir Cyril De Zoysa - Buddhist devotee and philanthropist
Sunday Observer - 20 October 2002 In 1921, he qualified as a

proctor Proctor (a variant of ''wikt:procurator, procurator'') is a person who takes charge of, or acts for, another. The title is used in England and some other English-speaking countries in three principal contexts: # In law, a proctor is a historica ...

and started his legal practice at the police magistrates courts of

Balapitiya Balapitiya is a coastal town, in south west Sri Lanka. It is located in the Southern Province in Sri Lanka. It is situated south of Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by popu ...

. In 1926 he moved to

Kalutara Kalutara (, ) or Kalutota is a major city in Kalutara District, Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is also the administrative capital of Kalutara District. It is located approximately south of the capital Colombo. The city holds a unique posit ...

after five successful years of practice in Balapitiya. He was the President of the Law Society of Ceylon.Sir Cyril de Zoysa - a noble personality
Colombo Daily News - 7 January 2003

Activism in Kalutara

The town of

was a centre of Buddhist learning and a pilgrimage site where people came to view the Kalutara Bodhi. He was the founder of Kalutara Vidyalaya and the Kalutara Balika Vidyalaya. In violation of colonial law, he began lighting lamps at the Kalutara Bodhi. The Bodhi tree was one of 32 allegedly brought to

by King

Devanampiyatissa Tissa, later Devanampiya Tissa (, ), also known as Devanape Tis (, ), was one of the earliest kings of Sri Lanka based at the ancient capital of Anuradhapura. According to the traditional chronology, he ruled from 307 BC to 267 BC, b ...

,Sir Cyril - great Buddhist and exemplary philanthropist
Rootsweb - 23 October 2003 as a scion of the Sri Maha Bodhi of

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 ...

. When the colonial authorities came, they attempted to corral devotees away from the tree. They accosted De Zoysa, and De Zoysa challenged them to arrest him. He invested much of his own money into the project and created pilgrimage facilities for worshippers.

Business ventures

De Zoysa was a successful businessman having a diverse array of ventures. During law school, he earned money by tutoring and used his first earnings to buy a buggy cart. He later reminisced, "I gifted this to my father, who blessed me for this act of love and generosity. I perceived that this gift I gave my father brought him immense joy. Likewise, this brought me too unforgettable joy.” In 1942, he established the South Western Bus Company, which was reconstituted as the South Western Omnibus Company Limited in 1952. It was nationalized in 1958 when the

Ceylon Transport Board The Sri Lanka Transport Board (Tamil language, Tamil: இலங்கை போக்குவரத்து சபை "Ilaṅkai pōkkuvarattu capai")(Sinhala language, Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා ගමනාගමන මණ්ඩල ...

was formed. He established Associated Motorways Limited in 1949, one of the largest conglomerates of Ceylon. It used to manufacture Sisil refrigerators and motor vehicle tyres. He also established Associated Rubber Industries, Associated Batteries, Associated Vacu-lat and Associated Cables.Al-Futtaim acquires majority stake in leading Sri Lankan public company
Manufacturing Business Technology - 27 July 2008

Political career

De Zoysa was the Chairman of the

Kalutara Urban Council Kalutura Urban Council (KUC) is the local authority for the town of Kalutara in the Kalutara District, Western Province, Sri Lanka. The KUC is responsible for providing a variety of local public services including roads, sanitation, drains, housin ...

and was elected to the

Senate of Ceylon The Senate was the upper chamber of the Parliament of Ceylon, parliament of Dominion of Ceylon, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1947 by the Soulbury Commission. The Senate was appointed and indirectly elected rather than directly elected. It ...

in 1947. He was elected Deputy President and Chairman of Committees in 1951 and served till 1955. He was elected President of the Senate of Ceylon in 1955 succeeding Sir Nicholas Attygalle and served till his retirement in 1961. He was made a

Knights Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are th ...

in the

1955 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday 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. The appointments were made to celebrate ...

References

External links

105th Commemoration of Sir Cyril de Zoysa
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20080517021939/http://www.dailynews.lk/2006/01/02/fea05.htm Gateway to the South, BY PRASAD Abu Bakrbr> Amara Samara in Sinhala
{{DEFAULTSORT:deZoysa, Cyril 1896 births 1978 deaths Presidents of the Senate of Ceylon Ceylonese proctors Sinhalese people Sri Lankan lawyers Sri Lankan businesspeople Sri Lankan Buddhists Alumni of St. Thomas' College, Matara Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Ceylonese Knights Bachelor Alumni of Richmond College, Galle People from Galle 20th-century Sri Lankan philanthropists