Mallory Evan Wijesinghe,

KStJ The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British royal order of ...

(June 25, 1918 – December 27, 2002) was a Sri Lankan engineer and entrepreneur. He served as the chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, the Bartleet Group and was the founding chairman of the state-owned

Ceylon Hotels Corporation Ceylon Hotels Corporation PLC, often called Ceylon Hotels, is a hospitality company in Sri Lanka. The company was incorporated through an act in the Parliament of Sri Lanka in 1966. The company was listed as a public company in the following yea ...

(1967–70).Mallory Evan Wijesinghe:Touched hundreds of lives for the better
Educated at the

Royal College Colombo Royal College, Colombo is a selective entry boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started as a private school by Rev Joseph Marsh in 1835, it was established as the Colombo Academy by Sir Robert Wilmot-Horton in Janu ...

, Wijesinghe obtained his B.Sc.(Eng) degree in Civil Engineering from King's College London, and joined the Public Works Department in 1941 as a civil engineer. In 1956, he decided to leave his career in the public sector and join a privately held company involved in the tea trade. In November 1958, Wijesinghe was appointed the first Ceylonese Director of Bartleet and Co. Ltd., a leading company in tea broking, and in the 1960s became the company's first Ceylonese Managing Director. In 1972, he led a trade delegation from Sri Lanka to Bangladesh and Pakistan during his tenure as the Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. In 1973, Wijesinghe was appointed the Honorary

Consul-General A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

to the Republic of Sri Lanka and of the

Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...

and was later honoured by her Majesty

Queen Beatrix Beatrix (Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, ; born 31 January 1938) is a member of the Dutch royal house who reigned as Queen of the Netherlands from 1980 until her abdication in 2013. Beatrix is the eldest daughter of Queen Juliana and her husban ...

by being made an Officer in the Order of Orange Nassau in 1985. Wijesinghe was the founder chairman of the

Colombo Stock Exchange The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) ( si, කොළඹ ව්‍යාපාර වස්තු හුවමාරුව, translit=Kolamba Vyapara Vasthu Huvamaruva; ta, கொழும்பு பங்கு பரிவர்த்தனை) i ...

, Chairman of the Employers' Federation of Ceylon (1960–71), Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (1964–70) and Chairman of the Colombo Brokers' Association (1960, 1965, 1970 and 1984). He was the founding President of the Federation of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Sri Lanka (1970–77), and the President of the Institute of Management of Sri Lanka, which he was involved in establishing. Wijesinghe was popularly called 'Mr Private Sector' as a result of his extensive involvement in a multitude of positions and assignments involving the 'mercantile' sector of Ceylon, and later Sri Lanka. A devoted Anglican, he was President of the

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 m ...

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams (philanthropist), Georg ...

, chairman of the Salvation Army Advisory Board and chairman of the National St. John Council for Sri Lanka. In 1978, he was made

Knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

of The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem by Queen Elizabeth II, the Sovereign Head of the Order. He also served as the Chairman of the Incorporated Trustees of the Church of England in Ceylon and a Trustee of the

Royal College Union The Royal College Union (RCU) is the alumni association of the Royal College Colombo. Founded in 1891 as a society for alumni of the college, it is the oldest such alumni society in Sri Lanka. The Royal College Union was set up to further the ...

Trust even during his latter period of retirement. Mallory was married to Joyce Wijesinghe and had three children. His son Eraj is currently the Chairman of the Bartleet Group, younger son Sunil, an electronics engineer by profession, is the former Deputy Chairman of the Bartleet Group (now retired) and his only daughter Dr. (Mrs) Hiranthi Wijemanne, a qualified specialist in public health served in various capacities in both governmental and non-governmental organisations (formerly Programme Officer/UNICEF).

Books authored

*''The Economy of Sri Lanka 1948–75'' *''Sri Lanka's Development Thrust 1977–80''

Honors

of The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem * Officer in the Order of Orange Nassau

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wijesinghe, Mallory Evan 1918 births 2002 deaths Alumni of King's College London Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Knights of the Order of St John Sri Lankan businesspeople Sri Lankan Christians Sinhalese people Sri Lankan engineers