Mollie Dunuwila Senanayake (née Dunuwila), was a Sri Lankan public figure, she was the wife of
Don Stephen Senanyake, who became
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
of newly independent dominion in 1948. Her son
Dudley
Dudley is a large market town and administrative centre in the county of West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically an exclave of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the ...
was the second Prime Minister of Ceylon, in 1952.
Early life
Mollie (or Molly) Dunuwila (or Dunuwille) was the daughter of R. R. Dunuwila and Grace Jayatilaka. Her father was in local government, serving as police magistrate and later as Secretary of the
Colombo Municipal Council
The Colombo Municipal Council is the municipal governing body of Colombo, the largest city and financial centre in Sri Lanka. It consists of a directly elected executive Mayor of Colombo, current elect is Rosy Senanayake, and 119 elected 119 muni ...
. Her maternal grandfather, Frederick Jayatilaka, was an officer in the
Ceylon Civil Service and had served as the
District Judge of
Kalutara
Kalutara ( si, කළුතර, ta, களுத்துறை) or Kalutota is a major city in Kalutara District, Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is also the administrative capital of Kalutara District. It is located approximately south o ...
.
Marriage
Dunuwila married D. S. Senanayake in 1910. They had two sons, Dudley Senanayake (1911-1973) and Robert Parakrama Senanayake (1913-1986). She was widowed when D. S. Senanayake died in 1952, in a riding accident.
Mollie Senanayake became the wife of the premier of Ceylon, when the country became an independent dominion of the British Commonwealth in 1948. She hosted a dinner at the official residence, the
Temple Trees
Temple Trees is the official residence of the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. It is located in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Several recent Presidents have used it as their official residence as well.
History Private residence
The history of ''Temple Trees' ...
, as part of the independence celebration. In her message 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), ...
, she wrote, "Let us devote ourselves wholeheartedly to the service of our motherland in the useful sphere of our homes, and build up a nation physically, intellectually, and morally second to no other nation in the world."
Her elder son succeeded her husband as Prime Minister.
Rukman Senanayake, a current Sri Lankan politician, is one of her grandchildren.
Wasantha Senanayake
Vasantha Senanayake (born 28 June 1973) is a Sri Lankan politician who was a member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka. He belongs to the United National Party. He is a great grandson of D. S. Senanayake (Sri Lanka's "Father of the Nation") and co ...
, also a current Sri Lankan politician, is one of her great-grandchildren.
In the Sinhala film ''
Nidahase Piya DS
''Nidahase Piya DS'' () is a 2018 Sri Lankan Sinhala biographical film directed by Suneth Malinga Lokuhewa and co-produced by Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, Dilman Jayaratne, Channa Hettiarachchi, Rajaputhra Weerasinghe, Kithsiri Athulathmudali and Cl ...
'' (2018), a biographical film about D. S. Senanayake, the character of Molly Dunuwila was played by actresses
Thisuri Yuwanika
Thisuri Yuwanika Madduma Liyanage ( si, තිසුරි යුවනිකා මද්දුම ලියනගේ; born March 6, 1991), popularly as Thisuri Yuwanika, is an actress in Sri Lankan cinema, theater and television. Started as a ...
(as a young woman) and her mother
Susantha Chandramali (as an older woman).
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Senanayake, Mollie Dunuwila
Sinhalese women
Year of birth missing
Year of death missing
Mollie
Molly, Mollie or mollies may refer to:
Animals
* ''Poecilia'', a genus of fishes
** ''Poecilia sphenops'', a fish species
* A female mule (horse–donkey hybrid)
People
* Molly (name) or Mollie, a female given name, including a list of persons ...