Christophel Panini Illangakoon ( si, ක්රිස්ටෝෆෙල් පනිනි ඉල්ලන්ගකූන්) (10 November 1919 – 10 February 1989) 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 was 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 of ...
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 and a first cousin of
S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike
Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike ( si, සොලොමන් වෙස්ට් රිජ්වේ ඩයස් බණ්ඩාරනායක; ta, சாலமன் வெஸ்ட் ரிட்ஜ்வே டயஸ் ப ...
, former
Prime Minister of Ceylon
The Prime Minister of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is the head and most senior member of parliament in the cabinet of ministers. It is the second-most powerful position in Sri Lanka's executive branch behind the president, wh ...
.
Early life and education
Ilangakoon was born on 26 November 1919 at Weligama to
Gate Mudaliyar
Mudali (or Mudaliyar) was a colonial title and office in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) which was part of the native headman system. The Portuguese colonials created the Mudaliyar class in the 17th century by enlisting natives of different castes from ...
Simon William Ilangakoon and Liliyan Augusta Obeysekera, daughter of
Sir Solomon Christoffel Obeyesekere, a member of the
Legislative Council of Ceylon
The Legislative Council of Ceylon was the legislative body of British Ceylon, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1833, along with the Executive Council of Ceylon, on the recommendations of the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission. It was the first f ...
.
[
He received his primary and secondary education at ]S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia
, motto_translation = Be Thou Forever
, song = Thomian Song
, athletics = Yes
, sports = Yes
, nickname = Thora
, denomination = Anglican
, patron ...
and completed his studies in agriculture in Bangalore and in the United Kingdom.[
]
Political career
Ilangakoon entered politics in 1947 being elected member of the Weligama Urban Council.[ He became a member of the newly formed ]Sri Lanka Freedom Party
The Sri Lanka Freedom Party ( si, ශ්රී ලංකා නිදහස් පක්ෂය, translit=Śrī Laṁkā Nidahas Pakṣaya; ta, இலங்கை சுதந்திரக் கட்சி, translit=Ilaṅkai Cutantirak Ka ...
in 1952 and contested the 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 ...
seat unsuccessfully, losing to Montague Jayawickrama
Major Deshamanya Walter Geoffrey Montague "Monti" Jayawickrama (January 15, 1911 – November 16, 2001) was a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the Minister of Communications and Works (Ceylon), Minister of Transport and Public Works (1952- ...
. In 1956, he elected in the general election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
defeating Jayawickrama. He was defeated by Jayawickrama in 1960, but was able to defeat Jayawickrama and was elected in 1970
Events
January
* January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC.
* January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...
, to be defeated again in 1977 by Jayawickrama.
Family
Ilangakoon was married twice, firstly to Effie née Samarakkody with whom he had a son, Panini (Jr); then to Lilly née Goonasekere with whom he had Gamini.
His first wife Effie remarried Robert Edward Jayatilaka
Robert Edward Jayatilaka (16 August 1911 - ??) was a Ceylonese politician.
Education and teaching career
Robert Edward, also known as "Eric", Jayatilaka, attended Richmond College, Galle and once qualified as a teacher, he taught for a number ...
and was later elected as the Chairman of the Nawalapitiya Urban Council. She was the first woman in the country to head an Urban Council
Ilangakoon died on 10 February 1989, aged 69
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 ...
*Bandaranaike family
The Bandaranaike family
is a Sri Lankan Sinhalisation of Kerala Tamil family origin that is prominent in family politics. Along with many members who have been successful politician across generations, the family includes three Prime Ministers an ...
References
External links
Illangakone Family
Commemorating Panini Illangakoon
Ilangakoon, Christoffel Panini
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ilangakoon, Panini
1919 births
1989 deaths
Alumni of S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia
Bandaranaike family
Members of the 3rd Parliament of Ceylon
Members of the 7th Parliament of Ceylon
People from Southern Province, Sri Lanka
People of British Ceylon
Sinhalese politicians
Sri Lanka Freedom Party politicians