Samson Felix Amerasinghe,

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 ...

, CCS (7 July 1902 – 1987) was a

Sri Lanka 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, ...

n civil servant. He entered

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, Trinity Hall after winning the prestigious Government Scholarship in 1921 and read classics, graduating with an honours degree. Amerasinghe 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 ...

in 1926 by appointment of the

Secretary of State for the Colonies The secretary of state for the colonies or colonial secretary was the Cabinet of the United Kingdom's government minister, minister in charge of managing certain parts of the British Empire. The colonial secretary never had responsibility for t ...

. He served as a cadet in the

Kalutara Kalutara (, ) or Kalutota is a major city in Kalutara District, Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is also the administrative capital of Kalutara District. It is located approximately south of the capital Colombo. The city holds a unique posit ...

Kachcheri A kachcheri or district secretariat is the principal government department that administrates a district in Sri Lanka. Each of the 25 districts has a kachcheri. The main tasks of the District Secretariat involve coordinating communications and ac ...

and as the office assistant to Government Agent, Eastern Province. Promoted to Class 4 Officer, he served as a Police Magistrate in Dandagamuwa, Negambo, Kandy; office assistant at the Badulla and Kurunagala Kachcheri. In 1935 he was appointed Additional Assistant Government Agent of Colombo before spending time at the Summer School, Oxford. He thereafter served in the Food controllers office and did stints as Assistant Government Agent in Mannar, Vavuniya, Kegalle and Acting Government Agent Sabaragamuwa, Uva, North Central and Central Province. He served as the

Land Commissioner A land commissioner or natural resources commissioner is a public official in the executive branch of a state or territory in the United States. While the duties of the position may vary, their general role is maintaining, protecting, and regulating ...

from 1948 to 1950,

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 ...

, Ministry of Agriculture and Lands from 1950 to 1952, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Lands from 1952 to 1953, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Trade from 1954 to 1956 and

Permanent Secretary to the Treasury The UK Permanent Secretary to the Treasury is the most senior civil servant at HM Treasury. The post originated as that of Assistant Secretary to the Treasury in 1805; that office was given new duties and renamed in 1867 as a Permanent Secretaryship ...

from 1956 to 1961. Amerasinghe was appointed an

Officer 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 ...

(OBE) in the 1949 Birthday Honours. His brother C. W. Amerasinghe, was the Professor of Classics at the University of Sri Lanka (Peradeniya) and his cousin

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 ...

succeeded him as Permanent Secretary to the Treasury in 1961 and went on to become the first President of the Law of the Sea (UN) and Head of the General Assembly. He married May Abeysundere, and the couple had five children: Kamini, Chittharanjan, Indrani, Deshapriya and Srinath. His granddaughter is cultural scholar and lawyer, Dame Shalini Ganendra.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amarasinghe Sinhalese people 1902 births Ceylonese Officers of the Order of the British Empire Alumni of the Ceylon University College Alumni of the University of Oxford Year of death missing Permanent secretaries of Sri Lanka Sri Lankan expatriates in the United Kingdom