Cyril E. S. Perera, QC, (19 January 1892 – 27 March 1968) was a former member of the

House of Representatives (Ceylon) The House of Representatives was the lower chamber of the Parliament of Ceylon, parliament of Dominion of Ceylon, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1947 by the Soulbury Constitution. The House was housed in the old State Council of Ceylon, Sta ...

, and in later life a leading businessman.

Biography

Cyril Ernest Stanley Perera was born on 19 January 1892 and received his secondary education at

St. Anthony's College, Kandy St. Anthony's College, Kandy (, ) is a Catholic School, Roman Catholic School in Kandy, Sri Lanka. The college was established in 1844 by the Franciscan missionary, Felice Zoppi. The college is under the management of the Sylvestr ...

. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree and first class honours Bachelor of Law degree 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 ...

and was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

. Perera had the unique distinction of being second in order of merit at the Bar Final in his year, and won a £50 prize from Gray's Inn. Perera was a teacher before he entered the legal profession, and founded the first Teachers' Association of Ceylon, in

Kandy Kandy (, ; , ) is a major city located in the Central Province, Sri Lanka, Central Province of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the Sinhalese monarchy from 1469 to 1818, under the Kingdom of Kandy. The city is situated in the midst of ...

, and was its Secretary until he left for

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

in 1920, where he taught at the

Anglo-Chinese School, Ipoh Anglo-Chinese School, Ipoh, commonly known as SMK Methodist (ACS), Ipoh, is a primary and secondary school in Ipoh, Kinta District, Perak, Malaysia. One of the oldest schools in Malaysia, it was the first English school and first missionary schoo ...

for five years. In Malaya he founded a Teachers' Association. Perera began his legal practice in Kandy, and came to Colombo in 1935, and appeared frequently in the Appeal Courts, and the District Courts. In 1953 he was made a

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in recognition of his eminence at the Bar. In 1952, Perera successfully contested the Colombo North seat in

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. Disillusioned he did not run again at the 1956 Parliamentary elections and returned to business and the law. Perera was a vocal critic of the

S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike (8 January 1899 – 26 September 1959), also known as "The Silver Bell of Asia" (ආසියාවේ රිදී සීනුව), was a Sri Lankan statesman who served as the fourth Prime Minister of ...

government's '

Sinhala Only Act The Official Language Act (No. 33 of 1956), commonly referred to as the Sinhala Only Act, was an act passed in the Parliament of Ceylon in 1956. The act replaced English with Sinhala as the sole official language of Ceylon, with the exclusio ...

' stating: "The Tamils will never forget and never forgive the majority community for depriving them of rights which had been apparently been secured to them." In 1938 Perera, in association with Hugh Weerasekere, founded the Ceylon Insurance Company (predecessor to

Ceylinco Consolidated Ceylinco Consolidated was a Sri Lanka business conglomerate until 2008. History The original company, ''Ceylon Insurance Company'', was founded by Hugh Weerasekera and Chevalier C. S. Antony with board members Justin Kotelawala, Cyril Rodrigo, ...

) and was a member of its board until his death. He also floated the Finance Company of Ceylon (now called, The Finance Co. PLC), started the first Ceylonese shipping venture, the Eastern Star Lines, and was involved in establishing Ceylon Chocolates Limited in 1962, which produces the famous Kandos chocolates in

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, ...

. He was one of the founder members of the Ceylon National Chamber of Industries and was its first chairman. At the time of his death, on 27 March 1968, he was either chairman or on the directorate of several Ceylonese organisations.

Sources

http://islanka.com/index.php?itemID=173&branch=125

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perera, Cyril E S 1892 births 1968 deaths Sinhalese people Alumni of the University of London Alumni of St. Anthony's College, Kandy Members of the 2nd Parliament of Ceylon Expatriates from British Ceylon Expatriates in British Malaya 20th-century Sri Lankan lawyers