Wijewardena Seneviratne Panditha Abeykoon Bandaranayake Wahala Mudiyanselage Harris Leuke Ratwatte (known as ''Harris Leuke Ratwatte'') (1900–1964) was a
Ceylonese
Sri Lankan or Ceylonese may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Sri Lanka
* A person from Sri Lanka, see Demographics of Sri Lanka
** Sinhalese people, the ethnic majority
** Sri Lankan Tamils, an ethnic minority
** Sri L ...
legislator. He was a member of the
State Council of Ceylon,
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
and the
Senate of Ceylon
The Senate was the upper chamber of the parliament of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1947 by the Soulbury Commission. The Senate was appointed and indirectly elected rather than directly elected. It was housed in the old Legislative Coun ...
. Ratwatte was award the title of
Dissawa
The Mahâ Dissâvas was a Great Officer in the Amātya Mandalaya, or Sinhalese Council of State, in the Sinhalese Kingdoms of monarchical Sri Lanka. Like many of the existing high offices at the time it had combined legislative and judicial ...
by the
British Governor of Ceylon
The governor of Ceylon was the representative in Ceylon of the British Crown from 1795 to 1948. In this capacity, the governor was president of the Executive Council and Commander-in-Chief of the British Forces in Ceylon. The governor was the ...
and was elected as the
Diyawadana Nilame of
Sri Dalada Maligawa, Kandy.
Born to Abeyratne Banda Ratwatte and Thalgahagoda Lewke Punchi Kumarihamy, his brothers were Sir
Cuda Ratwatte
Sir Jayatilaka Cudah Ratwatte Adigar (15 March 1880 – 27 March 1940) was a Ceylonese colonial-era politician and headman. He was a member of the State Council of Ceylon (1931–1933), the first elected Mayor of Kandy (1939–40), the first per ...
Adigar former mayor of
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 ...
and
Barnes Ratwatte
Barnes Ratwatte (''known as Barnes Ratwatte Dissawa '') (1883 – 20 September 1957) was a Ceylonese colonial-era legislator and a headman. He was a member of the State Council and the Senate of Ceylon. He was appointed to the posts of Rate Maha ...
Dissawa who was also a member of the State Council.
In 1933 he became the Basnayake Nilame of the Kataragama Devale of Kandy and the Maha Vishnu Devale of Kandy. He was elected to the State Council in 1936 from
Kegalle
Kegalle ( si, කෑගල්ල; ta, கேகாலை) is a large town in Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka. It is located on the Colombo– Kandy road, approximately from Colombo and from Kandy. It is the main town in the Kegalle Distr ...
and held the seat until 1947. From 1940 to 1942 he was a member of the
Kandy Municipal Council
The Kandy Municipal Council ( Sinhala: මහනුවර මහ නගර සභා ''Mahanuwara Maha Nagara Sabha'') is the local council for Kandy, the second largest city and ''hill capital'' of Sri Lanka. The council was formed under the M ...
. In 1948 he was elected to the House of Representatives from
Mawanella
Mawanella is a town which belongs to the Kegalle district in the Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka. It lies between Kegalle and Kadugannawa along the Colombo-Kandy road. The area consists of four administrative areas, namely Mawanella, Aranayake ...
and held the seat until 1952. In 1955 he was elected to the Senate. He was elected to the post of
Diyawadana Nilame of the Sri Dalada Maligawa in 1961 and held the post until his death in 1964.
Harris Leuke Ratwatte married Mallika Katugaha Kumarihamy, daughter of Katugaha Bandaranayake Herath Mudiyanse Punchi Bandara, acting
Rate Mahatmaya
Rate Mahatmaya was a traditional office and title from the Kandian Kingdom which became part of the British colonial administration within the Kandian and central region of Ceylon.
History
Persons were appointed to the title and office by the Ki ...
of Yatikinda. Harris Ratwatte and his Kumarihamy had nine children: Ryan, Ivy, Dennis, Chintha, Preeni,
Anuruddha
Anuruddha ( pi, Anuruddhā) was one of the ten principal disciples and a cousin of Gautama Buddha.
Early years
Anuruddha was the son of Amitodana and brother to Mahanama and princess Rohini (Buddha's disciple). Since Amitodana was the brothe ...
, Ranji, Samudhra & Mangalika. His son
General Anuruddha Ratwatte was a Cabinet Minister. His grandson
Lohan is the Member of Parliament representing the Kandy District and another grandson,
Mahendra was a former
mayor of Kandy
The mayor of Kandy is the mayor and head of the Kandy Municipal Council. The post was created in 1866 when the Kandy Municipal Council established by the ''Municipalities Ordinance of 1865''. The offices of the mayor are at the Kandy Town Hall. ...
.
Mahendra Ratwatte resigns as Mayor of Kandy
Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka), Retrieved on 19 November 2015.
See also
* Diyawadana Nilame, Sri Dalada Maligawa, Kandy
*List of political families in Sri Lanka
This is a partial listing of prominent political families in Sri Lanka.
Abdul Majeed
*A. L. Abdul Majeed (15 November 1933 – 13 November 1987) also known as Mutur Majeed, former Deputy Minister of Information and Broadcasting and Member Parl ...
References
External links
The Ratwatte Ancestry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ratwatte, Harris Leuke
Diyawadana Nilames
Sri Lankan Buddhists
Dissava
Sinhalese politicians
United National Party politicians
Members of the 2nd State Council of Ceylon
Members of the Senate of Ceylon
Members of the 1st Parliament of Ceylon
Harris Leuke
1900 births
1964 deaths