Harindra Jayantha Corea (4 March 1936 - 21 October 2005) was a Sri Lankan politician and Member of Parliament, who represented

Chilaw Chilaw ( si, හලාවත, translit=Halāvata, ta, சிலாபம், translit=Cilāpam) is a large town in Puttalam District, North Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is governed by an urban council. The town is located 80 kilometres away f ...

. He was member of 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), ...

of Sri Lanka. His parents were Sir

Claude Corea Sir George Claude Stanley Corea, Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, KBE (29 January 1894 – 2 September 1962) was a Sri Lankan politician and diplomat. Former President of the United Nations Security Council, he had served as ...

who was renowned politician and diplomat and Lady Karmini Corea. Sir Claude was Minister of Labour in the State Council of Ceylon led by

DS 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 Min ...

, and was appointed the first ever Representative of Ceylon to the UK (before Independence) and was also Ceylon's first Ambassador in the United States.View other Empire Stories – Empire's Children
/ref> Harindra Corea was the brother of Nihal Corea and Chandra Corea. The family home was situated in Alfred House Gardens in Colombo.

Education

Corea grew up in the UK and attended

St Paul's School, London (''By Faith and By Learning'') , established = , closed = , type = Independent school Public school , religion = Church of England , president = , he ...

. He went on to study Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE) at the

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the univer ...

. He was then called to the Bar by the Honorable Society of the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

Political career

He won the Chilaw seat in the 1977 General Elections on the UNP ticket, following in the footsteps of his uncle,

Srikuradas Charles Shirley Corea Srikumaradas Charles Shirley Corea ( 7 March 1906 – 5 March 1974 ) was a Sri Lankan politician. He was the 9th Speaker of the Parliament and a Member of Parliament, representing Chilaw. He was a member of the United National Party of Sri Lank ...

who won the parliamentary seat of Chilaw in 1952. Corea was appointed Minister of

Telecommunications Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...

by President

Ranasinghe Premadasa Sri Lankabhimanya Ranasinghe Premadasa ( si, රණසිංහ ප්‍රේමදාස ''Raṇasiṃha Premadāsa'', ta, ரணசிங்க பிரேமதாசா ''Raṇaciṅka Pirēmatācā''; 23 June 1924 – 1 May 1993) was t ...

in the 1990s. After a disagreement with the UNP he crossed over to the People's Alliance Government under President

Chandrika Kumaratunga Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga ( si, චන්ද්‍රිකා බණ්ඩාරනායක කුමාරතුංග, ta, சந்திரிகா பண்டாரநாயக்க குமாரதுங்க; born 29 Ju ...

in 2000. The Sunday Times of Sri Lanka noted 'the parliamentary debate on the draft constitution saw cross-overs from Dixon J. Perera, Harindra Corea and Mervyn Silva. He was selected as a People's Alliance national list candidate. Harindra Corea was appointed Deputy Foreign Minister by President Chandrika Kumaratunga and travelled around the world representing Sri Lanka. Among the many duties undertaken as Deputy Foreign Minister, he opened the office of the Hony. Consulate General for

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

in Colombo, Sri Lanka in December 2000.

Descendant of King Dominicus Corea (Edirille Rala)

Harindra Corea took a keen interest in the wider Corea Family. He headed the

Edirimanne Corea Family Union The Edirimanne Corea Family Union (ECFU) is a group set up to 'foster interaction' among the members of the powerful Corea family in the island of Sri Lanka. The Corea family is one of the leading families of Sri Lanka. They trace their ancestry ...

in Sri Lanka in 2000. He was a descendant of King

Dominicus Corea Dominicus Corea (Sinhalese family name Edirille Bandara) also known as Domingos Corea and Edirille Rala, was the son of Don Jeronimo Corea and Anna Corea. Don Jeronimo Corea was also known as Mudaliyar Vikramasinha, Commander-in-Chief of King May ...

, also known as Edirille Rala.

Jazz Music

Corea was an accomplished jazz musician and he was a fan of some of the 'greats' in jazz music, among them

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

and

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

(who visited Sri Lanka in 1963). Chamikara Weerasinghe writing in the Daily News in Sri Lanka, observed that 'Among those who promoted jazz music in Sri Lanka are Tommy Perera, Tita Nathaniez, Mahes Perera, former Minister Harindra Corea and Bala Namasvayam.'

Death

Corea died in Colombo on 21 October 2005. Parliamentarians held a Vote of Condolence when he died, speaking about his achievements in the Parliament of Sri Lanka in Kotte. The citizens of Chilaw have named a sports ground in the town, in memory of their Member of Parliament who served them since 1977.

References

Bibliography

*''Handbook of the Parliament of Sri Lanka'' *''Great Sinhalese Men and Women of History – Edirille Bandara (Domingos Corea)'' By John M. Senaveratna, (1937) *''Twentieth Century Impressions of Ceylon: Its History, People, Commerce, Industries and Resources'' By A.W. Wright, Asian Educational Services,India; New Ed edition (15 December 2007)

External links

Edirmanne Corea Family Union Facebook Page

The ECFU Youth Club Facebook Page

Handbook of the Parliament of Sri Lanka

Corea family website

Empire's Children

{{DEFAULTSORT:Corea, Harindra 1936 births 2005 deaths Sri Lankan Christians Harindra Members of the 8th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 9th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 10th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 11th Parliament of Sri Lanka Ministers of state of Sri Lanka Non-cabinet ministers of Sri Lanka Deputy ministers of Sri Lanka People from Chilaw Sinhalese politicians