Dharmasiri Alwis Senanayake (30 March 1933 – 24 July 2000) was a Sri Lankan politician and member of parliament.

Early life and education

Born in Patthanduwana,

Minuwangoda Minuwangoda ( si, මිනුවන්ගොඩ, ta, மினுவந்கொட) is a town in Gampaha district, governed by an List of municipalities in Sri Lanka, Urban Council, situated near Negombo, Western Province, Sri Lanka, Western ...

to Senanayake Seneviratne Wasala Mudalige Don David Senanayake and Dona Laisa Abeysinghe. His brother was

Ratna Deshapriya Senanayake Ratna Deshapriya Senanayake (18 September 1922 - 21 January 2012) was a Sri Lankan politician. He was a member of parliament and Parliamentary Secretary for the Minister of Planning and Employment. Qualified as proctor, he worked as a journalis ...

. Senanayake educated at the Yagomulla School and at

Ananda College ''Appamādo Amathapadan'' (Buddhist quote from the Apramada Vagga in the Dhammapada) , motto_translation = Heedfulness, Punctuality leads to Nirvana , location = P De S Kularatne Mawatha , city = Colom ...

. He entered University of Celyon, Peradeniya in 1953.

Early career

After graduating from university, Senanayake started working as a lecturer in economics in the Vidyodaya University in 1959 and at the same time gained admission to the

Ceylon 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 ...

. He took 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, ...

in 1963 and started his legal career in the unofficial bar at the Kegalle Magistrate's Court.

Political career

Senanayake first contested the 1970 general election from the Dedigama electorate and lost to

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 ...

. He was soon after appointed Chairman of the Tourist Board in 1970. He again contested the Dedigama electorate in 1973 in the by election that followed the death of Dudley Senanayake, but was defeated by

Rukman Senanayake Rukman Senanayake (born 21 June 1948), is a Sri Lankan politician. A former Cabinet Minister of Environment and Natural Resources from 2002 to 2004 and Member of Parliament for Kegalle District, he was a Vice Leader of the United National Party. ...

. He contested the 1977 general election and lost to

Nissanka Wijeyeratne Deshamanya Nissanka Parakrama Wijeyeratne ( si, නිශ්ශංක පරාක්‍රම විජයරත්න) (14 June 1924 – 7 January 2007), known as ''Nissanka Wijeyeratne'', was a Sri Lankan politician, civil servant, dipl ...

. He finally was elected to parliament from Kegalla in the 1989 general election and in 1993 was appointed General Secretary of the

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� ...

and Vice President of the People's Alliance. He was re-elected to parliament in 1994 following the victory of the People's Alliance, where he was appointed Minister of Tourism, Aviation and Media by President

Chandrika Kumaratunga Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga ( si, චන්ද්‍රිකා බණ්ඩාරනායක කුමාරතුංග, ta, சந்திரிகா பண்டாரநாயக்க குமாரதுங்க; born 29 Ju ...

and later Minister of Tourism and Aviation. He died on 24 July 2000, following heart surgery.

References

External links

Minister Dharmasiri Senanayake passes away

Gentleman politician
1933 births 2000 deaths Members of the 9th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 10th Parliament of Sri Lanka Sri Lanka Freedom Party politicians Alumni of Ananda College Alumni of the University of Ceylon (Peradeniya) Alumni of Ceylon Law College Sinhalese politicians Ceylonese advocates {{SabaragamuwaLK-politician-stub