Amarasiri Dodangoda (18 October 1941 – 30 May 2009) was 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, the former Minister of Justice and Law Reforms (2005–2009) and the second Chief Minister of the Southern Province (1993–1994).

Early life

Dodangoda was born on 18 October 1941 to a businessman William Appuhamy and Punyawathie Goonesekera in Dodangoda,

Galle Galle ( si, ගාල්ල, translit=Gālla; ta, காலி, translit=Kāli) (formerly Point de Galle) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the southwestern tip, from Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Souther ...

. His had his primary education at Kukulalawatte Junior School, Ginimallegaha, Baddegama and had his tertiary level education both at Baddegama Ratnasara Vidyalaya and Richmond College, Galle. He graduated from the

University of Ceylon, Peradeniya 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 ...

in 1963 with a B.A. degree and began his profession as a teacher at Vidyaloka Pirivena, Galle. Then he joined the Government service as an Education Officer in the latter part of the 1960s and this was followed by his entry to Sri Lanka Law College in 1971. Subsequently he was sworn in as an Attorney-at-Law of the

Supreme Court of Sri Lanka The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා ශ්‍රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණය, Sri Lanka Sreshthadikaranaya; ta, இலங்கை உயர் நீதிமன்றம், Ilankai uyar neetimanram) is th ...

. He was married and had two children.

Politics

He was a radical political figure in Southern Sri Lanka since 1971. He acted as

Sri Lanka Freedom Party The Sri Lanka Freedom Party ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා නිදහස් පක්ෂය, translit=Śrī Laṁkā Nidahas Pakṣaya; ta, இலங்கை சுதந்திரக் கட்சி, translit=Ilaṅkai Cutantirak Ka� ...

organiser for Baddegama, contested the

Baddegama Baddegama is a main town in Galle District, Southern Province, Sri Lanka. Baddegama is accessible from the Southern Expressway, and is located from the Baddegama Expressway Inter Exchange and from Colombo. The main livelihood for the town wa ...

electorate and entered

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

in 1983. In 1989 he contested the

multi member electorate and was elected to parliament. In 1993 he gave up his Parliamentary seat and when he was the elected Chief Minister of the Southern Province. He re-entered Parliament as an MP in 1994 when the Sri Lanka Freedom Party returned to government after 17 years and held various ministerial portfolios, including those of indigenous medicine, co-operatives, vocational training, local government, public administration and home affairs. He was appointed Minister of Justice and Law Reforms in 2005. He was a firm supporter of then President,

Mahinda Rajapakse Mahinda Rajapaksa ( si, මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ, ta, மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to ...

Death

In March 2009, Dodangoda was admitted to the Colombo National Hospital due to an undisclosed ailment. On 30 May 2009, he died as a result of prolonged illness.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dodangoda, Amarasiri 1942 births 2009 deaths Sri Lankan Buddhists Alumni of the University of Ceylon (Peradeniya) Chief Ministers of Southern Province, Sri Lanka Members of the 9th Parliament of Sri Lanka 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 Sinhalese politicians Alumni of Richmond College, Galle People from Galle Local government and provincial councils ministers of Sri Lanka