Sumanadasa Abeywickrama (5 February 1928 – 27 February 2006) was 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� ...

. Abeywickrama was the son of Don Hendrick Abeywickrama, a

Vidane Arachchi Vidane Arachchi was an influential post (ranked above an Vidane but below a Muhandiram) in the native headmen system in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) during the colonial era. Appointed by the Government Agent, the holder had much control over the people of ...

Morawaka Morawaka ( si, මොරවක) is a small town in the Matara District, Southern Province of Sri Lanka, a centre of Ceylon tea plantations and rice paddies. Additionally, Morawaka is said to have gem resources. Located at an elevation of , 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 ...

and Angelina (née Jayawickreme Wijetunge). He married Enid Dias Nagahawatta, former principal of the School of Nursing, Galle. They had three children. Abeywickrama joined 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), ...

and was elected as a Member of Parliament for the

Akmeemana Electoral District Akmeemana electoral district was an electoral district of Sri Lanka between March 1960 and February 1989. The district was named after the town of Akmeemana in Galle District, Southern Province. The 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka introduced the ...

at the 8th Sri Lankan Parliamentary Election in 1977. He served as the Deputy Minister of Agriculture Development and Research in the

Jayewardene cabinet The Jayewardene cabinet was the central government of Sri Lanka led by Prime Minister (later President) J. R. Jayewardene between 1977 and 1989. It was formed in July 1977 after the parliamentary election and it ended in January 1989 when Jayewa ...

. Abeywickrama contributed immensely to the development of the

Galle District Galle ( si, ගාල්ල දිස්ත්‍රික්කය ''gālla distrikkaya''; ta, காலி மாவட்டம் ''Kāli māvattam'') is a district in Southern Province, Sri Lanka. It is one of 25 districts of Sri Lanka, th ...

, particularly in his electorate. Under the village reawakening concept, he succeeded in building the highest number of housing units for homeless people in the area. Large housing projects like Amalgama and Apegama are examples of his efforts. In addition to that Abeywickrama contributed towards development of several highways, irrigation and educational programmes, including the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital. He resigned from his seat in Parliament on 10 February 1983, along with 17 other members of the United National Party. He subsequently contested the parliamentary by-election for the seat but lost 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,

Richard Pathirana Richard Pathirana (24 February 1938 - 3 July 2008) was a Sri Lankan politician and educationist. He served as the minister for Education and Higher Education from 1994 to 2000 and as the minister for State Administration, Home Affairs and Admi ...

, by 2,778 votes (only securing 44% of the total vote). He was the cousin of

Keerthisena Abeywickrama Keerthisena Chandradasa Abeywickrama (20 December 1933 – 18 August 1987) was a Sri Lankan politician and a member of the parliament. Abeywickrama was the son of Padikara Muhandiram Don Pedris Francis Abeywickrama and Catharina Abeywickrama ...

, District Minister for Matara and Member of Parliament for

Deniyaya Deniyaya is a small town located towards the south of Sri Lanka. It is located in Matara District of the Southern Province. It is surrounded by the Sinharaja rainforest, and the climate is relatively cool. The main source of income is tea cultiv ...

. They both contested for the United National Party and won seats at the 8th Sri Lankan Parliamentary Election in 1977. He was also the cousin of

Keerthilatha Abeywickrama Keerthilatha Premawathie Abeywickrama was a Sri Lankan politician and a Member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka. Abeywickrama was the daughter of Padikara Muhandiram Don Pedris Francis Abeywickrama and Catharina Liyanage from Morawaka, Sri Lanka. ...

, Member of Parliament for Deniyaya (after the death of her brother, Keerthisena) and nephew of Padikara Muhandiram

Don Pedris Francis Abeywickrama Keerthisena Chandradasa Abeywickrama (20 December 1933 – 18 August 1987) was a Sri Lankan politician and a member of the parliament. Abeywickrama was the son of Padikara Muhandiram Don Pedris Francis Abeywickrama and Catharina Abeywickrama ...

. Abeywickrama died on 27 February 2006 and was buried on the family estate in Morawaka.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abeywickrama, Sumanadasa Members of the 8th Parliament of Sri Lanka Sinhalese politicians Sri Lankan Buddhists United National Party politicians Deputy ministers of Sri Lanka 1928 births 2006 deaths

See also

References