Kiri Banda Ratnayake (23 February 1924 - 30 April 2004) was a Sri Lankan politician, the

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

of the

Sri Lankan Parliament The Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා පාර්ලිමේන්තුව ''Shri Lanka Parlimenthuwa'', Tamil: இலங்கை நாடாளுமன்றம் ''Ila� ...

and later was the Governor of the Central Province of Sri Lanka. Born in a small hamlet in

Rajarata Rajarata ā dja ra tə(Meaning: King's country) ( Sinhala: රජරට) (Tamil: ரஜரட) was one of three historical regions of the island of Sri Lanka for about 1,700 years from the 6th century BCE to the early 13th century CE. Several anci ...

, his father Mudalihamy Ratnayake was a

Village Headman A village head, village headman or village chief is the community leader of a village or a small town. Usage Brunei In Brunei, village head is called or in the Malay language. It is an administrative post which leads the community of a v ...

. He lost his mother when he was ten years old and was raised by his elder sister. He was educated at

Hartley College Hartley College ( ta, ஹாட்லிக் கல்லூரி ''Hāṭlik Kallūri'') is a provincial school in Point Pedro, Sri Lanka. Founded in 1838 by British Methodist missionaries, it is one of Sri Lanka's oldest schools. The school i ...

in Point Pedro. In 1943, he gained appointment as a village cultivation Officer and served in Medawachchiya and Kahatagasdigiliya. Although he was not successful in his application for the post

Sub-Inspector Sub-inspector (SI), or sub-inspector of police, is a rank used extensively in South Asia: in the police forces of Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka, which is primarily based on the British model. It was formerly used in most British col ...

in the

Ceylon Police Force (The one who lives by the Dhamma is protected by the Dhamma itself) , mission = , formedyear = , preceding1 = Ceylon Police Force (1866–1972) , dissolved = , superseding = , employees = ...

, he was promoted to cultivation officer city tanks (COCT) in 1945. He thereafter join the

Survey Department Survey may refer to: Statistics and human research * Statistical survey, a method for collecting quantitative information about items in a population * Survey (human research), including opinion polls Spatial measurement * Surveying, the techniq ...

as a

kachcheri A kachcheri or district secretariat is the principal government department that administrates a district in Sri Lanka. Each of the 25 districts has a kachcheri. The main tasks of the District Secretariat involve coordinating communications and ac ...

surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...

, serving in the districts of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa. With the formation of the Anuradhapura Preservation Board, Ratnayake applied and was selected for the post of Land Officer. He was a close friend of

Maithripala Senanayake Maithripala Senanayake (7 July 1916 – 12 July 1998) was a Sri Lankan politician and Governor of the North-Central province. He first studied at St. Joseph's College, Anuradhapura then at St. John's Jaffna, where he attained a mastery i ...

, who was a fellow village cultivation Officer. With Senanayake appointed Minister of Transport in 1956, Ratnayake was appointed as his private secretary in 1958. Following the death of Sirimevan Godage in 1962, Senanayake proposed Ratnayake for the

Sri Lanka Freedom Party The Sri Lanka Freedom Party ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා නිදහස් පක්ෂය, translit=Śrī Laṁkā Nidahas Pakṣaya; ta, இலங்கை சுதந்திரக் கட்சி, translit=Ilaṅkai Cutantirak Ka� ...

nomination for the in by-election that followed in

Anuradhapura Anuradhapura ( si, අනුරාධපුරය, translit=Anurādhapuraya; ta, அனுராதபுரம், translit=Aṉurātapuram) is a major city located in north central plain of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of North Central ...

. Having been elected to parliament in the by-election, he was re-elected in the 1965 parliamentary election and the 1970 general election. He was appointed Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Sports in 1970. Following the 1971 JVP insurrection, he was tasked with the establishment of the Department of Rehabilitation to rehabilitate the youth who took part in the insurrection with the setting up of rehabilitation camps. In 1975, he was appointed Minister of Transport in addition to his portfolios of Parliamentary Affairs and Sports. He was also the Chief Government Whip and Vice President of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. He lost his seat in the 1977 general election. He was elected to parliament in the 1989 general election and was re-elected in the 1994 general election, when he was elected as

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 ...

. Retiring from parliament in 2000, he was appointed Governor of Central Province serving from 2001 to 2002. He died on 30 April 2004, following a prolonged illness.

References

1924 births 2004 deaths Alumni of Hartley College Speakers of the Parliament of Sri Lanka Governors of Central Province, Sri Lanka Members of the 5th Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 6th Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 7th Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 9th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 10th Parliament of Sri Lanka Sports ministers of Sri Lanka Chief Government Whips (Sri Lanka) Sinhalese politicians {{NorthCentralLK-politician-stub