Deshamanya Deshamanya ( si, දේශමාන්‍ය, translit=Dēshamāṉya; ta, தேசமான்ய, translit=Tēcamāṉya; Pride of the Nation) is the second-highest national honour of Sri Lanka awarded by the Government of Sri Lanka as a ...

Herman Leonard de Silva, PC (28 January 1928 – 7 April 2009) 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 lawyer and diplomat. He was the former

Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations The Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations is Sri Lanka's foremost diplomatic representative to the United Nations, and in charge of the country's mission to the UN. The position of Permanent Representative is equivalent in ra ...

(New York). He was a former President and honorary life member of the

Bar Association of Sri Lanka The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (shortened to BASL) is the Bar Association in Sri Lanka. The Institute was established in 1974, amalgamating the ''Bar Council of Sri Lanka'' which represented the Advocates and ''Law Society of Sri Lanka'' r ...

Education

De Silva was educated at

St Peter's College, Colombo St. Peter's College ( Sinhala: සාන්ත පීතර විදුහල, Tamil: செயிண்ட் பீட்டர் கல்லூரி) is a Roman Catholic boys-only primary to secondary (inclusive) school in the Bambalapitiy ...

and Nalanda College Colombo. He subsequently entered the Faculty of 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 ...

in 1948, graduated LLB in 1951, completed 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 ...

examinations and qualified for the Bar in 1953.

Professional life

After a period of working alongside

Felix Dias Bandaranaike Felix R. Dias Bandaranaike ( Sinhala:ෆීලික්ස් ඩයස් බණඩාරනායක) (5 November 1930 – 26 June 1985) was a Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, who served as Cabinet Minister of Finance, Parliamentary Secret ...

in the unofficial bar, he joined the Attorney General Department in 1955 as a Crown Counsel, a post he relinquished in 1970 to rejoin the unofficial Bar. He was described as ""a master of the law, an eloquent speaker with the gift of presenting a case attractively, a good debater with a razor sharp intellect"" by

Lakshman Kadirgamar Sri Lankabhimanya Lakshman Kadirgamar, PC ( ta, லக்ஷமன் கதிர்காமர்; si, ලක්ෂ්මන් කදිර්ගාමර්, 12 April 1932 – 12 August 2005) was a Sri Lankan lawyer and statesman. He s ...

and SL Gunasekera has classed him as one of the greats in Sri Lankan Law along with his close friend and contemporary in the Attorney General Department

Elanga Wikramanayake Deshamanya Elanga Devapriya Wikramanayake (known to many as ''E.D. Wikramanayake'') was a Sri Lankan lawyer who served as the Solicitor General of Sri Lanka. Early life and education His father was E. B. Wikramanayake, QC the Minister of Justic ...

. He is best known for his work as an expert on Constitutional Law, being a member Government’s peace delegation at peace talks.

Honours

De Silva was appointed a Senior Attorney (now referred to as Presidents Counsel after the 1978 Constitutional reform) by the President, admitted to the Roll of Honour of St. Peter’s College in 1984 and awarded the title ‘Vishva Prasadini (Nithiya)’ by the Government of Sri Lanka in 1997 in recognition of contributions to the advancement of the law and subsequently the title Deshamanya. The 2009 Bar Association Law Journal was dedicated to HL De Silva and the Bar Association awarded the Deshamanya H. L. De Silva Memorial award to the winner of a legal essay competition open to junior lawyers.

References

External links

* The Island * rediff.com * www.slmission.com * The Nation
National Awards Conferred by His Excellency the President of Sri Lanka
{{DEFAULTSORT:De Silva, H. L. Sinhalese lawyers Ceylonese advocates President's Counsels (Sri Lanka) Alumni of the University of Ceylon (Peradeniya) Alumni of Nalanda College, Colombo Permanent Representatives of Sri Lanka to the United Nations 2009 deaths 1928 births Deshamanya Alumni of St. Peter's College, Colombo

Education

Professional life

Honours

See also

References

External links