Major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...

Edward "Eddie" Alexander Nugawela, ED (21 September 1898 – 5 July 1972) was a Ceylonese lawyer, soldier and politician. He was the first

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

Minister of Education in independent Sri Lanka (then

Ceylon 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 ...

) (1947–1954), later Cabinet Minister of Health (1954–1956), a Member of Parliament and State Council.

Early life and education

Born in

Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...

, to the Radala Nugawela family. His father was Punchi Banda Nugawela who was the Rate Mahatmaya of Sarasiyapattuwa and the

Diyawadana Nilame Diyawadana Nilame is the office of the chief lay custodian of the Temple of the Tooth, Kandy, Sri Lanka. Formerly an office of the royal household, at present it is the trustee for the Temple of the Tooth as defined by the ''Buddhist Temporal ...

of the

Temple of the Tooth The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic or Sri Dalada Maligawa, ( si, ශ්‍රී දළදා මාළිගාව) is a Buddhist temple in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is located in the royal palace complex of the former Kingdom of Kandy, which hou ...

. His mother was Mallika Dunuwila, daughter of Dunuwila Disawa. Nugawela was educated at

Royal College, Colombo Royal College, Colombo is a Single-sex education, selective entry boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started as a private school by Rev Joseph Marsh in 1835, it was established as the Colombo Academ ...

Legal career

Studying law at 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 ...

, Nugawela qualified 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 ...

of the

Supreme Court of Ceylon The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා ශ්‍රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණය, Sri Lanka Sreshthadikaranaya; ta, இலங்கை உயர் நீதிமன்றம், Ilankai uyar neetimanram) is th ...

. He established his legal practice in the Unofficial Bar in Kandy.

Military service

Nugawela joined 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 ...

as a volunteer officer having been commissioned as a

Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army unt ...

in 1928. Mobilized for war service during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

in 1940, he was prompted to the rank of Major in 1942. He was awarded the Efficiency Decoration, the Defence Medal and the War Medal 1939–1945.

Political career

State Council of Ceylon

Captain Nugawela entered politics in the 1936 Ceylonese State Council election, succeeding his father P. B. Nugawela Dissawe to the Galagedera seat in the second

State Council of Ceylon The State Council of Ceylon was the unicameral legislature for Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), established in 1931 by the Donoughmore Constitution. The State Council gave universal adult franchise to the people of the colony for the first time. It re ...

. In the State Council he was elected a member of the Executive Committee of Health and served as a member of the Special Committee on Education setup in 1940. He on the Board of Income Tax and District Road Committee, Kandy.

House of Representatives

Major Nugawela was elected to the House of Representatives of the first Parliament of Ceylon, in the 1947 general election from

Kadugannawa Kadugannawa is a town in Kandy District in the Central Province of Sri Lanka, governed by an Urban Council. It is located along the A1 road west of Peradeniya. The town is served by Kadugannawa Railway Station and has the Kadugannawa Central Co ...

representing 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), ...

and was appointed the Minister of Education by Prime Minister D. S. Senanayake on 26 September 1947. He retain the Education portfolio in

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 Min ...

's cabinet having been re-elected in 1952 general election. He is noted for educational reforms and increasing the number of state schools during his tenure, implementation the free education scheme started by Dr

C.W.W. Kannangara Dr. Cristopher William Wijekoon Kannangara ( Sinhala ආචාර්ය ක්‍රිස්ටෝෆර් විලියම් විජේකෝන් කන්නන්ගර; 18 October 1894 – 23 September 1969) was a Sri Lankan Lawye ...

.Our educationists
/ref> He was the Pro-Chancellor of 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 Unive ...

. In October 1953, he was appointed Minister of Health by the newly appointed Prime Minister Sir John Kotelawala and served in this capacity till early 1956. He lost his seat in the 1956 general election to C. A. S. Marikkar.

Legacy

The Government of Sri Lanka issued a stamp in his honor on 22 May 1988 and the E.A. Nugawela Primary School in Werellagama was named after him.

Family

He married Louise Gooneratna.

References

External links

Ministry of Education, Sri Lanka

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nugawela, E. A. Education ministers of Sri Lanka Health ministers of Sri Lanka Members of the 2nd State Council of Ceylon Members of the 1st Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 2nd Parliament of Ceylon United National Party politicians Sri Lankan educational theorists 20th-century Sri Lankan lawyers Ceylonese advocates Ceylonese military personnel of World War II Ceylon Light Infantry officers Alumni of Royal College, Colombo People of British Ceylon People from Kandy 1898 births 1972 deaths