Sir Leo Fernando, (18 November 1895 – 30 November 1954) was a

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, ...

ese businessman and politician. He was a member of parliament for the Buttala Electoral District.

Business career

Warusahennedige Leo Fernando was born on 18 November 1895 in Panadura. He developed a considerable ownership in the transport sector, having established the Panadura Bus Company and owning transport lorries. He also owned many Tea and Rubber plantations in Ceylon, the Gikiyanakande and Meddegedara estates among them. The Gikiyanakande estate was owned previously by Queen Elizabeth's cousin,

Lord Elphinstone Lord Elphinstone is a title in the Peerage of Scotland created by King James IV in 1510. History The title of Lord Elphinstone was granted by King James IV in 1510 to Sir Alexander Elphinstone of Elphinstone, who was killed at the Battle ...

. The signing of the deeds at the time of purchase by Fernando were done at Buckingham Palace in 1950. He also owned significant shareholdings in Associated Motorways (AMW), Central Hospitals and the Southwestern Bus Company. The Panadura Bus Company was later

nationalised Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with ...

in 1958 to form the

Ceylon Transport Board The Sri Lanka Transport Board (Tamil language, Tamil: இலங்கை போக்குவரத்து சபை "Ilaṅkai pōkkuvarattu capai")(Sinhala language, Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා ගමනාගමන මණ්ඩල ...

. At the time of his death in 1954, he owned more than 10,000 acres of tea and rubber plantations, and his Panadura Motor Transit (PMT) owned more than 350 buses, 200 lorries; apart from his significant investments in several top companies in Ceylon. He donated the college hall of

Sri Sumangala College Sri Sumangala College (), in Panadura, Sri Lanka, was founded on 3 March 1909 at Rankoth Viharaya, in memory of Ven. Weligama Sri Sumangala Thero, who played an important role in Buddhism in Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan Buddhism. It is one of the oldest ...

in his home town of Panadura.

Political career

Fernando was elected to the

Parliament of Ceylon The Parliament of Ceylon was the legislative body of British Ceylon & Dominion of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1947 by the Soulbury Constitution, prior to independence on 4 February 1948. Parliament replaced the State Council of Ceylon. ...

at the 1st parliamentary election in 1947 representing the Buttala electorate, securing over 77% of the vote. He retained the seat at the subsequent

parliamentary election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

s in 1952, with a healthy 70% of the vote and remained in parliament until his death in 1954.

Family

He and wife, Lady Irene Fernando, had three daughters and a son. They are Kusumalatha, Mallika, Ranjith and Kanthi. His daughter, Mallika de Mel was the member of parliament for Matara (2001–2003), she had married Ronnie de Mel, a civil servant, who became the member of parliament for Devinuwara (1969–1988), Matara (1994–2000),

National List The National List (, ''Reshima Mamlakhtit''), sometimes translated as the State List, was a political party in Israel. Despite being founded by David Ben-Gurion, one of the fathers of the Israeli left, the party is one of the ancestors of the mo ...

member (2001–2004) and

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

(1977–1988).

Car collection

Fernando owned a custom built Ford Lincoln Cosmopolitan on which his name was engraved on all the accessories of the car, including the seats. He also owned cars built by

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

Honors

He was appointed an

Officer of the Most Excellent 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 ...

(OBE) in the

1951 Birthday Honours The King's Birthday Honours 1951 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those count ...

and Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) 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'' ...

. He was appointed

Knights 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 orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are th ...

in the

1955 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1955 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1955 to celebra ...

, with the appointment being confirmed by the Queen the day before his death on 29 November 1954. The day before his death he was appointed

on 29 November 1954 in the

.The London Gazette OF FRIDAY, 3ist DECEMBER, 1954
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernando, Leo 1895 births 1954 deaths Ceylonese Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Ceylonese Knights Bachelor Members of the 1st Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 2nd Parliament of Ceylon Members of the Senate of Ceylon Sinhalese people Sri Lankan businesspeople United National Party politicians