Ananda Wahihana Palliya Guruge (28 December 1928 – 6 August 2014), known as Ananda W.P. Guruge, 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 diplomat, Buddhist scholar and writer. Guruge was the former Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

, France, and United States (with non-resident accreditation to Spain, Algeria and Mexico) during the period from 1985 to 1994. Guruge was adjunct professor of Religious Studies at

Cal State Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public university in Fullerton, California. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) ...

and was the dean of academic affairs at

University of the West University of the West (UWest) is a private, non-sectarian, Buddhist-affiliated university in Rosemead, California. It was founded in 1990 by Hsing Yun, founder of the Taiwan-based Buddhist order Fo Guang Shan and Hsi Lai Temple, the North Amer ...

Education

Guruge was educated at

Dharmaraja College Dharmaraja College ( si, ධර්මරාජ විද්‍යාලය), founded in 1887, is a boys' school in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is a Buddhist school with around 300+ teaching staff and around 5000+ students. The school has many notable ...

, and went on to graduate 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 Univer ...

in 1947 with a BA first class honors in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

special. Thereafter he gained a Government Scholarship to do a PhD at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

Civil service

He 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 the ...

, taking the civil service exam at the age of 23 and was posted to the

Jaffna Jaffna (, ) is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th most ...

Kachcheri as a

cadet A cadet is an officer trainee or candidate. The term is frequently used to refer to those training to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. Its meaning may vary between countries which can include youths in ...

. During his career he served as the Head of the

Dehiwala Zoo National Zoological Gardens of Sri Lanka (also called Dehiwala Zoo or Colombo Zoo) is a zoo, zoological garden in Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia, Dehiwala, Sri Lanka, founded in 1936. It is home to various birds, mammals, reptiles, fish and amphibians. Th ...

and the

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

Kachcheri. Eventually he was transferred to the

Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or in p ...

and from there to the Prime Minister’s Office. From 1952, he served Prime Ministers

Dudley Senanayake Dudley Shelton Senanayake ( Sinhala: ඩඩ්ලි ශෙල්ටන් සේනානායක: ta, டட்லி சேனநாயக்கா; 19 June 1911 – 13 April 1973), was a Sri Lankan statesman who served as Prime Mi ...

and Sir John Kotelawela as the senior Assistant Secretary to the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

, until he head the government program to celebrate ''2500 Buddha Jayanti''.

Bradman Weerakoon Deshamanya Robin Bradman Weerakoon, CCS (born 20 October 1930) is a Sri Lankan civil servant. As a senior bureaucrat of the Sri Lankan government, he served nine Sri Lankan heads of state in a career spanning half a century.David, Marianne (inter ...

, who was the assistant secretary to the Prime Minister at the time, succeeded Dr. Guruge as senior Assistant Secretary and later Secretary to the Prime Minister. Guruge was appointed as the Additional Secretary at the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

and Cultural Affairs in 1965.

Buddhist Leadership

Active in international Buddhist leadership, Professor Guruge was Vice President of the

World Fellowship of Buddhists The World Fellowship of Buddhists (WFB) is an international Buddhist organization. Initiated by Gunapala Piyasena Malalasekera, it was founded in 1950 in Colombo, Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka), by representatives from 27 nations. Although Therava ...

, the Patron of the

European Buddhist Union The European Buddhist Union (EBU) is the umbrella organization of Buddhist communities and national Buddhist unions in Europe. The EBU is open to all schools and traditions of Buddhism in Europe wishing to unite on the basis of Buddhist teachings an ...

, and the Dean of Academic Affairs and Director of the International Academy of Buddhism at

in Rosemead, California. He was also an adjunct professor of

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

and Peace Studies at

California State University, Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public university in Fullerton, California. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) ...

. Dr. Guruge is also the Liaison Officer to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

and

for the

; and was the Chairman of the World Buddhist University Council. He served as an editor of Hsi Lai Journal of Humanistic Buddhism.

Writings

Guruge authored 53 books in Sinhala and English, including ''What In Brief Is Buddhism'', ''Free At Last in Paradise'', ''Serendipity of Andrew George'', ''Peace At Last in Paradise'' and ''The Unforgettable Dharmapala''. He has also published over 175 research articles on Asian history, Buddhism and education. He also translated the Mahavamsa into English in 1989.

Death

Guruge died in

Rosemead Rosemead is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2021 census, it had a population of 50,245, currently dropping. Rosemead is part of a cluster of cities, along with Alhambra, Arcadia, Temple City, Monterey Park ...

, California at the age of 85. Guruge reportedly died on a flight returning to the United States after assisting with school accreditation in Australia.

References

External links

Versatile scholar and administrator
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guruge, Ananda W.P. Sri Lankan scholars of Buddhism Sinhalese academics Sri Lankan Buddhists Sinhalese writers 1928 births 2014 deaths Permanent Delegates of Sri Lanka to UNESCO Ambassadors of Sri Lanka to Algeria Ambassadors of Sri Lanka to France Ambassadors of Sri Lanka to Mexico Ambassadors of Sri Lanka to Spain Ambassadors of Sri Lanka to the United States Sinhalese civil servants California State University, Fullerton faculty Alumni of Dharmaraja College Alumni of the University of Ceylon (Colombo) Alumni of the University of London People from Rosemead, California Sri Lankan academic administrators