Edmund Walter Perera Seneviratne Jayawardena, QC (6 March 1910 - 19??) was a Sri Lankan lawyer and diplomat. He was the 24th

Solicitor General of Ceylon The Solicitor General of Sri Lanka is a post subordinate to the Attorney General of Sri Lanka. The Solicitor General of Sri Lanka assists the Attorney General, and is assisted by four Additional Solicitors General. Note that the post was Solicit ...

and Sri Lankan Ambassador to the Soviet Union. Having graduated with a BA 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 ...

, Jayawardena 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 ...

in 1941 as an

Barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

from the

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

. Returning to Ceylon, he started his legal practice in the unofficial bar, yet served as an acting/additional

crown counsel Crown counsel are lawyers, generally in Common Law jurisdictions, who provide advice to the government and acts as prosecutors in cases. In various jurisdictions their title can vary and they could also be known as the Queen's Advocate, King's Advo ...

at times between 1942 and 1944. In January 1947, he was he was appointed crown counsel in the Attorney General's Department. From October 1947 to August 1950 he served in the Ceylon's High Commission to the United Kingdom first as Secretary to the Ceylon Government Representatives in London,

Third Secretary Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seating ...

and acting

Second Secretary Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seating ...

. On his return he returned to service as a crown counsel. In 1953 he was promoted to senior crown counsel. In 1967 he was appointed

, succeeding

Victor Tennekoon Deshamanya Justice Victor Tennekoon QC (9 September 1914 – April 1990) was a Sri Lankan lawyer and jurist. He served as the 35th Chief Justice of Sri Lanka, as well as the 33rd Attorney General and 23rd Solicitor General. From 1979 to 1984 ...

, and held the office until 1968. He was succeeded by L. B. T. Premaratne. He returned to unofficial bar and served as Sri Lankan Ambassador to the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia from 1977 to 1978. He was married to Marie Muller, daughter of Dr. W.M. Muller, they had one son David Jayawardena.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jayawardena, Walter 1914 births Year of death missing Ambassadors of Sri Lanka to the Soviet Union J Ceylonese Queen's Counsel Sinhalese people Sri Lankan lawyers Sri Lankan barristers Sri Lankan diplomats Alumni of the University of London Members of Lincoln's Inn