Sir Senerat Gunewardene (also known as Ratnakirti Senerat Serasinghe Gunewardene or R.S.S. Gunewardene) (3 November 1899 – 10 August 1981) 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 lawyer, statesmen and diplomat. He was the first

Minister without Portfolio A minister without portfolio is a government minister without specific responsibility as head of a government department. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet with decision-making authorit ...

, member of parliament and member of the State Council for

Gampola Gampola (, ) is a town located in Kandy District, in Sri Lanka's Central Province, Sri Lanka, Central Province. The town is governed by an Urban Council. Gampola was made the capital of the island by King Buwanekabahu IV, who ruled for four year ...

, before serving in several top diplomatic posts such as Ceylon's Ambassador to Italy, Ceylon's Ambassador to the United States, where he was appointed concurrently as Ceylon's first Permanent Representative to

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 ...

and Ceylon's High Commissioner to United Kingdom.

Early life and education

Born on 3 November 1899 in Nupe, Matara as Samson Gunewardene, he later changed his name to Ratnakirthi Senerath Serasinghe Gunewardene and was known as R. S. S. Gunewardene. His father Don Bentis Serasinghe Gunewardene was an ayurvedic practitioner, he was the eldest in a family of three brothers and one sister. Both his brothers became lawyers and one went on to become a

District Judge District Judge may refer to: * A United States federal judge, appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate * A judge in a state court (United States), where the state is divided into judicial districts * * A judge in the district courts ...

. Educated at St. Thomas' College, Matara and at S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia, where he was a good friend of

S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike (8 January 1899 – 26 September 1959), also known as "The Silver Bell of Asia" (ආසියාවේ රිදී සීනුව), was a Sri Lankan statesman who served as the fourth Prime Minister of ...

Teaching career

He had to leave school before completing his schooling due to the death of his father. Returning to Matara, in order to support himself and his family, he became a teacher at St. Thomas' College, Matara at the age of 16. He thereafter earned a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

as an external student and joined the teaching staff of

Royal College Colombo Royal College, Colombo also known as; Royal Colombo, Colombo Royal College or Colombo Royal) is a boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started by Joseph Marsh in 1835, it was established as the Colombo Academy by Si ...

. Thereafter, he became served as principal of Sri Sumangala College, Panadura from 1921 to 1922.

Legal career

He started following the advocate's course at the Ceylon Law College and passed his advocate's finals in 1926. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

as an

Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. List of country legal systems, Different countries and legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a ba ...

in 1927. After qualifying as an advocate, Gunewardene gave up teaching and developed a successful

legal practice Legal practice is sometimes used to distinguish the body of judicial or administrative precedents, rules, policies, customs, and doctrines from legislative enactments such as statutes and constitutions which might be called "laws" in the strict ...

criminal defense In the field of criminal law, there are a variety of conditions that will tend to negate elements of a crime (particularly the ''intent'' element), known as defenses. The label may be apt in jurisdictions where the ''accused'' may be assigned some ...

and

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

in the

unofficial bar The unofficial bar in 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, separa ...

in Colombo. He was also a founder member and President of the All-Ceylon Buddhist Congress and was a member of the first board of management of the Colombo Young men's Buddhist Association.

Political career

Joining the colonial era politics in Ceylon with the establishment of the Ceylon National Congress, in which Gunewardene served as Joint Secretary from 1926 to 1932 jointly with S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike and thereafter served as Vice President. During this time he campaigned for

universal suffrage Universal suffrage or universal franchise ensures the right to vote for as many people bound by a government's laws as possible, as supported by the " one person, one vote" principle. For many, the term universal suffrage assumes the exclusion ...

. In 1931, he indented to contest the first State Council election from Dhadagamuwa, but dropped out after contracting

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

. He then contested the

seat just two weeks prior to and lost to T. B. Panabokke. In 1936 he was elected to the

State Council of Ceylon The State Council of Ceylon was the unicameral legislature for Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), established in 1931 by the Donoughmore Constitution. The State Council gave universal adult franchise to the people of the colony for the first time. It ...

from Gampola and was a member of the Executive Committee of Local Administration, which was chaired by S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, who was the Minister of Local Administration. In November 1936, he served as acting Minister of Local Administration. He was elected to the first parliament in the 1947 general election from Gampola. Gunewardene was appointed by D. S. Senanayake as

in his cabinet and chief government whip in parliament. However, he was unseated in parliament in May 1948 in an election petition and was succeeded by A. E. Gunasinha as Minister and government whip. He contested the by-election that followed in Gampola and lost to R. S. Pelpola from the

United National Party The United National Party (UNP; , ) is a Centre-right politics, centre-right political party in Sri Lanka. Founded in 1946, the party was one of Sri Lanka's two main parties for several decades. The UNP has served as the country's ruling party ...

Diplomatic career

In 1949, he was appointed as Ceylon's Ambassador to Italy where he served until 1954. He was then appointed Ceylon's Ambassador to the United States, serving from March 1954 to August 1961. When Ceylon became a member of the

in 1955, Gunewardene was appointed concurrently as the first Permanent Representative to United Nations, serving until 1958. In October 1961, he was appointed Ceylon's High Commissioner to United Kingdom serving till June 1963, when he was reappointed as Permanent Representative to United Nations, serving until 1965. During his time in Washington DC, he established the Buddhist Centre in Washington.

Honors

For his service to the government of Ceylon, he was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in the 1956 New Year Honours, the last to receive British honors before S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike suspend honors in 1956. In 1963, he was awarded a

Doctor of Law A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

s (

honoris causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

) from the

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 ...

Family

He married his wife Sumana Pemi Gunewardene, a close relative on 10 June 1927, they had three children.

References

External links

Presentation of the credentials of the Head of the Mission of Ceylon to Walter Hallstein, President of the Commission of the EEC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gunewardene, Senerat 1899 births 1981 deaths Ceylonese advocates Sinhalese people Sri Lankan lawyers Cabinet ministers of Sri Lanka Sri Lankan Buddhists Members of the 2nd State Council of Ceylon Members of the 1st Parliament of Ceylon High commissioners of Sri Lanka to the United Kingdom Ambassadors of Sri Lanka to the United States Permanent representatives of Sri Lanka to the United Nations Ambassadors of Sri Lanka to Italy Ceylonese Knights Bachelor Alumni of Ceylon Law College Alumni of University of London Worldwide Alumni of St. Thomas' College, Matara Alumni of S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia Faculty of Royal College, Colombo