E.M. Wijerama, FRCP was a Sri Lankan

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

. He was the first President of the

Ceylon College of Physicians The Ceylon College of Physicians (CCP) is a professional organisation for specialists in medicine in Sri Lanka. It is a non-profit organisation, and members contribute towards its activities voluntarily. Its specialities currently include cardiolog ...

and former President of the Ceylon Medical Association. 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 ...

, he studied medicine at the

Colombo Medical College Ceylon Medical College was a public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociolo ...

and went on to become a

Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...

after gaining its membership. A leading consultant physician of the

General Hospital, Colombo The National Hospital of Sri Lanka (sometimes General Hospital) is a government hospital in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Founded in 1864 as the General Hospital, it is the leading hospital in Sri Lanka and is controlled by the central government. The hospi ...

, he was elected as President of the Ceylon Medical Association from 1947 to 1948. In 1967 was elected the first President of Ceylon College of Physicians. He donated his home in

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

to the Ceylon Medical Association in 1964. Renamed ''Wijerama House'', it is the current headquarters of the Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA), the most influential professional body in the country and is home to the Sri Lanka Medical Library, one of the principal medical libraries in the island. The adjoining road which was formally known as ''MacCarthy Road'' was renamed in his honour as ''Dr E.M. Wijerama Mawatha'' by the

Colombo Municipal Council The Colombo Municipal Council is the municipal governing body of Colombo, the largest city and financial centre in Sri Lanka. It consists of a directly elected executive Mayor of Colombo, current elect is Rosy Senanayake, and 119 elected 119 muni ...

during his lifetime, the first time a street was named after a living person in Sri Lanka.Let us not forget this medical luminary
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wijerama, E.M. Sinhalese people Sri Lankan medical doctors Sri Lankan philanthropists Sri Lankan Buddhists Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Alumni of Ceylon Medical College