Wilmot Abraham Perera (1905–1973) was a Sri Lankan statesman and philanthropist. He was declared a National Hero in 1993. A member of parliament, he was Ceylon's first Ambassador to China.The Work of Kings
H. L. Seneviratne, pp.60-64 (University of Chicago Press, 2000)

Early life and education

Born in

Panadura Panadura ( si, පානදුර, translit=Pānadura; ta, பாணந்துறை, translit=Pāṇantuṟai) is a city in Kalutara District, Western Province in Sri Lanka. It is located approximately south of Colombo and is surrounded on a ...

to M. Abraham Perera, a wealthy landowner, widely known as the "Rubber King". His maternal grandparents were Jeramias Dias and Celestina Dias, who founded

Visakha Vidyalaya Visakha Vidyalaya () is a girls' school in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is a National School managed by the central government providing primary and secondary education. History The school was established in 1917 by Celestina Dias as the Buddhist ...

. Perera was educated initially at St. John's College Panadura and later at the

Royal College, Colombo Royal College, Colombo is a selective entry boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started as a private school by Rev Joseph Marsh in 1835, it was established as the Colombo Academy by Sir Robert Wilmot-Horton in Janua ...

.Marxists Internet Archive Encyclopedia
2020-07-31

Social service and philanthropy

He became a Planter, taking over the management of his family plantations. He became active in his home area, establishing the first rural development society in Raigam Korale. He went on to establish

Sri Palee College Sri Palee College in Horana is one of the main mixed schools in Sri Lanka. The number of students are over 5,000. There are classes from grade 1 to 13. History Inspired by Guru Dev Rabindranath Tagore an Indian writer, artist and educationist, ...

in Horana, based on the

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

Shantiniketan Santiniketan is a neighbourhood of Bolpur town in the Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in West Bengal, India, approximately 152 km north of Kolkata. It was established by Maharshi Devendranath Tagore, and later expanded by his son ...

in 1934. FORGOTTEN HEROES BEHIND THE TRUE STORY OF FREE EDUCATION AND MISSED OPPORTUNITIES IN SRI LANKA
Prabath de Silva, Daily Mirror, 21-07-2020 The foundation stone was laid by Tagore on 20 May 1934 on his last visit to Ceylon. The ''Sri Palee Trust'' was established by him to manage the lands gifted by him. After his death, part of this property comprising many buildings was donated to the

University of Ceylon The University of Ceylon was the only university in Sri Lanka (earlier Ceylon) from 1942 until 1972. It had several constituent campuses at various locations around Sri Lanka. The University of Ceylon Act No. 1 of 1972, replaced it with the Univer ...

by his family, in his memory in 1976. This later became the

Sri Palee Campus The Sri Palee Campus of the University of Colombo is located in Wewala, Horana, Sri Lanka. Established in 1996 it conducts undergraduate and postgraduate courses in the fields of performing arts and mass media. History The Sri Palee Campus ...

of the

University of Colombo (Buddhih Sarvatra Bhrajate) , mottoeng = ''Wisdom Enlightens'' , established = , endowment = Sri Lankan rupee, LKR 1.461 1,000,000,000 (number), billion

. After his death, his ancestral home in Panadura was handed over to the Sri Sumangala Girls' School.

Political career

The

Suriya-Mal Movement The Suriya-Mal Movement was formed in the British colony of Ceylon to sell ''Suriya'' flowers on Poppy Day for the benefit of Sri Lankan ex-servicemen. The movement became anti-imperialist in character, and was also involved in relief work during ...

was inaugurated at his residence in 1933. In 1935 he became a founding member of the

Lanka Sama Samaja Party The Lanka Sama Samaja Party, often abbreviated as LSSP (Literal translation, literally: Lanka Socialist Party, Sinhalese language, Sinhala: ලංකා සම සමාජ පක්ෂය, Tamil language, Tamil: லங்கா சமசமா� ...

, becoming active politics and the

Sri Lankan independence movement The Sri Lankan independence movement was a peaceful political movement which was aimed at achieving independence and self-rule for the country of Sri Lanka, then British Ceylon, from the British Empire. The switch of powers was generally kno ...

. He contested the 1947 general election from the Matugama electorate as an Independent Socialist, defeating the "father of free education"

C.W.W. Kannangara Dr. Cristopher William Wijekoon Kannangara ( Sinhala ආචාර්ය ක්‍රිස්ටෝෆර් විලියම් විජේකෝන් කන්නන්ගර; 18 October 1894 – 23 September 1969) was a Sri Lankan Lawye ...

and was elected to the first Parliament of Ceylon. He was re-elected in the 1952 general election from the

Viplavakari Lanka Sama Samaja Party Viplavakari Lanka Sama Samaja Party (Revolutionary Ceylon Equal Society Party, Sinhala; විප්ලවකාරි ලංකා සමසමජ පක්ෂය) was a political group in Ceylon, that broke away from the Trotskyist Lanka Sama S ...

, defeating D. D. Athulathmudali. He was a member of the

for a short while. He was appointed as the first Ceylonese Ambassador to China in 1957 when Ceylon established diplomatic ties with the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and served till 1960, when he was succeeded by

William Gopallawa William Gopallawa (, ; 17 September 1896 – 31 January 1981) was the last Governor-General of Ceylon from 1962 to 1972 and became the first and only non-executive and ceremonial President of Sri Lanka when Ceylon declared itself a republic i ...

. In 1961 he was appointed to head the first Salaries and Cadres Commission (known thereafter as the Wilmot A. Perera Commission).Administrative Reform in Developing Nations
Ali Farazmand, p.84 (Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2002) He also served as the Chairman of the Commission for Higher Education.

Family

He was married to Esme Perera Abeywardena, a grand daughter of the late Sir

Charles Henry de Soysa Charles Henry de Soysa Dharmagunawardana Vipula Jayasuriya Karunaratna Disanayaka popularly known as Charles Henry de Soysa, Justice of the peace#Sri Lanka, JP (3 March 1836 – 29 September 1890) was a Demographics of Sri Lanka, Ceylonese entrepr ...

, Sri Lanka's foremost Philanthropist. They had two children, a daughter Enoka and son Ajit.

Gallery

File:Wilmot A Perera & Rabindranath Tagore.jpg, Wilmot A Perera greeting Rabindranath Tagore when he arrived to lay the foundation stone to Sri Palee, on 20 May 1934. File:Wilmot A. Perera with Hon. S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike PM & Sir Swarvapali Radhakrishan, Pres of India during visit to Sri Palee.jpg, Wilmot A. Perera with Hon. S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike PM & Sir Swarvapali Radhakrishan, Pres. of India during a visit to Sri Palee File:Wilmot_with_Chairman_Mao.jpg, Wilmot A. Perera presenting his credentials to chairman Mao as Ceylon's 1st Ambassador File:Wilmot A Perera Statue.jpg, Wilmot A Perera Statue, Sri Palee Campus

References

External links

Problems of Rural Ceylon (1932)Sri Lanka China trade relationshipTHE LANKA SAMASAMAJA PARTY (LSSP) 1935 ? 2007Wilmot A. PereraVisionary educationist
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perera, Wilmot A. Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Ambassadors of Sri Lanka to China Members of the 1st Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 2nd Parliament of Ceylon Lanka Sama Samaja Party politicians National Heroes of Sri Lanka 1905 births 1973 deaths Sinhalese politicians Sri Lankan planters People from Panadura