Prins Gunasekera (17 July 1924 – 29 December 2018) was a

Ceylonese Sri Lankan or Ceylonese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Sri Lanka * A person from Sri Lanka, see Demographics of Sri Lanka ** Sinhalese people, the ethnic majority ** Sri Lankan Tamils, an ethnic minority ** Sri L ...

politician, who represented the Habaraduwa electorate in the Galle district. Gunasekera was born on 17 July 1924 in Kataluwa, a village in

Habaraduwa Habaraduwa ( si, හබරදුව) is a small town in the Galle District, Southern Province, Sri Lanka. It is located on the southern coast, approximately south of Galle. See also * Habaraduwa railway station *List of towns in Southern Prov ...

. He was educated at the Kataluwa Government Boys School, Sri Sumangala Vidyalaya,

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 ...

and

Ananda College ''Appamādo Amathapadan'' (Buddhist quote from the Apramada Vagga in the Dhammapada) , motto_translation = Heedfulness, Punctuality leads to Nirvana , location = P De S Kularatne Mawatha , city = Colom ...

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 me ...

. He obtained a degree from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

, as an external student, before entering the

Ceylon Law College Sri Lanka Law College (abbreviated as SLLC), formerly known as Ceylon Law College, is a law college, and the only legal institution where one can enroll as a attorney-at-law in Sri Lanka. It was established in 1874, under the then Council of Legal ...

, becoming an

Attorney at Law Attorney at law or attorney-at-law, usually abbreviated in everyday speech to attorney, is the preferred term for a practising lawyer in certain jurisdictions, including South Africa (for certain lawyers), Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and the Unite ...

in 1955. Gunasekera worked as a journalist for the ''

Lankadeepa Lankadeepa ( si, ලංකාදීප) is a daily Sri Lankan Sinhala language newspaper which is owned by Wijeya Newspapers. They were established in 1991. The Chairman of the organisation is Ranjith Wijewardene, the son of D. R. Wijewardena. Th ...

'' newspaper, later becoming its chief sub-editor. In 1956 he was one of the founding members of the

Mahajana Eksath Peramuna The Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (People's United Front) is a political party in Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), for ...

(People's United Front) where he was elected as the co-secretary to the party and

Philip Gunawardena Don Philip Rupasinghe Gunawardena (11 January 1901 – 26 March 1972) was a Sri Lankan Marxist politician and leftist. A founder of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party, the first political party in Ceylon which was known for having introduced Trotskyi ...

's secretary. Gunawardena requested that he contest for the seat of

Horana Horana ( si, හොරණ, , ta, ஹொரணை) is a town in Kalutara District, in the Western Province of Sri Lanka. It is on the A8 highway between Panadura and Ratnapura, away from Ratnapura and away from Panadura. Horana is connected wi ...

, on behalf of the party at the 1956 parliamentary elections but he refused due to his work commitments. Gunasekera was elected to parliament, representing the

, as the member for the newly created seat of

, at the 4th parliamentary elections held on 19 March 1960. However, as neither of the major political parties managed to obtain a sufficient majority a new election was called. At the subsequent July 1960 elections Gunasekera suffered a heavy loss to the

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� ...

candidate, D. S. Goonesekera. At the parliamentary elections in 1965 he ran as an independent, successfully regaining the Habaraduwa electorate. At the

1970 Ceylonese parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Ceylon in 1970. Background SLFP leader Sirimavo Bandaranaike had come to the conclusion that her party's best hope of power was forming a permanent alliance with Ceylon's Marxist parties. She assembled the S ...

he was re-elected, however this time as the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) candidate. In 1971 he left the SLFP, following differences of opinion with

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 is not ...

Sirimavo Bandaranaike Sirima Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike ( si, සිරිමා රත්වත්තේ ඩයස් බණ්ඩාරනායක; ta, சிறிமா ரத்வத்தே டயஸ் பண்டாரநாயக்கே; 17 April 191 ...

, and continued as an independent member of parliament, although between 1972 and 1975 he worked with the United National Party members, who were in opposition.

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gunasekera, Prins 1924 births 2018 deaths Alumni of Ananda College Alumni of Ceylon Law College Independent politicians in Sri Lanka Mahajana Eksath Peramuna politicians Members of the 4th Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 6th Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 7th Parliament of Ceylon People from Galle District Sri Lankan journalists Sinhalese people Sri Lankan lawyers Sri Lanka Freedom Party politicians