Hameed Hussain Sheikh Ismail,

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 ...

(19 May 1901 – 3 August 1974) 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 politician. He was the 5th

Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka The Speaker of the Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is the presiding officer of the chamber. The current Speaker of the Parliament is Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, in office since 20 August 2020. The Speaker fulfills ...

Early life and education

Born in

Puttalam Puttalam ( si, පුත්තලම, translit=Puttalama; ta, புத்தளம், translit=Puttaḷam) is the largest town in Puttalam District, North Western Province, Sri Lanka. Puttalam is the administrative capital of the Puttalam ...

to a middle-class family, started his

Qur’anic The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...

lessons in 1905. He was educated at St. Andrew's College, Puttalam and at

Wesley College, Colombo Wesley College, Colombo, popularly known as "Wesley" or "The Double Blues" is a school providing primary and secondary education in Sri Lanka since 1874. Wesley College is a Methodist educational institution. History In 1858, Rev. Joseph Ri ...

. He entered 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 ...

, and passed the Proctor's Finals exams in 1925 winning several prizes.

Legal career

Having qualified as a

Proctor Proctor (a variant of ''procurator'') is a person who takes charge of, or acts for, another. The title is used in England and some other English-speaking countries in three principal contexts: * In law, a proctor is a historical class of lawye ...

, Ismail started his legal practice in Colombo, but soon moved it to his home town of Puttalam.

Political career

Entering local politics, Ismail was elected member of the Puttalam Local Board in 1929 and member of the Puttalam Urban Council in 1933 and served as Chairmen of the Puttalam Urban Council from 1936 to 1947. He was elected un-contested in the 1947 general election from the Puttalam electorate as an

independent candidate An independent or non-partisan politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have political views th ...

to the

Parliament of Ceylon The Parliament of Ceylon was the legislative body of British Ceylon & Dominion of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1947 by the Soulbury Constitution, prior to independence on 4 February 1948. Parliament replaced the State Council of Ceylon. ...

. Soon after he was appointed by Prime Minister

D. S. Senanayake Don Stephen Senanayake ( si, දොන් ස්ටීවන් සේනානායක,; ta, டி. எஸ். சேனநாயக்கா; 21 October 1884 – 22 March 1952) was a Ceylonese statesman. He was the first Prime Mi ...

as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Food and Co-operative Undertakings. In 1948, he was elected Vice President of the All Ceylon Muslim League. Elected in the 1952 general election, he was elected Deputy Speaker and the Deputy Chairman of Committees serving till 1956 and was elected Speaker following the 1956 general election, serving till 1959. In 1961, he was elected President of the All Ceylon Muslim League. He was appointed

Member of the 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 ...

(MBE) in the

1949 New Year Honours The 1949 New Year Honours were appointments by many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced in supplements to the '' London ...

References

External links

Hameed Hussain Sheikh IsmailSpeaker of the Parliament
{{Authority control 1901 births 1974 deaths Speakers of the Parliament of Sri Lanka Deputy speakers and chairmen of committees of the Parliament of Sri Lanka Deputy chairmen of committees of the Parliament of Sri Lanka Parliamentary secretaries of Ceylon Ceylonese Members of the Order of the British Empire Ceylonese proctors Alumni of Wesley College, Colombo Alumni of Ceylon Law College