Clifford Senaka Ratwatte (19 March 1927 – 10 February 2009) was a Sri Lankan politician. He was a former Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture, Food, Co-operatives and Fisheries in 1964 Member of Parliament for

Balangoda Balangoda is a large town in Ratnapura District, Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka, governed by an urban council located away from Colombo and from Ratnapura on Colombo - Batticaloa Highway(A4). It is one of the largest towns of the Sabaragamuw ...

, Chairman of the State Plantations Corporation and the Sri Lanka Tea Board.

Early life

Ratwatte was born to a prominent

Radala Radala refers to a small minority group in Sri Lanka in the former provinces of the Kingdom of Kandy, who are either descendants of chiefs and courtiers of the King of Kandy of Nayaks of Kandy or descendants of native headmen appointed by the ...

family, who were descended from Ratwatte Dissawa,

Dissawa The Mahâ Dissâvas was a Great Officer in the Amātya Mandalaya, or Sinhalese Council of State, in the Sinhalese Kingdoms of monarchical Sri Lanka. Like many of the existing high offices at the time it had combined legislative and judicial ...

Matale Matale ( Sinhala: මාතලේ, ta, மாத்தளை, translit=Māttaḷai) is the administrative capital city of the Matale District. It is the most urbanised and populated centre in the district. Matale is also the second largest muni ...

, a signatory on behalf of the

Sinhalese Sinhala may refer to: * Something of or related to the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka * Sinhalese people * Sinhala language, one of the three official languages used in Sri Lanka * Sinhala script, a writing system for the Sinhala language ** Sinha ...

to the Kandyan Convention of 1815. Ratwatte was born on 19 March 1927 in

, one of six children to

Barnes Ratwatte Barnes Ratwatte (''known as Barnes Ratwatte Dissawa '') (1883 – 20 September 1957) was a Ceylonese colonial-era legislator and a headman. He was a member of the State Council and the Senate of Ceylon. He was appointed to the posts of Rate Maha ...

(later a member of the State Council of Ceylon and the

Senate of Ceylon The Senate was the upper chamber of the parliament of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1947 by the Soulbury Commission. The Senate was appointed and indirectly elected rather than directly elected. It was housed in the old Legislative Coun ...

) and Rosalind Mahawelatenne Kumarihamy , daughter of Mahawalatenne

Rate Mahatmaya Rate Mahatmaya was a traditional office and title from the Kandian Kingdom which became part of the British colonial administration within the Kandian and central region of Ceylon. History Persons were appointed to the title and office by the Ki ...

. His eldest sister was Sirimavo Bandaranaike, who was the 7th

Prime Minister of Ceylon The Prime Minister of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is the head and most senior member of parliament in the cabinet of ministers. It is the second-most powerful position in Sri Lanka's executive branch behind the president, w ...

and the modern world's first female

head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, ...

. Ratwatte had his primary school education at St. Agnus’ Convent in Balangoda and his secondary school education at

S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia , motto_translation = Be Thou Forever , song = Thomian Song , athletics = Yes , sports = Yes , nickname = Thora , denomination = Anglican , patron ...

. He married a distant cosine, Mallika Ellawala and began his career as a tea planter in Balangoda.

Political career

In 1954 he was elected as a Councillor to the Balangoda Town Council. In 1957 he became the president of the Balangoda Urban Council until he resigned in 1968. Ratwatte was elected to Parliament in March 1960, from the Balangoda electorate. He was subsequently re-elected at the general election in July. He was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation. However, he was unseated in 1965 in an election petition. His wife Mallika Ellawala Ratwatte contested his seat in the by-election in 1966 and won and was re-elected in 1970. But was defeated in 1977.

Later work

He produced the 1974 film, ''

The God King ''The God King'' is a 1974 British–Sri Lankan historical film directed by Lester James Peries. The film is based on the historical clash between brothers Kasyapa and Moggalana on Sigiriya Rock. Producer Dimitri de Grunwald financed the epic fi ...

'' and the 1975 film '' Kaludiya Dahara''. He also served as the Chairman of the State Plantations Corporation and the Sri Lanka Tea Board.

Family

Ratwatte had two children, Kamal and Heshani. His son Kamal Ratwatte, served as the Chairman, Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment; Deputy Chairman, Airport & Aviation Services and Basnayake Nilame (Lay Custodian) of the Sabaragamuwa Maha Saman Devalaya in

Ratnapura Ratnapura (; ) ("City of Gems" in Sinhala and Tamil) is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of Sabaragamuwa Province, as well as the Ratnapura District, and is a traditional centre for the Sri Lankan gem trade. It is located o ...

References

External links