The following people spent time at the

University of Colombo The University of Colombo (informally Colombo University or UoC) is a Public University, public research university located primarily in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is the oldest institution of modern higher education in Sri Lanka. Specialised in t ...

as either teaching staff or students.

Heads of state and government

J. R. Jayewardene 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 ...

– former

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

and

Prime Minister of Sri Lanka 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 ...

Gotabaya Rajapaksa Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa, (; ; born 20 June 1949) was a Sri Lankan politician and military officer who served as the eighth President of Sri Lanka from 18 November 2019 until his Resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, resignation on 14 July 202 ...

– former

President of Sri Lanka The president of Sri Lanka ( ''Śrī Laṅkā Janādhipati''; ''Ilaṇkai janātipati'') is the head of state and head of government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. The president is the chief executive of the union governm ...

Ranil Wickremesinghe Ranil Wickremesinghe (; ; born 24 March 1949) is a Sri Lankan politician who served as the ninth president of Sri Lanka from 2022 to 2024. He has also served as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 1993–1994, 2001–2004, 2015–2018, 2018-2019 a ...

– former

and

Prominent figures in the independence movement

* Dr

Charles Alwis Hewavitharana Charles Alwis Hewavitharana, FRCS, LRCP was a Ceylonese (Sinhalese) physician who played a significant role in Sri Lanka's Independence and Buddhist Revival movements. He was the brother of Anagarika Dharmapala. Early life He was born in Colo ...

FRCS Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional certification, professional qualification to practise as a senior surgeon in Republic of Ireland, Ireland or the United Kingdom. It is bestowed on an wikt:intercollegiate, ...

– leader in the independence movement

Legislators and political figures

Hector Abhayavardhana Hector Abhayavardhana (5 January 1919 – 22 September 2012) was a Sri Lankan Trotskyist theoretician, a long-standing member of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) and a founder-member of the Bolshevik-Leninist Party of India, Ceylon and Burm ...

– Trotskyist *Professor

Ranjith Bandara Rajapakshe Wasala Tennakoon Mudiyanselage Ranjith Bandara (born 4 November 1961) is a Sri Lankan economist, academic, politician and Member of Parliament. Bandara was born on 4 November 1961. He was educated at Sirimalwatte Rajakiya Vidyalaya. ...

, Member of Parliament in Sri Lanka * A. Amirthalingam – former Opposition leader, Member of Parliament and Tamil separatist * Hon. Tissa Attanayake – former Cabinet Minister; former Member of Parliament * Professor Sir

Nicholas Attygalle Sir Nicholas Attygalle (14 July 1894 – 27 March 1970) was a Ceylonese academic, surgeon and a Senator. He was the President of the Senate of Ceylon from 1953 to 1960 and the first Ceylonese Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ceylon, where ...

– former President of 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 ...

Vice-Chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth of Nati ...

University of Ceylon The University of Ceylon was the only university in Sri Lanka (earlier Ceylon) from 1942 until 1972. It had several constituent campuses at various locations around Sri Lanka. The University of Ceylon Act No. 1 of 1972, replaced it with the Univ ...

, Dean Faculty of Medicine & Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology * Hon. Ronnie De Mel, CCS – former Cabinet Minister and Member of Parliament * Hon.

William de Silva Peduru Hewage William de Silva (8 December 1908 – 30 July 1988) was a 20th-century Marxist/Trotskyist Sri Lankan politician.

– former Cabinet Minister and Member of Parliament *

Deshamanya Deshamanya (; ; Pride of the Nation) is the second-highest national honour of Sri Lanka awarded by the Government of Sri Lanka as a civil honour. It is awarded for "''highly meritorious service''", and is conventionally used as a title or prefi ...

Neville Kanakeratne Deshamanya Neville T. D. Kanakaratna (1923 - 19 September 1999) was a Sri Lankan lawyer, diplomat and scholar who was the Governor of the Southern Province. He was the Sri Lankan Ambassador to the United States and High Commissioner to India. Ed ...

– former Governor of the Southern Province * Hon.

Anil Moonesinghe Anil Moonesinghe (15 February 1927 – 8 December 2002) was a Sri Lankan Trotskyist revolutionary politician and trade unionist. He became a member of parliament, a Cabinet Minister of Transport in 1964, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament from 19 ...

– former Cabinet Minister and Member of Parliament *

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 ...

Somasundaram Nadesan – former Senator * Hon. Professor

G. L. Peiris Gamini Lakshman Peiris (Sinhala language, Sinhala: ගාමීණි ලක්ෂ්මණ් පීරිස්, Tamil language, Tamil: காமினி லக்ஷ்மன் பீரிஸ்) (born 13 August 1946) is a Sri Lankan poli ...

– former Cabinet Minister and Member of Parliament * Hon.

M. Sivasithamparam Murugesu Sivasithamparam (20 July 1923 – 5 June 2002) was a leading Sri Lankan Tamil politician, Member of Parliament and Deputy Speaker. Early life Sivasithamparam was born 20 July 1923 in Karaveddy in northern province of Ceylon. He w ...

– former Deputy Speaker of Parliament * Hon. Doctor

Tissa Vitharana Upali Tissa Vitharana (born 30 August 1934) is a Sri Lankan politician, former Member of Parliament and former cabinet minister. He is the current leader of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) and served as List of Governors of North Central Provin ...

– current Cabinet Minister of Science and Technology and Member of Parliament * Hon. Doctor

Nissanka Wijeyeratne Deshamanya Nissanka Parakrama Wijeyeratne () (14 June 1924 – 7 January 2007), known as ''Nissanka Wijeyeratne'', was a Sri Lankan politician, civil service, civil servant, diplomat and English language poet. He was also the 17th Diyawadana ...

, CCS – former Cabinet Minister of Education, Higher Education and Justice; Member of Parliament; Sri Lankan Ambassador to the Russian Federation; former Permanent Secretary;

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 ...

of the

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 ...

Clergy and religious figures

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

Thomas Cooray Thomas Benjamin Cooray (Sinhala language: තෝමස් බෙන්ජමින් කුරේ), O.M.I. (28 December 1901 – 29 October 1988) was a Sri Lankan cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as the Archbishop of Colombo ...

OMI Omi or OMI may refer to: Organisations * Optical Mechanics, Inc., a US telescope company * Ottico Meccanica Italiana, an Italian company * Original Musical Instrument Company, manufacturers of resonator guitars * Open Music Initiative, a digital ...

– former

Archbishop of Colombo The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Colombo () is a Latin metropolitan archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church, whose ecclesiastical province covers all Sri Lanka plus the Maldives (which are within the archbishopric). It depends on th ...

; first Cardinal from Sri Lanka *Rt.Revd. Dr.

Lakshman Wickremasinghe Lakshman Wickremesinghe (25 March 1927 – 23 October 1983) was one of the youngest bishops in the Anglican Communion and a human rights activist. Early life and education Born on 25 March 1927, he was the third son of Cyril Wickremesinghe of t ...

–

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Kurunegala Kurunegala (, ; , ) is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of the North Western Province, Sri Lanka, North Western Province and the Kurunegala District. Kurunegala was an ancient royal capital for 50 years, from the end of the 13th ...

; youngest bishop in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

Civil servants

Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe, CCS (18 March 1913 – 4 December 1980) was a Sri Lankan diplomat and civil servant. He was High Commissioner to India and concurrently Ambassador to both Nepal and Afghanistan (1963–1967) and Permanent Secretar ...

, CCS – former

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 ...

of the Ministry of Finance & Treasury, Ministry of Health (also listed in Diplomats) *

C.A. Coorey Deshamanya Chandana Aelian Coorey, SLAS (March 18, 1921 - ) was a Sri Lankan civil servant. He was the former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance & Treasury. Early life and education Born in Panadura to Dr Henry Coorey and his wife Pus ...

SLAS The Sri Lanka Administrative Service (SLAS) ( Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා පරිපාලන සේවය; śrī laṁkā paripālana sēvaya, Tamil:ஸ்ரீ இலங்கை நிருவாக சேவை; Sri lanka niruvá ...

– former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance & Treasury *

Gamani Corea Deshamanya Gamani Corea (4 November 1925 – 3 November 2013) was a Sri Lankan economist, civil servant and diplomat. He was also the Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and Under-Secretary-General of the ...

– former

Secretary-General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

of the UNCTD (1974–1984); Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Planning and Economic Affairs; Senior Deputy Governor of the

Central Bank of Ceylon The Central Bank of Sri Lanka ( CBSL; ), known until 1985 as the Central Bank of Ceylon, is the central bank of Sri Lanka. It was established in 1950 under the Monetary Law Act No.58 of 1949 (MLA) and in terms of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka Ac ...

Gamani Corea of Sri Lanka, Secretary-General UNCTD
* Tissa Devendra – former Chairman of Public Service Commission; Chairman of Salaries Commission; first President of the Colombo University Alumni Association *

Hemasiri Fernando Hemasiri Fernando (born 12 October 1949) is the former permanent secretary to the Ministry of Defence and chief of staff of the president, chairman Board of Investment of Sri Lanka. Early childhood Hemasiri was educated at Nalanda College, ...

– former Secretary to the Prime Minister *

Bernard Peiris Bernard Percival Peiris, OBE, JP (29 March 1908 – 18 January 1977) was a Sri Lankan lawyer. He was the former Cabinet Secretary and the Legal Draftsmen who drafted the ''Ceylon Order in Council'', the first constitution of independent Ceylo ...

OBE 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 ...

, JP – former

Cabinet Secretary A cabinet secretary is usually a senior official (typically a civil servant) who provides services and advice to a cabinet of ministers as part of the Cabinet Office. In many countries, the position can have considerably wider functions and powe ...

M. J. Perera Mapatunage James "M. J." Perera was a Sri Lankan civil servant (3 February 1915 – 14 March 2002) with nine members in his family in Udumulla, Padukka. He created broadcasting history by being the first Ceylonese Director General of Radi ...

, CCS – first Chairman of the Rupavahini Corporation; former Permanent Secretary of the Education and Cultural Affairs Ministry; Vice-Chancellor of

University of Peradeniya The University of Peradeniya (, ) is a Public research university, public university in Sri Lanka, funded by the University Grants Commission of Sri Lanka, University Grants Commission. It is the largest university in Sri Lanka, which was origin ...

G.V.P. Samarasinghe G.V.P. Samarasinghe, CCS was a Sri Lankan civil servant. He was the former Permanent Secretary of Defence and Foreign Affairs and Cabinet Secretary. Educated at the Royal College, Colombo, he is a graduate from the University College, Colombo Ce ...

, CCS – former

and

of Defence and Foreign Affairs *

S.J. Walpita S.J. Walpita, CCS (died June 2, 2007) was a Sri Lankan civil servant and diplomat. He was the former permanent secretary of the Ministry of Industries & Fisheries and vice chancellor of University of Ceylon, Peradeniya. He was also Ceylon's amba ...

, CCS – former Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Industries & Fisheries;

, Peradeniya *

Bradman Weerakoon Deshamanya Robin Bradman Weerakoon, CCS (born 20 October 1930) is a Sri Lankan civil servant. As a senior bureaucrat of the Sri Lankan government, he served nine Sri Lankan heads of state in a career spanning half a century.David, Marianne (in ...

, CCS – former Secretary to the Prime Minister

Diplomats

* T. D. S. A. Dissanayake – former Sri Lankan Ambassador to Indonesia and Egypt *

Yogendra Duraiswamy Yogendra Duraiswamy, SLOS (1923 – 17 June 1999) was a Sri Lankan diplomat, who served in India, Myanmar, the United States (New York), Australia, Iraq, Italy, China and the Philippines. Early life and education He was born in 1923 in Jaffna to ...

, SLOS – former Sri Lankan diplomat *

Vernon Mendis Deshamanya Vernon Loraine Benjamin Mendis (5 December 1925 – 23 June 2010) was a prominent Sri Lankan diplomat, who served as the United Nations' Special Envoy to the Middle East. He is referred to as the ''Sri Lanka's Father of Diplomacy'' ...

, SLOS – former

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Special Envoy Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seating ...

to the Middle East, Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Canada; Ambassador to USSR, Cuba and Secretary General of the

Non Aligned Movement The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 121 countries that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. It was founded with the view to advancing interests of developing countries in the context of Cold War confrontation ...

Daya Perera Lt. Colonel Daya Perera, PC (died June 16, 2013) was a Sri Lankan diplomat and lawyer, who was the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Canada and Ambassador to the United Nations in New York City. Education Educated at Royal College Colombo, Pere ...

, PC – former Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Canada; Ambassador to the United Nations in New York *

Wickrema Weerasooria Wickrema Weerasooria was a Sri Lankan lawyer, civil servant, diplomat and an academic. He was the Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Plan Implementation, former Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Australia and New Zealand. He served as Sri La ...

– former Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Australia and New Zealand; Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Plan Implementation

Military

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Sepala Attygalle General (Sri Lanka), General Deshamanya Don Sepala Attygalle, (14 October 1921 – 15 January 2001) was a Sri Lankan army officer, civil servant and diplomat. The longest serving Commander of the Army (Sri Lanka), Commander of the Sri Lankan Arm ...

, MVO, idc, psc,

SLAC SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, originally named the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, is a federally funded research and development center in Menlo Park, California, United States. Founded in 1962, the laboratory is now sponsored ...

– former Commander of the Sri Lankan Army (1967–1977) and

to the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

* Major General

Anton Muttukumaru Major General Anton Muttukumaru, OBE, ED, ADC (6 July 1908 – 2001) was the first native Ceylonese to serve as the Commander of the Ceylon Army (now Sri Lankan Army), a post he held from 1955 to 1959. He also served as Ceylon's High Commi ...

– first Ceylonese Army officer to serve as Commander of the Ceylon Army * Major General Dr. Chelliah Thurairaja, USP, SLMC – former Director Army Medical Services and Colonel Commandant of the

Sri Lanka Army Medical Corps The Sri Lanka Army Medical Corps (SLAMC) ( Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා යුද හමුදා වෛද්‍ය බලකාය ''Shri Lanka Yuddha Hamuda Vayidya Balakaya'') is a specialist corps in the Sri Lanka Army which specia ...

Police

Sydney de Zoysa Sydney Godfrey de Zoysa (January 15, 1909 - October 20, 1994) was a Sri Lankan senior police officer. A former Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) of Range II and Permanent Secretary to the Minister for Internal Security (Ceylon), Ministry o ...

– former Deputy Inspector General of Police, Range II; Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Internal Security; a leader of the attempted military coup in 1962 *

C. C. Dissanayake Cyril Cyrus "Jungle" Dissanayake, MVO was a Sri Lankan senior police officer. He was serving as Deputy Inspector-General of Police of Range I, when he was implicated as one of the leaders of the attempted military coup of 1962. Education Dissa ...

– former Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police (SDIG) and a leader of the attempted military coup in 1962Coup of 1962: an inside story
* S.A. Dissanayake – former

Inspector General of Police An inspector-general of police is a senior police officer in the police force or police service of several nations. The rank usually refers to the head of a large regional command within a police service, and in many countries refers to the most ...

(IGP) and Additional Permanent Secretary of 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 ...

* N. K. Illangakoon – current Inspector General of Police (IGP)

Academics

Vice Chancellors

* Professor Savitri Goonesekere – former Vice Chancellor of the

* Professor

Kshanika Hirimburegama Sannas Mudiyanselage Kshanika Kumari Hirimburegama (known as Kshanika Hirimburegama) (born 1 January 1958) is a Sri Lankan academic. She was the 17th Vice-Chancellor of the University of Colombo. Prior to the appointment she was Head of the Depar ...

– current Vice Chancellor of the University of Colombo * Professor

Vidya Jyothi The Vidya Jyothi (; ) is a Sri Lankan Sri Lankan honours system, national honour awarded "''for outstanding scientific and technological achievements''". It is the highest national honour for science in Sri Lanka for outstanding contribution to the ...

V. K. Samaranayake – former

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...

of the Faculty of Science, University of Colombo and founder of

University of Colombo School of Computing The University of Colombo (informally Colombo University or UoC) is a public research university located primarily in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is the oldest institution of modern higher education in Sri Lanka. Specialised in the fields of Natura ...

* Professor

Stanley Wijesundera Stanley Wijesundera (6 December 1923 – 8 March 1989) was a Sri Lankan academic. He served as the first Vice chancellor of the University of Colombo from 1979 to 1988. A Professor of Biochemistry, he was the chairman of the Association of Comm ...

– former Vice Chancellor of the University of Colombo

Professors and scholars

* Professor Hithanadura Janaka De Silva – Foundation Professor of Medicine, University of Kelaniya; Dean of Faculty of Medicine Kelaniya (Student Faculty of Medicine 1977-1982) * Professor

Nalin de Silva Thakurartha Devadithya Guardiyawasam Lindamulage Nalin Kumar de Silva ( Sinhala: නලින් ද සිල්වා; 20 October 1944 – 1 May 2024) was a Sri Lankan philosopher, polymath and a political analyst. He was the former Sri Lan ...

– professor in the Department of Mathematics at the

University of Kelaniya The University of Kelaniya (UoK; , ) is a public university in Sri Lanka. Just outside the municipal limits of Colombo, in the city of Kelaniya, the university has two major institutions and seven faculties. History The University of Kelaniy ...

* Professor Rangita de Silva de Alwis – adjunct professor of Global Leadership at the

University of Pennsylvania Law School The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (also known as Penn Carey Law, or Penn Law; previously University of Pennsylvania Law School) is the law school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in Phi ...

* Dr Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri – historian and Head of the Department of History, University of Colombo * Professor

J B Disanayake Deshamanya Prof. Jayaratna Banda Disanayake (born 16 April 1937) is an emeritus professor and one of the leading authorities of the Sinhala language. He was former Sri Lankan Ambassador to Thailand.University of Colombo The University of Colombo (informally Colombo University or UoC) is a Public University, public research university located primarily in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is the oldest institution of modern higher education in Sri Lanka. Specialised in t ...

* Professor Devaka Fernando – Foundation Professor of Medicine, University of Sri Jayawardanapura; Visiting Professor of Endocrinology University of Newcastle upon Tyne, University of Sheffield; Honorary Professor Sheffield Hallam University (Student Faculty of Medicine 1976-1981 and Senior Lecturer in Medicine 1994-1996) * Dr. Brendon Gooneratne – Head and Senior Lecturer, Department of Parasitology,

Peradeniya Peradeniya (; ) is a suburb of the city of Kandy, Sri Lanka with about 30,000 inhabitants. It is situated on the A1 main road, a few kilometres west of Kandy city centre. Peradeniya's name is derived from ''pera'' (guava) and ''deniya'' (a plain ...

* Professor

Yasmine Gooneratne Yasmine Gooneratne (1935 – 15 February 2024) was a Sri Lankan poet, short story writer, university professor and essayist. She was recognised in Sri Lanka, Australia, throughout Europe, and the United States, due to her substantial creative a ...

– poet, short story writer and essayist * Professor Shan Ratnam – Head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology,

National University Hospital The National University Hospital (NUH) is a tertiary referral hospital and academic medical centre in Singapore, located in Kent Ridge. It is a 1,160-bed tertiary hospital serving more than 670,000 outpatients and 49,000 inpatients and serves ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

* Professor A. Suri Ratnapala – Professor of Law, T.C. Beirne School of Law,

University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...

* Professor

Ediriweera Sarachchandra Veditantirige Ediriweera Ranjitha Sarachchandra (born Veditantirige Eustace Reginold de Silva; 3 June 1914 – 16 August 1996), popularly known as Ediriweera Sarachchandra ), was a Sri Lankan playwright, novelist, poet, literary critic, essayist ...

– playwright, novelist and poet * Professor

K. N. Seneviratne Kirthi Nissanka Seneviratne (22 November 1929 - 10 August 1986) was a Sri Lankan academic and physician. He was a Professor of Physiology and founding director of Sri Lanka's Postgraduate Institute of Medicine. He was educated at the Royal College ...

– Professor of Medicine; founder director of Sri Lanka's Postgraduate Institute of Medicine * Professor

Jayadeva Uyangoda Jayadeva Uyangoda (born 13 September 1950) is a Sri Lankan political scientist. He is a constitutional expert in Sri Lanka. Jayadewa Uyangoda was a leftist student leader and a member of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) movement in the 1970 ...

– professor and former Head of the Department of Political Science, University of Colombo * Dr

Maitree Wickramasinghe Professor Maithree Wickremesinghe ( Sinhala: මෛත්‍රී වික්‍රමසිංහ; born 11 August 1964) was the First Lady of Sri Lanka as the wife of President Ranil Wickremesinghe. She is a Sri Lankan academic, writer, and ...

– academic and senior lecturer at the Department of English of the

* Professor

Nira Wickramasinghe Nira Konjit Wickramasinghe is professor of modern South Asian studies at Leiden University in the Netherlands and a well known international academic. She was a professor in the department of history and international relations, University of Co ...

– historian and Professor of Modern South Asian Studies at

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince of Orange as a Protestantism, Protestant institution, it holds the d ...

in the Netherlands * Dr

Gihan Wikramanayake Gihan Nilendra Wikramanayake, FBCS, CITP (17 January 1960 – 5 January 2018) was a Sri Lankan academic. He was a Senior Professor in Computer Science and attached to the Department of Information Systems Engineering. He was the Director of the ...

– Head and Senior Lecturer, Department of Information Systems Engineering of the University of Colombo School of Computing

Artists

Novelists, poets and playwrights

*Professor

– Sri Lanka's premier playwright

Actors

Jackson Anthony Conganige Joseph Malsi Jackson Anthony (as ජැක්සන් ඇන්තනී; 8 July 1958 – 9 October 2023), commonly known as Jackson Anthony, was a Sri Lankan actor in film, theatre and television. One of the most popular artists in ...

– actor, director, singer *

Iranganie Serasinghe Iranganie Roxanna Meedeniya (born 9 June 1927),"Irangani As Told to Kumar de Silva", Kumar de Silva, Samaranayake Publishers, 2013 best known as Iranganie Serasinghe, is a Sri Lankan actress of theater and television. Since her debut in ''Rekava' ...

– actress

Visual artists

* Malaka Dewapriya – filmmaker, short film director, video artist, radio play writer

Judges

* Hon. Justice

Saleem Marsoof Saleem Marsoof, President's Counsel (Sri Lanka), PC is a Sri Lankan judge and lawyer. He is a judge of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka and former President of the Court of Appeal.

– former Judge of the Supreme Court * Hon. Justice

Neville Samarakoon Neville Dunbar Mirahawatte Samarakoon, Q.C. (22 October 1919 – 1990) was a Sri Lankan lawyer, who served as the 36th Chief Justice of Sri Lanka from 1977 to 1984. His father was A. C. W. Samarakoon and his mother was Chandrawathi Mirahawatte Kum ...

– former

Chief Justice of Sri Lanka The chief justice of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is the head of the judiciary of Sri Lanka and the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. Established in 1801, the chief justice is one of ten Supreme Court justices; the other nine are ...

Sri Lankabhimanya Sri Lankabhimanya (; ; The Pride of Sri Lanka) is the highest National Honours of Sri Lanka, national honour of Sri Lanka, which is awarded by the President of Sri Lanka on behalf of the government, equivalent to the National Heroes of Sri Lanka, ...

Hon. Justice

Christopher Weeramantry Christopher Gregory Weeramantry, AM (17 November 1926 – 5 January 2017) was a Sri Lankan lawyer who was a Judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) from 1991 to 2000, serving as its vice-president from 1997 to 2000. Weeramantry was a ...

– former Judge of the International Court of Justice and the

Supreme Court of Sri Lanka The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka (; ) is the Supreme court, highest court in Sri Lanka and the final judicial instance of record. Established in 1801 and empowered to exercise its powers subject to the provisions of the Constitution of Sri Lanka ...

Medicine

* Hithanadura Janaka De Silva – Foundation Professor of Medicine University of Kelaniya, Dean Faculty of Medicine Kelaniya *

Devaka Fernando Devaka Fernando is a Sri Lankan physician and academic. He was president of the Osteoporosis Society of Sri Lanka and the Founding Professor of Medicine at the University of Sri Jayawardanapura. Education Fernando was educated at Dean Row Sc ...

– Foundation Professor of Medicine University of Sri Jayawardanapura; Visiting Professor of Endocrinology, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, University of Sheffield; Honorary Professor, Sheffield Hallam University * Brendon Gooneratne –

scholar A scholar is a person who is a researcher or has expertise in an academic discipline. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researcher at a university. An academic usually holds an advanced degree or a termina ...

and

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

– independence activist *

Richard Lionel Spittel Richard Lionel Spittel, (commonly known as ''Dr. R. L. Spittel'') (9 December 1881 – 3 September 1969) was a Ceylonese physician and author. He was one of the foremost experts on the Vedda community. Education and career Richard Lionel Spi ...

, CMG,

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 ...

–

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

and

Journalists

* Eva Ranaweera – feminist editor, poet and novelist * Regi Siriwardena – journalist and writer

Sportsmen

Brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

Dr. H.I.K. Fernando – former Ceylon cricketer * Lasantha Fernando – tennis champion and

Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is organised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and contested annually between teams from over 150 competing countries, making it the world's largest annual ...

player *

Jehan Mubarak Jehan Mubarak (; born 10 January 1981) is an American-born former professional Sri Lankan cricketer, who played all formats of the game. He is a left-handed batsman and a right-arm offbreak bowler. Personal life The son of Azeez Mohamed Mubar ...

– cricketer * Tambyah Murugaser – former Vice President of the Board of Control for Cricket; Sri Lanka team manager * Dr

Ajith C. S. Perera Ajith Chrysantha Stephen Perera, Justice of the Peace#Sri Lanka, JP, Chartered Chemist, CChem., Royal Society of Chemistry, FRSC (29 February 1956 – 29 October 2020) was a Chartered Chemist by profession, a scholar, a former Senior manag ...

– former test-match-panel senior cricket

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French , , and , : (as evidenced in cricke ...

; disability activist * Mano Ponniah – former Ceylon cricketer and member of the Cambridge eleven *

Kumar Sangakkara Kumar Chokshanada Sangakkara (; born 27 October 1977) is a Sri Lankan former professional cricketer who represented Sri Lanka from 2000 to 2015. A former captain in all formats. He was born in Matale, Central Province. In first-class cricke ...

– captain of the Sri Lankan national cricket team

Lawyers

* T.B. Dissanayake – former Commissioner of Assize * Palitha Fernando, PC – current

Attorney General of Sri Lanka The attorney general of Sri Lanka is the Sri Lankan government's chief legal adviser, and its primary lawyer in the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. The attorney general is usually a highly respected senior advocate, and is appointed by the ruling go ...

and

Judge Advocate Judge-advocates are military lawyers serving in different capacities in the military justice systems of different jurisdictions. Australia The Australian Army Legal Corps (AALC) consists of Regular and Reserve commissioned officers that prov ...

of the Sri Lanka Navy

Engineers

* B. D. Rampala – former chief mechanical engineer and general manager of the

Ceylon Government Railway The Sri Lanka Railway Department (more commonly known as Sri Lanka Railways (SLR)) ( Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා දුම්රිය සේවය ''Śrī Laṃkā Dumriya Sēvaya''; Tamil: இலங்கை புகையிரத ...

Activists

Rajini Thiranagama Rajani Thiranagama (née Rajasingham) (23 February 1954 – 21 September 1989) was a Sri Lankan Tamil human rights activist and feminist who was assassinated by the LTTE cadres after she had criticised them for their atrocities. At the time of h ...

– human rights activist and feminist

Faculty

* Professor Sir

* Professor Sir Charles Irwin Ball * Professor

*Dr Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri * Professor

J B Disanayake Deshamanya Prof. Jayaratna Banda Disanayake (born 16 April 1937) is an emeritus professor and one of the leading authorities of the Sinhala language. He was former Sri Lankan Ambassador to Thailand.J B Disanayake Deshamanya Prof. Jayaratna Banda Disanayake (born 16 April 1937) is an emeritus professor and one of the leading authorities of the Sinhala language. He was former Sri Lankan Ambassador to Thailand.Christie Jayaratnam Eliezer, AM * Professor Savitri Goonesekere * Professor

* Professor

Kumari Jayawardena Kumari Jayawardena (; born 1931) is a Sri Lankan feminist activist and academic. Her work is part of the canon of Third-world feminism which conceptualizes feminist philosophies as indigenous and unique to non-Western societies and nations rathe ...

* Professor Amal Jayawardane * Professor Sir William Ivor Jennings * Professor

Kusuma Karunaratne Kusuma Karunaratne ''nee'' Ediriweera Jayasooriya (born November 21, 1940) is a Sri Lankan academic, university administrator, Professor and scholar of Sinhalese language and literature. Personal life Kusuma Jayasooriya was born on November 21, 1 ...

* Professor

Sarath Kotagama Vidya Jyothi Sarath Wimalabandara Kotagama () is a Sri Lankan ornithologist and environmentalist. He is a Professor Emeritus and former head of the Department of Zoology, University of Colombo. Education Kotagama obtained a BSc from the Univers ...

* Professor S.R. Kottegoda * Professor

Gunapala Piyasena Malalasekera Gunapala Piyasena Malalasekera, OBE, JP, (8 November 1899 – 23 April 1973) was a Sri Lankan academic, scholar and diplomat best known for his Malalasekara English-Sinhala Dictionary. He was Ceylon's first Ambassador to the Soviet Union, C ...

* Professor

Dharmasena Pathiraja Pathiraja Navaratne Wanninayake Mudiyanselage Ranjith Dharmasena (28 March 1943 – 28 January 2018) was a Sri Lankan film director and screenwriter. He has been referred to as a 'rebel with a cause', an ‘''enfant terrible'' of the '70s', and ...

* Professor

V. K. Samaranayake * Professor

* Professor

Anuradha Seneviratna Anuradha Seneviratna (July 13, 1938 - July 9, 2009) was a Sri Lankan scholar. He wrote many scholarly works and was a Senior Professor in the Department of Sinhala, University of Peradeniya. He has also worked in University of Colombo and was the D ...

* Professor

* Professor Priyani Soysa * Hedi Stadlen * Professor Deepika Udagama * Professor

* Professor

References

{{University of Colombo

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

University A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...