Kandawala was the home of General Sir
John Lionel Kotelawala
General (Sri Lanka), 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 f ...
CH KBE
KBE may refer to:
* Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, post-nominal letters
* Knowledge-based engineering
Knowledge-based engineering (KBE) is the application of knowledge-based systems technology to the domain o ...
LLD (4 April 1897 - 2 October 1980) 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 politician, most notable for serving as
Prime Minister of Ceylon
The prime minister of Sri Lanka, officially the prime minister of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is the most senior member of parliament in the cabinet of ministers. It is the second-most powerful position in Sri Lanka's exec ...
from 1953 to 1956. The house is located in a estate that includes a lake known as ''Kandawala lake''.
John Kotelawala bought Kandawala estate with its small three bed-roomed house in 1920 at a public auction. In 1926, Kandawala built a two-story main house as his primary residence and office. This is known as Kandawala Valava, and it is the design of an expert architect, Mr. Siribaddhana Divithotavala, who designed the Demodara Nine Arch Bridge and Horagolla Valava.
The main house was built by Kotelawala in 1926. He moved in soon after its completion.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the house was used as the station headquarters and officers
mess
The mess (also called a mess deck aboard ships) is a designated area where military personnel socialize, eat and (in some cases) live. The term is also used to indicate the groups of military personnel who belong to separate messes, such as the o ...
for the
RAF based at the
Ratmalana Airport
Ratmalana International Airport (; ) (officially known as Colombo International Airport, Ratmalana and locally as Ratmalana Airport) , is the secondary international airport serving the city of Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka. It was the co ...
.
Kotelawala remained at Kandawala even after he became Prime Minister and did not move into
Temple Trees
Temple Trees is the official residence of the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. It is located in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Several recent presidents have used it as their official residence as well.
History Private residence
The history of ''Temple Tree ...
. He carried out much state business from his office in Kotelawala.
After his death, in accordance with Sir John's last-will, Kandawala Estate was handed over to the
Sri Lankan military
The Sri Lanka Armed Forces is the overall unified military of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka encompassing the Sri Lanka Army, the Sri Lanka Navy, and the Sri Lanka Air Force; they are governed by the Ministry of Defence (Sri Lank ...
to be turned into a Tri-Service
Defence Academy. In 1985 the
Sri Lankan Government
The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) (; ) is a Semi-presidential republic determined by the Sri Lankan Constitution. It administers the island from both its commercial capital of Colombo and the administrative capital of Sri Jayawardenepura Kott ...
established
at Kandawala named after him, it was renamed General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University in 2007.
Houses in Colombo District
General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University
Manor houses in Sri Lanka
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