Stanley de Zoysa (27 June 1907 – 10 December 1970) was a Sri Lankan businessmen and politician. He was the former Cabinet Minister of Finance (1956–1959) in

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 ...

's government, subsequently Minister of Interior (1959–1960) and Ceylon's Ambassador to

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. De Zoysa was the son of

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part ...

Francis de Zoysa, KC 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 ...

and member of the first State Council, and Lady Ethel Perera Amarasekera Siriwardena. He had several siblings, some of who gained prominence in several fields:

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), A. C. "Bunty" de Zoysa (

President's Counsel A president's counsel ( postnominal PC) is an eminent lawyer who is appointed by the President of Sri Lanka as an individual "learned in the law". The term is an honorific that replaced the Queen's Counsel (QC), which Sri Lanka ceased appointing ...

), Violet Rajapakse (who married Tudor Rajapakse), Olga de Zoysa (first Miss Ceylon), and Lucien de Zoysa (famous cricket commentator). His uncle was Sir Ernest de Silva. Sydney de Zoysa 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 ...

, he went into business and became a prominent businessmen. Joining the

Sri Lanka Freedom Party The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP; ; ) is a centre-left political party in Sri Lanka. Founded by S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike in 1951, the party was one of Sri Lanka's two main parties from the 1950s to the 2010s, serving as the main rival of the c ...

, he contest the 1956 general election from the Ja-Ela electorate and was elected to parliament defeating 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 ...

candidate G. J. Paris Perera. He was appointed

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

on 12 April 1956 by Prime Minister Bandaranaike. He was forced to resign on 23 November 1959 following the arrest of his brother F. R. de Zoysa and his former bodyguard Ossie Corea as a result of the investigation into the Bandaranaike assassination. Both F. R. de Zoysa and Ossie Corea were released although it was found the murder weapon belong to Corea. Sydney de Zoysa was subsequently appointed Minister of the Interior in 1959 and served till 1960 when parliament was dissolved for elections. He contest the Ja-Ela electorate in the 1960 March general election and in the 1960 July general election from the Lanka Prajathanthravadi Pakshaya, but was defeated by G. J. Paris Perera. He was appointed Ceylon's Ambassador to

in the late 1960s and served till 1970.1969-70 Fergusons Ceylon Directory
/ref> He was married to Sheila de Zoysa. He was a cousin of M. P. de Z. Siriwardena.

References

External links

"Sydney Zoysa was tough"
from ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:De Zoysa, Stanley Ministers of finance of Sri Lanka Ambassadors of Sri Lanka to Indonesia Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Members of the 3rd Parliament of Ceylon 1907 births 1970 deaths