Deshamanya Deshamanya ( si, දේශමාන්‍ය, translit=Dēshamāṉya; ta, தேசமான்ய, translit=Tēcamāṉya; Pride of the Nation) is the second-highest national honour of Sri Lanka awarded by the Government of Sri Lanka as a ...

Elanga Devapriya Wikramanayake (known to many as ''E.D. Wikramanayake'') was a

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

n lawyer who served as the

Solicitor General of Sri Lanka The Solicitor General of Sri Lanka is a post subordinate to the Attorney General of Sri Lanka. The Solicitor General of Sri Lanka assists the Attorney General, and is assisted by four Additional Solicitors General. Note that the post was Solicit ...

Early life and education

His father was E. B. Wikramanayake, QC the Minister of Justice in the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

of Prime Minister Sir John Kotelawala and a member of the

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

. Educated at

S. Thomas' College , motto_translation = Be Thou Forever , song = Thomian Song , athletics = Yes , sports = Yes , nickname = Thora , denomination = Anglican , patron ...

, Mt Lavinia Sri Lanka, he excelled in rifle shooting, winning the Governor-General’s Cup at age 19. The Wikramanayake family association with law can be traced back to Crown Proctorship in Galle in 1848. After obtaining a bachelor of laws degree, he trained 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 enroll as a attorney-at-law in Sri Lanka. It was established in 1874, under the then Council of Legal ...

. Later he obtained a master's degree in law from Stanford University.

Legal career

Elanga joined the Attorneys General Department as a crown counsel in 1958 rising to the post of Solicitor General in 1977. He was the leading crown prosecutor for the Criminal Justice Commission in the 1970s prosecuting the captured and surrendered rebels of the 1971 JVP Insurrection. He left the Attorneys General Department in 1977 and continued in private practice. He appeared in many cases against incumbent governments at a time when intimidation of the judiciary and legal process was not uncommon and is best known for his appearance on behalf of

Sirimavo Bandaranaike Sirima Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike ( si, සිරිමා රත්වත්තේ ඩයස් බණ්ඩාරනායක; ta, சிறிமா ரத்வத்தே டயஸ் பண்டாரநாயக்கே; 17 April 191 ...

and

Felix Dias Bandaranaike Felix R. Dias Bandaranaike ( Sinhala:ෆීලික්ස් ඩයස් බණඩාරනායක) (5 November 1930 – 26 June 1985) was a Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, who served as Cabinet Minister of Finance, Parliamentary Secret ...

before the Special Presidential Commission and later in opposing policies of her daughter

Chandrika Kumaratunga Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga ( si, චන්ද්‍රිකා බණ්ඩාරනායක කුමාරතුංග, ta, சந்திரிகா பண்டாரநாயக்க குமாரதுங்க; born 29 Ju ...

. He also appeared for Industries Minister

C. V. Gunaratne Clement Victor Gunaratne ( si, ක්ලෙමෙන්ට් වික්ටර් ගුණරත්න) was Sri Lanka's Cabinet Minister of Industries Development. He and his wife along with 20 others were killed by a suicide bomber of the ...

in a defamation case against

Lalith Athulathmudali Lalith William Samarasekera Athulathmudali, PC (; 26 November 1936 – 23 April 1993), known as Lalith Athulathmudali, was a Sri Lankan statesman. He was a prominent member of the United National Party, who served as Minister of Trade and Sh ...

. Dayasiri Gunasekera and Mudaliyar pay tribute to his integrity, lack of political bias and impartiality. Dayasiri describes him as "a fearless fighter who cared only for the cause he fought for, and he fought it crisp and clean" . SL Gunasekera has classed him as one of the greats in Sri Lankan Law along with his close friend H. L. de Silva.

Honours

He was awarded the title

for his services to law. He is known to have declined the honours awarded by a government at the time on a matter of principle and was commended for it by leading lawyers.

Outdoorsmen

Wikramanayake was known to be an outdoors man and for exploits such as rafting down the Kelani Valley. He was a lover of wild life and an enthusiastic angler.

Family

His children are

Eric Wikramanayake Eric D. Wikramanayake is a Sri Lankan conservationist. Early life and education Born to Elanga Wikramanayake, a lawyer. His brothers are Arittha R Wikramanayake and Athula Wikramanayake. His grandfather was E. B. Wikramanayake. Educated at ...

Arittha R Wikramanayake Arittha R Wikramanayake is an attorney at law specialising in corporate law, securities law and trade law. Family Wikramanayake's family association with law can be traced back to Crown Proctorship in Galle in 1848. Education school Like his br ...

, Athula Wikramanayake Mihiri Wikramanayake and Ananga Wikramanayake. His sons

and Athula Wikramanayake are well known conservationists, biologists and experts on wild life, his son

and granddaughter Ariesha have authored a book on butterflies of Sri Lanka.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wikramanayake, Elanga W Sinhalese lawyers Alumni of S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia People from Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia