Siripala Samarakkody (1907 – 22 August 1944) was a Ceylonese lawyer and politician.

Early life and education

Samarakkody was born in 1907, the eldest of seven children to Charles Peter Augustus de Fonseka Tillekeratne Samarakkody and Anne Catharine née Tillekeratne, his brothers include

Edmund Edmund is a masculine given name or surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings and ...

(MP for Dehiowita 1952–1960, Bulathsinhala 1960-65) and

Stephen Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...

(MP for

Polgahawela Polgahawela is a town located in north western Sri Lanka. It is most notable for being a major railway junction. Polgahawela is situated in the North Western Province of Sri Lanka, and is located approximately north-east from the capital city ...

1960–1965). He received his early education at St. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia, before travelling to England and studying law at

London University 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- ...

. He was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

from the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

. Upon his return to Ceylon he entered politics, successfully contested a seat on the Dehiwela-Mount Lavinia Urban Council.

Political career

In 1936 Samarakkody was elected a member of the

2nd State Council of Ceylon The 2nd State Council of Ceylon was a meeting of the State Council of Ceylon, with the membership determined by the results of the 1936 state council election held between 22 February and 7 March 1936. The parliament met for the first time on 1 ...

, for the seat of

Narammala Narammala(නාරම්මල) is a town in Kurunegala district, northwestern province, Sri Lanka. It is connected to Sri Lankan transport network by Kurunegala-Colombo 5 road and Kurunegala-Negombo 34 road. Narammala is 74 km (45.98 Mil ...

, defeating his nearest opponent by over 10,000 votes. He was one of the original members of

Sinhala Maha Sabha The Sinhala Maha Sabha ( si, සිංහල මහා සභා) was a political party in Ceylon, founded by Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike in 1934–5, in order to promote Sinhalese Buddhist culture and community interests. It back ...

before joining the

Ceylon National Congress The Ceylon National Congress ( Sinhala: ලංකා ජාතික කොන්ග්‍රසය ''Lanka Jathika Kongrasaya'') (CNC) was a Nationalist political party which was formed in Ceylon on 11 December 1919. It was founded after national ...

a few years later, where he served as the Congress' president. Samarakkody served on the Executive Committee of Local Administration, during which he acted as Minister for a short period. In May 1937 he moved the motion of protest against

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 ...

Reginald Stubbs Sir Reginald Edward Stubbs (; 13 October 1876 – 7 December 1947) was a British colonial governor, who was once the Governor of Hong Kong. He caused controversy while Governor of Ceylon over the Bracegirdle Incident. Early life and educati ...

' deportation order for Mark Bracegirdle, without the advice of the acting Home Minister, which was passed by the State Council 34 votes to 7.

Family

Samarakkody married Phyllis Nedra (Girlie) née Senanayake, the oldest daughter of Fredrick Richard Senanayake (1882–1926). They had three daughters, Malini, Rukmani and Surangani.

Death

He died of

Typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

on 22 August 1944, at the age of 37 years, whilst still a member of the State Council. His brother-in-law,

Richard Gotabhaya Senanayake Richard Gotabhaya Senanayake (4 November 1911 – 22 December 1970; popularly known as R.G. Senanayake) was a Sri Lankan politician. He was Minister of Trade and Commerce during the period 1952-56 and 1956-60. He was elected a Member of Parliame ...

, the cousin of

Dudley Senanayake Dudley Shelton Senanayake ( Sinhala: ඩඩ්ලි ශෙල්ටන් සේනානායක: ta, டட்லி சேனநாயக்கா; 19 June 1911 – 13 April 1973), was a Sri Lankan statesman who served as Prime Mi ...

was elected in his place at the subsequent by-election. Ferncliff Road, Mt Lavinia was re-named Siripala Road in his memory.

References

{{Members of the 2nd State Council of Ceylon 1907 births 1944 deaths Members of the 2nd State Council of Ceylon Senanayake family Sinhalese politicians Sinhalese lawyers Sri Lankan barristers Deaths from typhoid fever