Petikirige Dayaratna (born October 1, 1936) is a
Sri Lankan politician and a member of the
Parliament of Sri Lanka
The Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (Sinhala: ශ්රී ලංකා පාර්ලිමේන්තුව ''Shri Lanka Parlimenthuwa'', Tamil: இலங்கை நாடாளுமன்றம் ''Ila ...
. He was elected to
Ampara electorate in 1977 as 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 o ...
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), ...
.
Biography
Petikirige Dayaratna was born on October 1, 1936. His parents were Petikirige Wimalasena and Dehipitiyage Leelawathie Gunawardene of Wethera village, Polgasowita. Born in the maternal ancestral home in the hamlet of Godigamuwa in
Kalutara District, he received his basic education in the school of his home town, Wethara, and in 1947 entered
Ananda College,
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 ...
, to complete his secondary education. In 1961, he gained admission to
Brighton Technical College,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, where he graduated as an electrical engineer in 1965 and returned home on April 23, 1965. On May 17, 1965, he joined state service as an Assistant Electrical Engineer of Gal Oya Development Board stationed at
Ampara.
In 1965 he was appointed the electrical engineer of the Department of Government Electrical Undertakings, which, during his tenure of office, became the
Ceylon Electricity Board
The Ceylon Electricity Board - CEB ( si, ලංකා විදුලිබල මණ්ඩලය - ලංවිම, Lankā Vidulibala Mandalaya - Lanwima; ta, இலங்கை மின்சார சபை - இமிச), is the largest el ...
(CEB).
At the
1970 General Election, Ampara was the citadel of leftist forces, and Dayaratna, who resigned from government service and contested the
Ampara seat, lost to his rival, Somaratne Senarath, a staunch leftist from
Ampara.
While serving as the electrical engineer of CEB in August 1967, Dayaratna was elected as the President of the Mandala Mahaviharaya Buddhist Society of Ampara Town and under the guidance of Ven. Dodamduwe Dhammaratana Nayaka Thera, completed the construction work of the Cetiya within two years.
Dayaratna married Deepthika Dayaratna on June 2, 1971. The couple have three children.
With the blessings of then UNP Leader
J. R. Jayewardene
Junius Richard Jayewardene ( si, ජුනියස් රිචඩ් ජයවර්ධන, ta, ஜூனியஸ் ரிச்சட் ஜயவர்தனா; 17 September 1906 – 1 November 1996), commonly abbreviated in Sri Lanka as ...
, he contested the Ampara seat at the
1977 General Election and won with a majority of 8,000 votes recording the first-ever victory for the UNP in Ampara electorate.
In October 1978 he became the District Minister for Ampara, in 1981 he was appointed Deputy Minister of Power and Energy and became Minister in 1987. In February 1989 he was given the portfolio of Lands, Irrigation and Mahaweli Development and in April 1991 he was made the Minister of Rehabilitation, Reconstruction and Social Welfare.
Although the UNP lost power at the
General Election in 1994, Dayaratna was re-elected as a UNP member for
Ampara District
Ampara District ( ta, அம்பாறை மாவட்டம், translit=Ampāṟai Māvaṭṭam; si, අම්පාර දිස්ත්රික්කය, translit=Ampāra Distrikkaya) is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the se ...
. He was re-elected at the subsequent elections held in 2000, 2001, 2004 and 2010. He was the Minister of Health, Nutrition and Welfare of under the UNF Government. In 2007 he joined the
UPFA
The United People's Freedom Alliance (abbreviated UPFA; si, එක්සත් ජනතා නිදහස් සන්ධානය ''Eksath Janathā Nidahas Sandānaya''; ta, ஐக்கிய மக்கள் சுதந்திரக ...
with 17 others to support
Mahinda Rajapaksa, but joined the
UNP in 2015.
See also
*
Cabinet of Sri Lanka
In Sri Lanka, the Cabinet of Ministers is the council of ministers that form the central government of Sri Lanka. The body of senior ministers responsible and answerable to the Parliament of Sri Lanka. The President is a member of the cabine ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dayaratna, P.
1936 births
Living people
Members of the 8th Parliament of Sri Lanka
Members of the 9th Parliament of Sri Lanka
Members of the 10th Parliament of Sri Lanka
Members of the 11th Parliament of Sri Lanka
Members of the 12th Parliament of Sri Lanka
Members of the 13th Parliament of Sri Lanka
Members of the 14th Parliament of Sri Lanka
Government ministers of Sri Lanka
United National Party politicians
United People's Freedom Alliance politicians
Sinhalese engineers
District ministers of Sri Lanka
Social affairs ministers of Sri Lanka