Donald Jasen Ranaweera,

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

, JP (20 March 1921 - 26 December 2000) 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 plantation owner,

press baron A media proprietor, media mogul or media tycoon refers to a entrepreneur who controls, through personal ownership or via a dominant position in any media-related company or enterprise, media consumed by many individuals. Those with significant co ...

and politician. He was the Chairmen of the

Times of Ceylon ''The Times of Ceylon'' was an English language daily newspaper in Sri Lanka published by Times of Ceylon Limited (TOCL). It was founded in 1846 as the ''Ceylon Times'' and was published from Colombo. It ceased publication in 1985. History The ...

and served as the

member of parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

from

Maskeliya Maskeliya is a town in the Central Province of Sri Lanka. It is the site of the 1974 crash of Martinair Flight 138, the worst air disaster in Sri Lanka. It is known for its mountains, waterfalls, unique ethnic background and estates. The act ...

(1960) and

Nuwara Eliya Nuwara Eliya ( si, නුවර එළිය ; ta, நுவரெலியா) is a city in the hill country of the Central Province, Sri Lanka. Its name means "city on the plain (table land)" or "city of light". The city is the administrativ ...

(1965-1970).

Early life

Born to a wealthy land and plantation owning family from Yatiyana, Matara. He was Educated at St.Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia and Trinity College, Kandy.The family fortune was founded by his grandfather, Yatiyana Ralahamay. Donald Ranaweera's father, Don Andreas Ranaweera expanded the land and wealth he inherited from his father, Yatiyana Ralahamy. He also bought the Panilkanda Estate in

Deniyaya Deniyaya is a small town located towards the south of Sri Lanka. It is located in Matara District of the Southern Province. It is surrounded by the Sinharaja rainforest, and the climate is relatively cool. The main source of income is tea cultiv ...

and later acquired Fetteresso and Attabagie Group in

Dickoya Dickoya is a town in Nuwara Eliya District in the Central Province, Sri Lanka, Central Province of Sri Lanka. Dickoya forms Hatton-Dickoya Urban Council with Hatton, Sri Lanka, Hatton. Popular places *Christ Church Warleigh, Dickoya. Refer ...

and Gampola. Yatiyana 'Sisiragiri' Walawua was also built by his father Don Andreas Ranaweera and it was the family seat where he served as the Chairman of the local village council. Taking over the family businesses, Donald J Ranaweera became a wealthy financier owning several plantations and served as the Chairman of the

with

H. W. Amarasuriya Henry Woodward Amarasuriya (14 October 1904 – 6 March 1981) was a Ceylonese plantation owner, politician, educationist and philanthropist. He was the Cabinet Minister for Trade and Commerce in the cabinet of D. S. Senanayake. A former member ...

serving as Deputy Chairmen. D. J. Ranaweera along with H. W. Amarasuriya were the two wealthiest landed proprietors of post independent Ceylon.

Political career

Donald Ranaweera was elected from the Maskeliya electorate from the

United National Party The United National Party, often abbreviated as UNP ( si, එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය, translit=Eksath Jāthika Pakshaya, ta, ஐக்கிய தேசியக் கட்சி, translit=Aikkiya Tēciyak Kaṭci), ...

in the 1960 March general election defeating the incumbent S. Jinadasa from the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna and P. Gamini Ariyatilake from the

Lanka Sama Samaja Party The Lanka Sama Samaja Party, often abbreviated as LSSP (Literal translation, literally: Lanka Socialist Party, Sinhalese language, Sinhala: ලංකා සම සමාජ පක්ෂය, Tamil language, Tamil: லங்கா சமசமா� ...

. He was defeated in the 1960 July general election by

Edmund Wijesuriya Henry Edmund Wijesuriya (21 June 1919 – 3 October 2006) was a Sri Lankan politician who was a Member of Parliament from Maskeliya, and President of the All Ceylon Co-operative Federation. Wijesuriya was elected from the Maskeliya electorate fr ...

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� ...

. He then contested the 1965 general election from the Nuwara Eliya electorate from the United National Party and won. In 1970, he was refused nominations from United National Party for the 1970 general election from Nuwara Eliya in favor of the young Gamini Dissanayake by Dudley Senanayake, whose first bid for parliament in the 1970 general election from his late father's party, Sri Lanka Freedom Party had been refused in favor of T. William Fernando. The angered Ranaweera, contested the 1970 general election from the Maskeliya electorate as an independent and polled fourth. In the 1970s he lost most of his holdings to government take over. His plantations were nationalized under the land reforms and the Ceylon Times Group following several years of financial mismanagement was nationalized under the Sri Lanka Freedom Party government.

Honors

He was appointed a

Justice of Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

and a

Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in the

1955 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1955 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate t ...

for public services.

Family

He married Sumithra Rambukwelle, they had ten children and their daughter Kalyani Viveca, married Dr Shirantha Ratwatte.

References

1921 births 2000 deaths Members of the 4th Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 6th Parliament of Ceylon People from Matara, Sri Lanka Ceylonese Members of the Order of the British Empire Sri Lankan justices of the peace Sri Lankan planters Sri Lankan mass media owners People of British Ceylon Alumni of S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia Alumni of Trinity College, Kandy {{CentralLK-politician-stub