Lakshman Jayakody (24 August 1930 – 30 August 2010) was a Sri Lankan politician, an

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

stalwart and the Minister of Cultural and Religious Affairs in the

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 ...

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

from 1994 to 2000. Lakshman Jayakody was born 24 August 1930 the eldest child of Lionel Jayakody and Gwendoline. He commenced his education at

Ladies' College, Colombo (Latin) , motto_translation = This is the victory, even our faith - 1 John 5: 4 , location = 66 Sir Ernest de Silva mawatha, Colombo 7 , country = Sri Lanka , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Sri Lanka Colombo Municipality , pushpin_image ...

, where his mother was educated, before the family moved to

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 ...

, when he was admitted

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

. Later he gained admission to

Ananda College ''Appamādo Amathapadan'' (Buddhist quote from the Apramada Vagga in the Dhammapada) , motto_translation = Heedfulness, Punctuality leads to Nirvana , location = P De S Kularatne Mawatha , city = Colom ...

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

to do advance level studies, where he also represented the college XI cricket team and won colours in cricket. Jayakody joined the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) on 1 November 1954, and became the General Secretary of the SLFP Trade Union in 1959. In July 1960 he contested the 5th general parliamentary elections in the Divulapitiya electorate. He was successful, winning the seat by almost 5,000 votes. Jayakody retained the seat in the two subsequent elections but lost it in the 1977 elections, to 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), ...

candidate, Ariyaratne Jayatillake, by 2,874 votes. During this period he served as the Deputy Minister of Defence and Foreign Affairs and the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister in the

Second Sirimavo Bandaranaike cabinet The Second Sirimavo Bandaranaike cabinet was the central government of Ceylon led by Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike between 1970 and 1977. It was formed in May 1970 after the parliamentary election and it ended in July 1977 after the opposi ...

. Jayakody selected as the Sri Lanka Freedom Party's representative for

Attanagalla Attanagalla is an electorate in Gampaha District, situated in the Western Province Western Province or West Province may refer to: * Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, Rwanda *Western Province (Kenya) *Western Province (Papua New Guin ...

, replacing

Sirimavo Bandaranaike Sirima Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike ( si, සිරිමා රත්වත්තේ ඩයස් බණ්ඩාරනායක; ta, சிறிமா ரத்வத்தே டயஸ் பண்டாரநாயக்கே; 17 April 191 ...

after she was expelled from parliament and banned from public office for seven years in 1980. At the 9th parliamentary elections in 1989 he successfully contested the Gampaha electorate. Jayakody retained his seat at the

parliamentary elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

in 1994 and was appointed Minister of Cultural and Religious Affairs. He did not contest the elections in 2000, retiring from politics. He subsequently served as a senior presidential advisor to the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

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

and President

Mahinda Rajapaksa Mahinda Rajapaksa ( si, මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ, ta, மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to ...

. Jayakody died at Colombo General Hospital on 30 August 2010, at age 80.

References

External links

Lakshman Jayakody, tower of strength to SLFP
1930 births 2010 deaths Members of the 5th Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 6th Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 7th Parliament of Ceylon Government ministers of Sri Lanka Members of the 8th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 9th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 10th Parliament of Sri Lanka Sri Lankan Buddhists Sinhalese politicians Alumni of Trinity College, Kandy Parliamentary secretaries of Ceylon Culture ministers of Sri Lanka {{WesternLK-politician-stub