Rukman Senanayake (born 21 June 1948), is a

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

n politician. A former Cabinet Minister of Environment and Natural Resources from 2002 to 2004 and

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

for

Kegalle District Kegalle is a district in Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka. It is one of 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary (pr ...

, he was a Vice Leader of the

United National Party The United National Party, often abbreviated as UNP ( si, එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය, translit=Eksath Jāthika Pakshaya, ta, ஐக்கிய தேசியக் கட்சி, translit=Aikkiya Tēciyak Kaṭci), ...

Early life and family

Rukman Senanayake was born on 21 June 1948 as the third son of Robert Parakrama Senanayake and Swarna Neela Senanayake, both cousins of the Senanayake family, a prominent political family that dominated the post-independence years of Sri Lanka. His paternal grandfather, D. S. Senanayake was the first

Prime Minister of Ceylon The Prime Minister of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is the head and most senior member of parliament in the cabinet of ministers. It is the second-most powerful position in Sri Lanka's executive branch behind the president, ...

and his maternal grandfather,

F.R. Senanayake Fredrick Richard Senanayake (known to as F. R. Senanayake) (October 20, 1882 – January 1, 1926) was a Ceylonesen lawyer and independence activist. A leading member of the Sri Lankan independence movement, he was an elected member of the Colom ...

, elder brother of D. S. Senanayake was a leading figure in the Ceylon's independence movement. His paternal uncle,

Dudley Senanayake Dudley Shelton Senanayake ( Sinhala: ඩඩ්ලි ශෙල්ටන් සේනානායක: ta, டட்லி சேனநாயக்கா; 19 June 1911 – 13 April 1973), was a Sri Lankan statesman who served as Prime M ...

, served as

in four terms and his maternal uncle,

R.G. Senanayake Richard Gotabhaya Senanayake (4 November 1911 – 22 December 1970; popularly known as R.G. Senanayake) was a Sri Lankan politician. He was Minister of Trade and Commerce during the period 1952-56 and 1956-60. He was elected a Member of Parliamen ...

served as the Cabinet Minister of Trade and Commerce during the period 1952–53, and also during the period 1956–60 in SWRD Bandaranaike's government. His father Robert Senanayake was the Chairman of Freudenberg & Co. (Ceylon) Ltd. which owned Freudenberg Shipping Agencies and the

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

dealership in Ceylon. He had one elder brother, Devinda, and two sisters, Ranjini and Yasmin. The family hailed from

Bothale Walawwa Bothale Walauwa (''also known as'' Bothale) is a large bungalow (as mansions are referred to locally) in Bothale Ihalagama, Western Province, Sri Lanka, Western Province, Sri Lanka. The large single storied house was built by Don Spater Senanayak ...

in Mihirigama. He was educated at S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia.

Political career

Rukman Senanayake first entered the

Parliament of Sri Lanka The Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා පාර්ලිමේන්තුව ''Shri Lanka Parlimenthuwa'', Tamil: இலங்கை நாடாளுமன்றம் ''Ila� ...

in 1973 from the

, representing the

Dedigama Dedigama is an electorate once represented by Dudley Senanayake (former Prime Minister) in Kegalle District, Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅk ...

electorate following the death of his uncle, Dudley Senanayake. He remained as Member of Parliament until 1977, but did not contest in the 1977 General Elections. In 1994, Rukman Senanayake entered Parliament from the United National Party for the second time. He remained as Member of Parliament, representing the

Polonnaruwa District Polonnaruwa District ( si, පොළොන්නරුව දිස්ත්‍රික්කය; ta, பொலன்னறுவை மாவட்டம்) is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of ...

until 2001. Again, in 2001, he entered Parliament from Kegalle District, and was appointed as Cabinet Minister of Environment and Natural Resources in United National Party government. Rukman Senanayake held the portfolio of Cabinet Minister until 2004. He re-entered Parliament in the 2004 General Elections. He was appointed as the United National Party Chairman in 2007 and as Vice Leader in 2008.

External links

The Senanayake Ancestry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Senanayake, Rukman 1948 births Living people Sri Lankan Buddhists United National Party politicians Government ministers of Sri Lanka Members of the 7th Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 10th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 11th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 12th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 13th Parliament of Sri Lanka Alumni of S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia Rukman Sinhalese politicians

Early life and family

Political career

See also

External links