Sir Kanthiah Vaithianathan

CBE 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 ...

(1896–1965) (also spelt Vaidyanathan) 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 ...

civil servant, politician, Member of the Senate and Minister of Housing and Social Services.

Civil service career

Having graduated with a

BSc A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

, he joined the Ceylon Civil Service. In 1947, he became the first Permanent Secretary to the

Ministry of External Affairs and Defence Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...

of independent Ceylon.

Political career

In 1952, Vaithianathan was appointed by the Governor General to 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 ...

and appointed Minister of Housing and Social Services. In 1953, he was also given the Industries portfolio following the resignation of G. G. Ponnambalam, Minister of Industries and Fisheries.

Social service

He was the President of the Rotary Club of Colombo, patron of the Colombo Tamil Sangam and one of the founders of the Hindu Educational Society which established the

Colombo Hindu College (Katraangu Ozhuguga) , motto_translation = Follow what you study , streetaddress = 77 Lorensz Road , region = Bambalapitiya , city = Colombo , province = , postcode ...

. He was member of the Royal Asiatic Society (Ceylon) Branch.

Honors

Vaithianathan, was appointed a Commander 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 ...

(CBE) 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 ...

and knighted as a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are th ...

in the

1950 Birthday Honours The King's Birthday Honours 1950 were appointments in 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. The appointments were made to celebrate the o ...

Family

He was married to Lady Vaithianathan. His son Mahen Vaithianathan was one of the first diplomats of the Ceylon Overseas Service. He lived at "Senthil", Charles Place, Colombo 3.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vaithianathan, Kanthiah 1896 births 1965 deaths Alumni of St. Patrick's College, Jaffna Housing ministers of Sri Lanka Industries ministers of Sri Lanka Permanent secretaries of Sri Lanka People from British Ceylon Members of the Senate of Ceylon Social affairs ministers of Sri Lanka Sri Lankan Hindus Ceylonese Knights Bachelor Ceylonese Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Sri Lankan Tamil people Sri Lankan civil servants Tamil politicians