Sir Kanthiah Vaithianathan

CBE 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 ...

(1896–1965) (also spelt Vaidyanathan) was a Ceylonese civil servant, politician, Member of the

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

and Minister of Housing and Social Services.

Civil service career

Having graduated with a BSc 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 ...

, he joined the

Ceylon Civil Service The Ceylon Civil Service, popularly known by its acronym CCS, was the premier civil service of the Government of Ceylon under British colonial rule and in the immediate post-independence period. Established in 1833, it functioned as part of th ...

and served as a cadet in the

Ratnapura Ratnapura (, ; , ) ("City of Gems" in Sinhala and Tamil) is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of Sabaragamuwa Province, as well as the Ratnapura District, and is a traditional centre for the Sri Lankan gem trade. It is loca ...

Kachcheri in 1925. He went on to serve as the Information Officer of the Ceylon Government during

World War 2 World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilisin ...

in the early 1940s and from 1943 he was served as the Commissioner for Food (Supplies) of the Deptpartment of Ceylon Government Supplies in New Delhi, India. In 1947, he became the first

Permanent Secretary A permanent secretary is the most senior Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil servant of a department or Ministry (government department), ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day activities. Permanent secretaries are ...

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 ...

of independent

Ceylon 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, ...

Political career

In 1952, Vaithianathan resigned from the post of Permanent Secretary, to be appointed by the Governor General 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 ...

and appointed Minister of Housing and Social Services in the cabinet of the newly appointed Prime Minister

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 ...

. In 1953, he was also given the Industries portfolio following the resignation of

G. G. Ponnambalam Ganapathipillai Gangaser Ponnambalam (; 8 November 1901 – 9 February 1977) was a Ceylon Tamil lawyer, politician and cabinet minister. He was the founder and leader of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC), the first political party to repre ...

, Minister of Industries and Fisheries. Vaithianathan contested the Mannar constituency in the 1956 general election as an Independent, and lost to Federal Party candidate V. A. Alegacone, by polling only 4,857 votes to Alegacone's 6,726 and C. Sittampalam's 1,078.

Social service

He was the president of the Rotary Club of Colombo, patron of the Colombo Tamil Sangam and one of the founders of the Hindu Educational Society which established the Colombo Hindu College. He was elected vice president of the Royal Asiatic Society (Ceylon) Branch in 1952.

Honors

Vaithianathan, was appointed a Commander 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 ...

(CBE) in the 1949 New Year Honours and knighted as a

Knight 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 Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

in the

1950 Birthday Honours The King's Birthday Honours 1950 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate the ...

Family

He was married to Lady Vaithianathan. His son Mahen Vaithianathan was one of the first diplomats of the Ceylon Overseas Service. He lived at "Senthil", Charles Place, Colombo 3.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vaithianathan, Kanthiah 1896 births 1965 deaths Alumni of St. Patrick's College, Jaffna Housing ministers of Sri Lanka Industries ministers of Sri Lanka Permanent secretaries of Sri Lanka People from British Ceylon Members of the Senate of Ceylon Social affairs ministers of Sri Lanka Sri Lankan Hindus Ceylonese Knights Bachelor Ceylonese Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Sri Lankan Tamil people Tamil politicians