Pieter Gerald Bartholomeusz Keuneman (3 October 1917 – 3 January 1997) was a Sri Lankan politician and a

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

. He was the Cabinet Minister of Housing and Local Government, a prominent Member of Parliament and a leading figure in the

Communist Party of Sri Lanka The Communist Party of Sri Lanka (; ) is a communist party in Sri Lanka. In the 2004 Sri Lankan parliamentary election, 2004 legislative election, the party was part of the United People's Freedom Alliance that won 45.6% of the popular vote and ...

(CPSL).

Early life and education

Pieter Keuneman came from a Dutch Burgher family. He was born to Hon. Justice Arthur Eric Keuneman, a distinguished judge of the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

, and Majorie Eleanor Schokman, daughter of a wealthy medical doctor from

Kandy Kandy (, ; , ) is a major city located in the Central Province, Sri Lanka, Central Province of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the Sinhalese monarchy from 1469 to 1818, under the Kingdom of Kandy. The city is situated in the midst of ...

, George Peter Schokman, M.B., C.M. (Aber.), Provincial Surgeon, Ceylon Medical Department. Keuneman was educated at the

Royal College, Colombo Royal College, Colombo also known as; Royal Colombo, Colombo Royal College or Colombo Royal) is a Single-sex education, boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started by Joseph Marsh (priest), Joseph Mar ...

where he was the head of the junior cadet platoon, prefect, captain of the debating team and president of the literary association. He won college colours at rugger and won the Dornhorst Memorial Prize and the Shakespeare prize. He went on to

Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 students and fellows. It is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from ...

, in 1935 where he became a communist, President of the

Cambridge Union The Cambridge Union Society, also known as the Cambridge Union, is a historic debating and free speech society in Cambridge, England, and the largest society in the University of Cambridge. The society was founded in 1815 making it the oldest ...

and editor of the student magazine ''

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''. He gained a BA

Tripos TRIPOS (''TRIvial Portable Operating System'') is a computer operating system. Development started in 1976 at the Computer Laboratory of Cambridge University and it was headed by Dr. Martin Richards. The first version appeared in January 1978 a ...

in History, Sociology and English Literature and joined the

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

to study law, leaving without taking his bar examinations. Later he gained a MA from Cambridge. While at Cambridge he worked briefly for the ''

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'', before leaving for Spain to fight against

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...

in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

. At Cambridge he met his first wife, Hedi Stadlen, who became one of the leading European Radicals in Sri Lanka.

Political career

On returning to Ceylon he worked as a features editor at Lake House. He was an architect of the United Socialist Party which was formed in 1940. He was its secretary and after it was proscribed by

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

Geoffrey Layton Admiral Sir Geoffrey Layton, (20 April 1884 – 4 September 1964) was a Royal Navy officer. He was in command of the submarine when, under attack from German vessels, it ran aground off the Danish coast during the First World War. Despite thi ...

, the

Communist Party of Ceylon The Communist Party of Sri Lanka (; ) is a communist party in Sri Lanka. In the 2004 Sri Lankan parliamentary election, 2004 legislative election, the party was part of the United People's Freedom Alliance that won 45.6% of the popular vote and ...

was formed at 'Cotta' Road in 1943. He became a member of the National Congress in 1945. During the 1940s he was the Secretary of the Communist Party and launched the journal Forward of which he was the editor in 1944. Even though he contested and lost elections for the

Colombo Municipal Council The Colombo Municipal Council is the municipal governing body of Colombo, the largest city and financial centre in Sri Lanka. It consists of a directly elected executive Mayor of Colombo, and elected 119 municipal councilors. The council was f ...

in 1943, he won the Kotahena ward in 1947 holding it until 1959. In that capacity he agitated for better housing, eradication of slums and shanties in the Colombo city and saw to the setting up of libraries and dispensaries. He contested the first parliamentary elections in 1947 from the Colombo Central constituency and was returned as the third member of parliament obtaining 15,435 votes. On his proposal in June 1948 for a Bribery Commission, the first Bribery and Corruption Commission was formed chaired by his father Justice A.E. Keuneman. In the 1952 elections, he was elected as the first MP for Colombo Central electorate defeating the labour party leader A.E. Goonesinghe and retained his seat in the 1956, 1960 and 1970 elections. He was very critical of the 1962 coup d'état attempt and the

1971 JVP Insurrection The 1971 Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) insurrection (also known as the 1971 Revolt) was the first of two unsuccessful armed revolts conducted by the communist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) against the socialist United Front Government of ...

. In 1970, in the government of

Sirimavo Bandaranaike Sirima Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike (; ; ; 17 April 1916 – 10 October 2000), commonly known as Sirimavo Bandaranaike, was a Sri Lankan politician. She was the List of elected and appointed female heads of state and government, world's first fe ...

, he held the portfolio of Housing and Construction as a

Cabinet Minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ' prime minister', ' p ...

. The establishment of the State Engineering Corporation and many housing schemes was his brainchild. He introduced a controversial floor area limit of 300 square metres on all new private houses. However he lost his seat in the 1977 election and retired from politics.

Family

He married his first wife Hedi Stadlen after graduating from Cambridge. In 1945, Hedi returned to Europe to meet her mother. In London in 1946 she met an old friend from Vienna, Peter Stadlen a distinguished concert pianist. She chose not to return to Ceylon, divorced Pieter and subsequently married Stadlen. In 1952, Keuneman married his second wife Maud Rogerson, a communist activist. His third wife was Ouida Keuneman, with whom he lived out his days.

References

External links

Pioneer of Left and Socialist Movement in Sri Lanka
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Keuneman, Pieter 1917 births 1997 deaths Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Burgher people Sri Lankan journalists Colombo municipal councillors Communist Party of Sri Lanka politicians Foreign volunteers in the Spanish Civil War (Republican faction) Housing ministers of Sri Lanka Lanka Sama Samaja Party politicians Members of Gray's Inn Members of the 1st Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 2nd Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 3rd Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 4th Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 5th Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 6th Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 7th Parliament of Ceylon People from British Ceylon Presidents of the Cambridge Union Sri Lankan people of Dutch descent Sri Lankan Roman Catholics

Early life and education

Political career

Family

See also

References

External links