Gate Mudaliyar Mudali (or Mudaliyar) was a colonial title and office in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) which was part of the native headman system. The Portuguese colonials created the Mudaliyar class in the 17th century by enlisting natives of different castes from ...

Alexander Edmund de Silva Wijegooneratne Samaraweera Rajapakse OBE (13 March 1866 – 20 September 1937) was a Ceylonese colonial-era politician and headman. He was born on 13 March 1866 in

Negombo Negombo (, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the west coast and at the mouth of the Negombo Lagoon, in Western Province, from Colombo via Colombo - Katunayake Expressway. Negombo is one of the major commercial hubs in the country and ...

, the eldest son of Mudliyar John de Silva Wijegooneratne Rajapakshe, a member of the

Salagama Salagama (also known as ''Saliya'' and ''Salagama Brahakmana Vanshaya'') is a Sinhalese caste found mostly in the southern coastal areas of Sri Lanka. The community was traditionally associated with the cultivation and management of cinnamon and ...

caste and Magdalene Mendis née Abeysekara. The family owned and operated a number of

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, breakfa ...

estates in the Negombo District. In 1922 he was elected as the first chairman of the

Negombo Urban Council The Negombo Municipal Council is the local council for Negombo, the largest city in Gampaha district. The council was established under the Municipalities Ordinance of 1878 as a Local Board of Negombo and Gate Mudaliyar A. E. Rajapakse was the ...

, a position he retained until 1923 and then from 1925 to 22 August 1934. In 1932 he was elected as the inaugural chair of the Association of Urban Councils of Ceylon. Rajapakse also served on the Board of Agriculture. He was elected to the

1st State Council of Ceylon The 1st State Council of Ceylon was a meeting of the State Council of Ceylon, with the membership determined by the results of the 1931 state council election held between 13 and 20 June 1931. The parliament met for the first time on 7 July 1931 ...

on 17 June 1931 for

representing the Union Party. He was subsequently re-elected to the 2nd State Council in 1936, with a 9,000 vote majority, where he served on the Executive Committee for Agriculture and Lands. Dying in office on 20 September 1937. Rajapaske's daughter, Leila Mildred, married Alexander Nicholas De Abrew Abeysinghe, the first Mayor of the

Negombo Municipal Council The Negombo Municipal Council is the local council for Negombo, the largest city in Gampaha district. The council was established under the Municipalities Ordinance of 1878 as a Local Board of Negombo and Gate Mudaliyar A. E. Rajapakse was the f ...

(1950) and the MP for

(1952-56).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rajapaske, A. E. 1866 births 1937 deaths Gate Mudaliyars Local authority councillors of Sri Lanka Members of the 1st State Council of Ceylon Members of the 2nd State Council of Ceylon People from Negombo People of British Ceylon Sinhalese politicians Sri Lankan Roman Catholics