Sir Edwin Aloysius Perera Wijeyeratne ( Sinhala: ශ්‍රිමත් එඩ්වින් ඇලෝසියස් පෙරේරා විජයරත්න) (8 January 1889 – 19 October 1968), known as ''Edwin Wijeyeratne'', was a Sri Lankan lawyer, politician, diplomat, and one of the founding members 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 ...

and 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 a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

and Minister of Home Affairs and Rural Development in the cabinet of

D. S. Senanayake Don Stephen Senanayake (; ; 20 October 1884 – 22 March 1952) was a Ceylonese statesman. He was the first Prime Minister of Ceylon, having emerged as the leader of the Sri Lankan independence movement that led to the establishment ...

. He thereafter he served as Ceylonese High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and Ceylonese High Commissioner to India

Early life and education

Born on 8 January 1889 in Rambukkana,

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, ...

to a family claimed its roots to the

Kotte Kingdom The Kingdom of Kotte (, ), named after its capital, Kotte, was a Sinhalese kingdom that flourished in Sri Lanka during the 15th century. Founded by Parakramabahu VI with the help of the Ming, the Kingdom managed to conquer the Jaffna kingdo ...

who had fled in face of the Portuguese. His father was Gabrial Perera Wijeyeratne, 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 his mother was Catherina Wickremasinghe Jayasekera née Tennekoon, daughter of Jayasekera Tennekoon, a notary from the Four Korales in Kegalle. The eldest in the family, he grew up in the Buddenipola

Walauwa Walauwa or walawwa is the name given to a feudal/Colony, colonial manor house in Sri Lanka of a Native headmen of Ceylon, native headmen. It also refers to the feudal social systems that existed during the colonial era. The term walauwa is derive ...

Kegalle Kegalle (; ) is a large town in Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka. It is located on the Colombo–Kandy road, approximately from Colombo, from Kandy, from Kurunegala and from Avissavella. It is the main town in the Kegalle District, which i ...

.Sorting Diplomats from The Officers
Daily News (Sri Lanka), Retrieved on 30 May 2013. Wijeyeratne received his primary education at the village school in Rambukkana. When nine years old, he transferred to Handessa Village School in

Gampola Gampola (, ) is a town located in Kandy District, in Sri Lanka's Central Province, Sri Lanka, Central Province. The town is governed by an Urban Council. Gampola was made the capital of the island by King Buwanekabahu IV, who ruled for four year ...

, where he stayed at the home of his future wife, Leela Pethiyagoda. He was subsequently educated at

St. Mary's College, Kegalle St. Mary's College ( Sinhala: සාන්ත මරියා විදුහල; Tamil: செயிண்ட் மேரி கல்லூரி) is a multi-faith boys' school located in Kegalle, Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka, adjacent to ...

, before completing his secondary education 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 of ...

where he passed the Cambridge Senior exam with Honours. He won 15 prizes at his last school prize giving.An illustrious son of Sabaragamuwa
/ref>

Early career

After completing school, he taught at Lorenz Tutory whilst pursuing an early career in journalism, where he worked under

Armand de Souza Armand de Souza (29 October 1874 – 17 May 1921) was a Ceylonese newspaper editor and democratic activist. Early life De Souza was born in Assagaum, Goa, to a Roman Catholic family belonging to the Saraswat Brahman community. He was the te ...

Legal career

While working as a journalist, Wijeyeratne studied law at the

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 ...

and qualified as 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 ...

in 1929 at the age of 30. He then established his

legal practice Legal practice is sometimes used to distinguish the body of judicial or administrative precedents, rules, policies, customs, and doctrines from legislative enactments such as statutes and constitutions which might be called "laws" in the strict ...

in the

unofficial bar The unofficial bar 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, separa ...

in his home town Kegalle, specializing in Civil law and

Kandyan law Kandyan law is the customary law that originated in the Kingdom of Kandy, which is applicable to Sri Lankans who are Buddhist and from the former provinces of the Kandyan Kingdom before the 1815 Kandyan Convention. It is one of three customary law ...

, and in Buddhist ecclesiastical law till 1949. He was an expert in Civil and Kandyan Law, and in

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 ...

Ecclesiastical Law.

Political career

1915 riots

During his early days in journalism, Wijeyeratne became political secretary to Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan and was one of the co-founders of a political group, the Young Lanka League. He was arrested by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

colonial authorities during the 1915 riots, accused of subversive writings and activities due to his agitation for self-rule Others who faced imprisonment without charges included F. R. Senanayake, D. C. Senanayake,

, Baron Jayatilaka, Dr C. A. Hewavitarne, W. A. de Silva, Arthur V Dias, John Silva,

Piyadasa Sirisena Piyadasa Sirisena was a Ceylonese pioneer novelist, patriot, journalist, temperance worker and independence activist. He was the author of some of the bestselling Sinhalese language, Sinhalese novels in early 20th century. A follower of Anagarika ...

and

A. E. Goonesinha 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 La ...

who went on to play a prominent part in the independence movement.

Ceylon National Congress and the State Council

Wijeyeratne was a founding member of the

was founded by Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam and Sir James Peiris in 1919. He was elected to the

State Council of Ceylon The State Council of Ceylon was the unicameral legislature for Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), established in 1931 by the Donoughmore Constitution. The State Council gave universal adult franchise to the people of the colony for the first time. It ...

in 1931 from Kegalle, where he served until 7 December 1935. He did not stand for re-election at the State Council in 1936 and return to his legal practice. On 21 December 1940, Wijeyeratne was appointed President of the Ceylon National Congress. His Joint Secretaries were

Dudley Senanayake Dudley Shelton Senanayake (Sinhala language, Sinhala: ඩඩ්ලි ශෙල්ටන් සේනානායක: ; 19 June 1911 – 13 April 1973), was a Sri Lankan wikt:statesman, statesman who thrice served as Prime Minister of C ...

and

JR Jayawardene Junius Richard Jayewardene (; ; 17 September 1906 – 1 November 1996), commonly referred to by his initials JR, was a Sri Lankan lawyer, public official and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 1977 to 1978 and as the secon ...

. During this period he was chosen to lead the Ceylon National Congress delegation to London. A famous story at the time was in 1944 when the

Soulbury Commission The Soulbury Commission ( ''Solbari Komisyan Sabawa''; ) was a prime instrument of constitutional reform in British Ceylon (modern-day Sri Lanka) that succeeded the Donoughmore Commission. It was announced in 1944 and headed by Herwald Ramsboth ...

was on their way to

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 ...

, D. S. Senanayake had stationed Wijeyeratne bare-bodied, in a paddy field in Kegalle. There, he was introduced to the commissioners as a typical Sinhala farmer and who spoke in English to the commissioners and impressed on them the need for Ceylon to obtain self-government. A special invitation was thereby sent to Ceylon by

Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...

and the Indian Congress to visit India for a discussion regarding the independence of Ceylon. Wijeyeratne, D. S Senanayake, George E. De Silva,

J. R. Jayawardene Junius Richard Jayewardene (; ; 17 September 1906 – 1 November 1996), commonly referred to by his initials JR, was a Sri Lankan lawyer, public official and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from ...

, Sir Claude Corea and H. W. Amarasuriya were among the delegates.

United National Party and the Minister of Home Affairs & Rural Development

Photograph of Sir Edwin Wijeyeratne with Prime Minister Hon

In 1947, Wijeyeratne became a founding member of the

and was appointed 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 ...

which was a non-elected upper house of parliament. There he served as acting Leader of the Senate. He subsequently succeeded

Sir Oliver Goonetilleke Sir Oliver Ernest Goonetilleke () (20 October 1892 – 17 December 1978) was a Sri Lankan statesman. Having served as an important figure in the gradual independence of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) from Britain, he became the third Governor-Genera ...

as Minister of Home Affairs and Rural Development in D. S. Senanayake's cabinet in July 1948. He was a member of the Commission on the Death Penalty which first recommended the abolishing the death penalty from Ceylon in 1948. While Minister of Home Affairs and Rural Development, Wijeyeratne served as the Chairman of the select committee to select the National Anthem for Sri Lanka. Namo, Namo, Matha was subsequently selected as the country's national anthem. He resigned as Minister and Senator in February 1951 paving the way for Sir Oliver Goonetilleke to succeed him and return to his former post on his return from London.

Diplomatic role

In 1952, Wijeyeratne was appointed Ceylonese High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, succeeding

in turn and was knighted the year after in the

1953 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1953 for the United Kingdom were announced on 30 December 1952, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 1953. This was the first New Year Honours since the accession of Queen Elizabeth II. The ''Honours list'' ...

as a

Knight Commander Knight Commander (or Dame Commander) is the second most senior grade of seven British orders of chivalry, three of which are dormant (and one of them continues as a German house order). The rank entails admission into knighthood, allowing the rec ...

(Civil Division) 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 ...

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

. As the Ceylonese High Commissioner, Wijeyeratne was involved in strengthening diplomatic relations between Britain and Sri Lanka. Wijeyeratne and his wife were visited at their residence in London on three occasions by

and

Prince Philip Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 19219 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from h ...

. In 1954, Wijeyeratne was recalled home and Sir Claude Corea succeeded him as High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. In 1955, he was appointed Ceylonese High Commissioner to India, where he served till 1957 and was succeeded by Sir Richard Aluvihare.

Family life

Wijeyeratne married Leela Pethiyagoda from the Meewaladeniya Walauwa in Gampola and had three sons and a daughter. The eldest,

Tissa Wijeyeratne Suratissa Diyasena Wijeyeratne ( Sinhala: සුරතිස්ස දියසේන විජයරත්න) (17 February 1923 – 11 July 2002) (known as ''Tissa Wijeyeratne'') was a Sri Lankan politician, diplomat, barrister and businessman. ...

was a Barrister at Law and served as the Additional Secretary to the

Ministry of External Affairs and Defence The Ministry of External Affairs and Defence was a cabinet ministry of the Government of Ceylon that conducted and managed all of Ceylon's relations with other countries and its military matters from 1947 to 1977. History The ministry was for ...

, as Sri Lankan Ambassador to France and to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, and as Senior Advisor (Foreign Affairs) to Prime Minister

Sirimavo Bandaranaike Sirima Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike (; ; ; 17 April 1916 – 10 October 2000), commonly known as Sirimavo Bandaranaike, was a Sri Lankan politician. She was the List of elected and appointed female heads of state and government, world's first fe ...

. His second son, Dr Nissanka Wijeyeratne, was former Minister of Education, Higher Education and Justice,

Diyawadana Nilame Diyawadana Nilame is the office of the chief lay custodian of the Temple of the Tooth, Kandy, Sri Lanka. Formerly an office of the royal household, at present it is the trustee for the Temple of the Tooth as defined by the ''Buddhist Temporal ...

(Chief lay Custodian) of

Temple of the Tooth Sri Dalada Maligawa, commonly known in English as the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, is a Buddhist temple in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is located in the Royal Palace Complex of the former Kingdom of Kandy, which houses the relic of the tooth of ...

, and later the

n Ambassador to the

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and former member of the governing body of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

. The youngest son, Dr Cuda Wijeyeratne is a

consultant psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...

Later life

Sir Edwin Wijeyeratne died on 19 October 1968 in Kegalle.

References

External links

The Wijeyeratne AncestrySir Edwin Wijeyeratne Ceylon High Commissioner In London With His Wife (centre) And Mrs Wilairat At A Reception
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wijeyeratne, Edwin 1889 births 1968 deaths Alumni of Saint Joseph's College, Colombo Ceylonese Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire High commissioners of Sri Lanka to India High commissioners of Sri Lanka to the United Kingdom Home affairs ministers of Sri Lanka Members of the 1st State Council of Ceylon Members of the Senate of Ceylon Sri Lankan journalists Sinhalese people Sri Lankan lawyers Sri Lankan Buddhists Sri Lankan independence activists United National Party politicians

Edwin The name Edwin means "wealth-friend". It comes from (wealth, good fortune) and (friend). Thus the Old English form is Ēadwine, a name widely attested in early medieval England. Edwina is the feminine form of the name. Notable people and char ...