Neranjan Priyadarshana Dullewe Wijeyeratne (
Sinhala: නෙරංජන් ප්රියදර්ශන දූල්ලෑව විජයරත්න) (born 9 August 1956) (known as ''Neranjan Wijeyeratne'') is a Sri Lankan. He was
Diyawadana Nilame
Diyawadana Nilame is the office of the chief lay custodian of the Temple of the Tooth, Kandy, Sri Lanka. Formerly an office of the royal household, at present it is the trustee for the Temple of the Tooth as defined by the ''Buddhist Temporal ...
(Chief lay Custodian) of the
Sri Dalada Maligawa, Kandy for 20 years from 1985 to 2005. Wijeyeratne was former
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), ...
politician and ex chief organiser for the
Galagedara Electorate in
Kandy District
Kandy District ( si, මහනුවර දිස්ත්රික්කය, ta, கண்டி மாவட்டம்) is a district of the Central Province of Sri Lanka. Its area is 1906.3 km².
Administrative divisions
Ethnic ...
and former Leader of the Opposition in the
Kandy Municipal Council
The Kandy Municipal Council (Sinhala language, Sinhala: මහනුවර මහ නගර සභා ''Mahanuwara Maha Nagara Sabha'') is the Politics of Sri Lanka#Local government structure, local council for Kandy, the second largest city and ...
.
Early life
![EW & NW](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/EW_%26_NW.jpg)
Born to
Nissanka Wijeyeratne
Deshamanya Nissanka Parakrama Wijeyeratne ( si, නිශ්ශංක පරාක්රම විජයරත්න) (14 June 1924 – 7 January 2007), known as ''Nissanka Wijeyeratne'', was a Sri Lankan politician, civil servant,
dipl ...
& Nita Dullewe Wijeyeratne he is the eldest of three brothers and a sister. They are
Mano
Mano may refer to:
People
* Mano people, an ethnic group in Liberia
* Mano (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname
* Mano (Mozambican footballer) (born 1984), real name Celso Halilo de Abdul
* Mano (Portuguese footballer) ...
,
Anuradha, Lankesh & Nishangani. His father Nissanka Wijeyeratne and grandfather
Sir Edwin Wijeyeratne were prominent politicians who had become cabinet ministers and his brothers
Mano
Mano may refer to:
People
* Mano people, an ethnic group in Liberia
* Mano (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname
* Mano (Mozambican footballer) (born 1984), real name Celso Halilo de Abdul
* Mano (Portuguese footballer) ...
was a Non-Cabinet Minister of Enterprise Development and Plantation Services and
Anuradha is a former Provincial Councillor and had been the Acting Diyawadana Nilame on several occasions. Neranjan Wijeyeratne was educated at
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 Janua ...
.
Diyawadana Nilame
Following his father's footsteps, he was elected Diyawadana Nilame (Chief lay Custodian) of the
Sri Dalada Maligawa, Kandy in March 1985 and served for a total of 20 years, until 2005, being re-elected once again in May 1995. Prior to being named the Diyawadana Nilame he served a term of 5 years as Basnayake Nilame (Lay Custodian) of Lankathilaka Maha Vishnu devalaya, Kandy. He was noted for his ability when the temple was restored following the
LTTE
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...
bombing in 1998. He was also responsible for the construction of the famous 'golden fence' around Sri Dalada maligawa. He set up the Dalada Museum, which houses a historic collection of artifacts related to the
Temple of the Tooth
The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic or Sri Dalada Maligawa, ( si, ශ්රී දළදා මාළිගාව) is a Buddhist temple in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is located in the royal palace complex of the former Kingdom of Kandy, which ho ...
and
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
in Sri Lanka.
[ A sacred display](_blank)
Sunday Times, Retrieved on 28 November 1999. The '
Temple of the Tooth
The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic or Sri Dalada Maligawa, ( si, ශ්රී දළදා මාළිගාව) is a Buddhist temple in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is located in the royal palace complex of the former Kingdom of Kandy, which ho ...
Special Development Fund and Sri Dalada Maligawa Buddhist Welfare Fund was set up by him. Meanwhile, the Pallekale Sri Lanka International Buddhist Academy (Thai Sri Lanka International Buddhist Institution) with a modern conference hall that can accommodate up to 1000 guests was established by Neranjan Wijeyeratne while he was Diyawadana Nilame. During his tenure, he maintained close links with
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
,
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
,
Thai
Thai or THAI may refer to:
* Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia
** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand
** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand
*** Thai script
*** Thai (Unicode block ...
and
Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
religious dignitaries and played a major role in promoting Sri Lanka's
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
heritage.
Politics
After stepping down as Diyawadana Nilame following his second term, he went into active politics.
Family
He is married to Devika Mediwake Daughter of Dr Laxminath & Chintha Mediwake, and Grand Daughter of
William Gopallawa
William Gopallawa (, ; 17 September 1896 – 31 January 1981) was the last Governor-General of Ceylon from 1962 to 1972 and became the first and only non-executive and ceremonial President of Sri Lanka when Ceylon declared itself a republic i ...
(first President of Sri Lanka) and has two children, a daughter Mokshana (Environmental Specialist, The World Bank (Colombo office).
Mokshana Wijeyeratne,Environmental Specialist, The World Bank (Colombo office
World Bank Blogs. & a son, Navindra.
See also
*List of political families in Sri Lanka
This is a partial listing of prominent political families in Sri Lanka.
Abdul Majeed
* A. L. Abdul Majeed (15 November 1933 – 13 November 1987) also known as Mutur Majeed, former Deputy Minister of Information and Broadcasting and Member Par ...
References
;Sources
My two Decades at Sri Dalada Maligawa - A
My two Decades at Sri Dalada Maligawa - B
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wijeyeratne, Neranjan
1956 births
Alumni of Royal College, Colombo
Diyawadana Nilames
Living people
Politicians from Kandy
Sinhalese politicians
Sri Lankan Buddhists
United National Party politicians
Neranjan