Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

Deshamanya Deshamanya ( si, දේශමාන්‍ය, translit=Dēshamāṉya; ta, தேசமான்ய, translit=Tēcamāṉya; Pride of the Nation) is the second-highest national honour of Sri Lanka awarded by the Government of Sri Lanka as a ...

Walter Geoffrey Montague "Monti" Jayawickrama (January 15, 1911 – November 16, 2001) 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 politician. He served as the Minister of Transport and Public Works (1952-1956) and the Minister of Public Administration, Home Affairs and Plantation Industries (1977-1987), having been elected from

Weligama Weligama ( si, වැලිගම, ta, வெலிகாமம்) is a town on the south coast of Sri Lanka, located in Matara District, Southern Province, Sri Lanka, governed by an Urban Council. The name ''Weligama'', literally means "sandy v ...

in Matara to the Sri Lankan Parliament. He was the Second

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the North Western Province of Sri Lanka.

Early life

Born in Weligama, in Southern Ceylon to Walter Jayewickreme, a

proctor Proctor (a variant of ''procurator'') is a person who takes charge of, or acts for, another. The title is used in England and some other English-speaking countries in three principal contexts: * In law, a proctor is a historical class of lawye ...

and Lidia Margret, he had one sister Dorothina and one brother Errol. Educated at

Richmond College, Galle Richmond College ( si, රිච්මන්ඩ් විද්‍යාලය) is a primary and secondary school in Galle, Sri Lanka which was established as Galle High School in 1876. The founder of school was the Wesleyan Missionary George B ...

, Jayewickreme studied at the Agriculture School in

Peradeniya Peradeniya ( si, පේරාදෙණිය, translit=Pēradeniya; ta, பேராதனை, translit=Pērātaṉai) is a suburb of the city of Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a m ...

before becoming a planter.Major Montague Jayewickreme
/ref>

Military service

Joining the

volunteer Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

regiment

Ceylon Light Infantry 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 ...

in 1934 as a

Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

. With the expansion of the

Ceylon Defense Force The Ceylon Defence Force (CDF) was established in 1910 by the Ceylonese legislation ''Ceylon Defence Force Ordinance'', which reformed the Ceylon Volunteer Force (CVF) that existed previously as the military reserve in the British Crown colony ...

for war time service during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Jayewickreme gained rapid promotion. When the demobilization began in at the end of the war, Jayewickreme left the Ceylon Light Infantry, having been one few Ceylonese officers to reach the rank of

Political career

Jayewickreme entered politics when he was unanimously elected as President of Weligama Town Council on 4 January 1936. Undertaking the development and expansion of the Weligama town, Jayewickreme contested the 1947 General Election from the Weligama electorate. Weligama remained his constituency till 1987, having been re-elected in 1952, 1960, 1965 and again in 1977. His long standing opponent was

Panini Ilangakoon Christophel Panini Illangakoon ( si, ක්‍රිස්ටෝෆෙල් පනිනි ඉල්ලන්ගකූන්) (10 November 1919 – 10 February 1989) was a Sri Lankan politician. He was a member of parliament from Weligama in ...

who defeated Jayewickreme in 1956 and 1970, but was intern defeated by Jayewickreme in 1960 and 1977.

Member of Parliament

Having won a seat in the first

Parliament of Ceylon The Parliament of Ceylon was the legislative body of British Ceylon & Dominion of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1947 by the Soulbury Constitution, prior to independence on 4 February 1948. Parliament replaced the State Council of Ceylon. ...

, he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Labour and Social Services by Prime Minister

D. S. Senanayake Don Stephen Senanayake ( si, දොන් ස්ටීවන් සේනානායක,; ta, டி. எஸ். சேனநாயக்கா; 21 October 1884 – 22 March 1952) was a Ceylonese statesman. He was the first Prime Mi ...

in 1948.

Minister of Transport and Public Works

In 1952, he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport and Public Works by Prime Minister

Sir John Kotelawala General Sir John Lionel Kotelawala ( si, ශ්‍රිමත් ජෝන් ලයනල් කොතලාවල; 4 April 1897 – 2 October 1980) was a Sri Lankan statesman, who served as the 3rd Prime Minister of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) fro ...

, who held the portfolio of Transport and Public Works. In 1954, he was promoted to Minister of Transport and Public Works by Kotelawala was and also appointmented as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Defence and Foreign Affairs. As Minister of Transport and Public Works, he initiated the Ruhunu Kumari, Udarata Menike and Yal Devi train services of the Ceylon Government Railways. Major projects undertaken at the time include the Ella-Wellawaya road, Didula-World's End road, the Weligama Highway and the Mirissa Fishery Harbor. Operations Monty was launched during this time name after him to counter

illegal immigration Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of the immigration laws of that country or the continued residence without the legal right to live in that country. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upwar ...

from

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...

Minister of Public Administration, Home Affairs and Plantation Industries

In 1977, he was appointed the Minister of Public Administration and Home Affairs by Prime Minister J.R. Jayewardene and later given the portfolio of Plantation Industries in the

Jayewardene cabinet The Jayewardene cabinet was the central government of Sri Lanka led by Prime Minister (later President) J. R. Jayewardene between 1977 and 1989. It was formed in July 1977 after the parliamentary election and it ended in January 1989 when Jayewa ...

. During his tenor he developed the Tea Research Institute. A senior member of 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), ...

, he served as its treasurer. On several occasions he served as Acting Prime Minister and Acting Leader of the House.

Retirement

He was injured in the 1987 grenade attack in the Parliament and shortly retired from active politics due to health issues. In 1988, he was appointed Governor of the North Western Province by President

Premadasa Premadasa is a Sinhalese name that may refer to the following people: ;Surname *Hema Premadasa (born 1935), Sri Lankan politician and former First Lady of Sri Lanka *Ranasinghe Premadasa (1924–1993), Prime Minister and President of Sri Lanka *Sa ...

and held the post till 1993.

Family

Montague Jayewickreme married Amara Amarasuriya, they had two daughters, Devika and Kisani.

References

External links

Jayawickrama/Amarasuriya Ancestry
1911 births 2001 deaths Governors of North Western Province, Sri Lanka Members of the 1st Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 2nd Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 4th Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 5th Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 6th Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 8th Parliament of Sri Lanka Parliamentary secretaries of Ceylon Posts ministers of Sri Lanka Power ministers of Sri Lanka Telecommunication ministers of Sri Lanka Shipping ministers of Sri Lanka Sinhalese politicians Ceylon Light Infantry officers {{SouthernLK-politician-stub