Mallika de Mel ( Fernando; 17 January 1932 – October 2009) was a

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 ...

n social worker and politician. She was a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

from the Matara electorate from 2001 to 2004. Mallika Fernando, was born to Sir Leo Fernando and Lady Irene Fernando. Her father was one of the wealthiest businessmen of his time and a member of parliament. She married Ronnie de Mel, who was a member of the

Ceylon Civil Service The Ceylon Civil Service, popularly known by its acronym CCS, was the premier civil service of the Government of Ceylon under British colonial rule and in the immediate post-independence period. Established in 1833, it functioned as part of the ...

and would later enter politics, having been elected to parliament from the Matara electorate and went on to serve as Minister of Finance from 1977 to 1988. The couple had three children. An active social worker, she was a principal trustee of the Ruhuna University Trust and was noted for securing the release of

Rohana Wijeweera Patabendi Don Jinadasa Nandasiri Wijeweera ( si, පටබැඳි දොන් ජිනදාස නන්දසිරි විජෙවීර; 14 July 1943 – 13 November 1989, better known by his ''nom de guerre'' Rohana Wijeweera, was a ...

in 1977. Mallika Fernando succeeded her husband's seat in the 2001 parliamentary elections, entering parliament from 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), ...

. She turn down the party nomination for re-election due to health issues.

References

Sri Lankan Buddhists Members of the 12th Parliament of Sri Lanka United National Party politicians Women legislators in Sri Lanka 2009 deaths 1932 births {{SriLanka-bio-stub

See also

References