Lt. Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the army, armies, most Marine (armed services), marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use t ...

Daya Perera, PC (died June 16, 2013) 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 ...

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

and

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

, who was the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

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 ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Education

Educated at

Royal College Colombo Royal College, Colombo is a selective entry boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started as a private school by Rev Joseph Marsh in 1835, it was established as the Colombo Academy by Sir Robert Wilmot-Horton in Janua ...

, Perera excelled in sports gaining college colours for rugby football and playing in the

Bradby Shield Encounter The Bradby Shield Encounter - commonly known as "The Bradby" - is the pinnacle of Sri Lanka's school rugby union season. It is played annually between two of the most prominent boys’ schools in the country and traditional rivals Royal College, C ...

as part of the first Royal College team to win the Bradby Shield. After leaving school he studied law at 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 ...

and

Colombo Law College Sri Lanka Law College (abbreviated as SLLC), formerly known as Ceylon Law College, is a law college, and the only legal institution where one can enroll as a attorney-at-law in Sri Lanka. It was established in 1874, under the then Council of Legal ...

Legal career

After taking his oaths as an

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

, Perera worked as a

crown counsel Crown counsel are lawyers, generally in Common Law jurisdictions, who provide advice to the government and acts as prosecutors in cases. In various jurisdictions their title can vary and they could also be known as the Queen's Advocate, King's Advo ...

for the Attorney General's Department. With the formation of the Legal Branch of the

Sri Lanka Army ta, இலங்கை இராணுவம் , image = File:Sri Lanka Army Logo.png , image_size = 180px , caption = Emblem of the Sri Lanka Army , start_date ...

, Perera was seconded to the army to serve as an adviser. He was commissioned as a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the

Ceylon Light Infantry 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 ...

and was promoted as a

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

. He attended a course on military law with the

Army Legal Services Branch The Army Legal Services Branch (ALS) is a branch of the Adjutant-General's Corps (AGC) in the British Army. Before 1992, the branch existed as the independent Army Legal Corps (ALC). History Many of the functions of the ALS were once carried ou ...

of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. Later he resigned from the Attorney General's Department and joined the Unofficial bar. Developing a legal practice in the Unofficial bar, Perera served as the Deputy President of the Bar Association, Councilor of Law Asia (Law Association of Asia and Pacific), Vice President of Indo-Pacific Congress on Legal medicines and Forensic Sciences (INPALMS) and President Medico Legal Society. He was made a

President's Counsel President's Counsel (postnominal PC) is an eminent lawyer who is appointed by the President of Sri Lanka to be one of the "President's Counsel learned in the law". The term is also recognized as an honorific which replaced the practice of appoint ...

in 1981.

Diplomatic career

From 1988 to 1991 Perera served as Sri Lanka's Ambassador, Extraordinary and plenipotentiary and accredited to United Nations in New York City and in 2008 he was appointed Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Canada.

Other achievements

Perera was a lifetime member of numerous legal and athletic clubs and societies. Most notably, he was elected President of the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC), home of the historic

Sinhalese Sports Club Ground The Singhalese Sports Club Cricket Ground (SSC Cricket Ground) ( si, සිංහල ක්‍රිඩා සමාජ ක්‍රීඩාංගනය; ta, சிங்களவர் விளையாட்டுக் கழக அரங ...

, in 1998 and held the position until 2008. His portrait was unveiled at the Sinhalese Sports Club in 2011.

Death

Perera died following a short illness in June 2013.President’s Counsel Daya Perera dies
/ref>

References

External links

His Excellency the High Commissioner Daya Perera, President’s Counsel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perera, Daya 2013 deaths Sri Lanka Light Infantry officers Sri Lanka Army General Service Corps officers Sinhalese lawyers Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Alumni of the University of Ceylon (Colombo) High Commissioners of Sri Lanka to Canada Permanent Representatives of Sri Lanka to the United Nations President's Counsels (Sri Lanka) Year of birth missing