Deshamanya Deshamanya ( si, දේශමාන්‍ය, translit=Dēshamāṉya; ta, தேசமான்ய, translit=Tēcamāṉya; Pride of the Nation) is the second-highest national honour of Sri Lanka awarded by the Government of Sri Lanka as a ...

James Peter Obeyesekere III (14 July 1915 – 23 October 2007) was 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 ...

n politician and aviator. A

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, he was also a Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and Finance.Obeyesekere family, Sri Lankan Sinhalese Family Genealogy
/ref>

Early life and education

Born to Sir

James Peter Obeyesekere II Sir James Peter Obeyesekere II, Maha Mudaliyar, JP (1879–1968) was a Ceylonese colonial-era headmen. He was the last Head Mudaliyar and served as aide-de-camp to the British Governor of Ceylon and Governor General of Ceylon. Born to ...

, a barrister who was an advocate of the colonial era Supreme Court of Ceylon and served as the last

Maha Mudaliyar The Maha Mudaliyar ( ''Head Mudaliyar'' or මහ මුදලි) was a colonial title and office in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). Head Mudaliyar functioned as the head of the low country native headmen and native aide-de-camp to the Governor of Ceyl ...

(the chief native interpreter and adviser to the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Governor of Ceylon {{Use dmy dates, date=November 2019 The Governor of Ceylon can refer to historical vice-regal representatives of three colonialism, colonial powers: Portuguese Ceylon * List of Captains of Portuguese Ceylon (1518–1551) * List of Captain-majors of ...

). His grandfather was Sir James Peter Obeyesekere I. Royal College Colombo main building

Educated 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 ...

, Obeyesekere went on to study at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

gaining a MA. There he was a member of the

Cambridge Union Society The Cambridge Union Society, also known as the Cambridge Union, is a debating and free speech society in Cambridge, England, and the largest society in the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1815, it is the oldest continuously running debatin ...

and of the Debating Team of Trinity College. An accomplished sportsman, he was awarded a half blue in athletics at Cambridge, later becoming a certified athletics coach and excellent horseman and equestrian. He went on to become a

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 ...

Aviation

With the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he joined the

Cambridge University Air Squadron Cambridge University Air Squadron, abbreviated CUAS, formed in 1925, is the training unit of the Royal Air Force at the University of Cambridge and forms part of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. It is the oldest of 15 University Air Squadro ...

becoming a qualified pilot, he was invited to join the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

as a pilot, however he turned down the offer and instead joined the

Royal Observer Corps The Royal Observer Corps (ROC) was a civil defence organisation intended for the visual detection, identification, tracking and reporting of aircraft over Great Britain. It operated in the United Kingdom between 29 October 1925 and 31 December ...

. In November 1946, he flew his single-engined

Auster Autocrat The Auster J/1 Autocrat was a 1940s British single-engined three-seat high-wing touring monoplane built by Auster Aircraft Limited at Rearsby, Leicestershire. History As the end of the Second World War approached, the designers at Taylorcraft d ...

home to Ceylon from England, becoming the first Ceylonese to make such a flight. Throughout the epic journey, Obeyesekere was accompanied by Sqdn. Ldr. Roderick A.F. Farquharson in an identical Auster. Farquharson's not insignificant role in that epic flight was described in contemporary newspaper reports and early articles by Obeyesekere himself. His aviation interests were also strong as he was the Chairman of the Colombo Flying Club until its takeover by the government. He gave his Auster to the Ceylon Air Academy for civilian pilot training. The aircraft was destroyed in a fatal accident on March 11, 1971, but nearly 40 years later it was rebuilt for static display at the Sri Lanka Air Force Museum, Ratmalana in memory of his flight from England to Ceylon.

Racing

A racing enthusiast he competed in many racing events in Sri Lanka, India and England. He won the Grand Prix de Lanka. He was the vice patron of the Classic Car Club of Ceylon and was the only Asian to be elected an Honorary Life Member of the prestigious Bentley Drivers’ Club. He was also members of the

British Automobile Racing Club The British Automobile Racing Club (BARC) is one of the biggest organising clubs for auto racing in the United Kingdom. History The Cyclecar Club was formed in 1912, running races for the small and light motorbike powered vehicles at Brooklands ...

and of the Cambridge University Automobile Club. Obeyesekere was very active in the scout movement and was a former president of the Sri Lanka Scout Association.

Political career

James Obeyesekere and his wife Siva, supported their kinsmen, S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike when he left 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 formed 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� ...

in 1951, becoming founding members. He contested the parliamentary seat of

Mirigama Mirigama (also spelled Meerigama) ( si, මීරිගම; ta, மீரிகம) is a town in Gampaha District, Sri Lanka. It is located from Colombo, and from Negombo. Mirigama is the hometown of Sri Lanka's first Prime Minister, D. S. Sen ...

in the 1952 general election, but lost. After S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike was assassinated in 1959, he contested from his constituency the Attanagalla electorate in the 1960 July general election and entering parliament. S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike's widow,

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

who became prime minister appointed Obeyesekere as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and thereafter Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance. He did not contest the 1965 general election, stepping down in-favor of Sirimavo Bandaranaike to take over her late husband's constituency, in return Obeyesekere was appointed a

serving until the Senate was abolished in 1971. His wife entered politics in 1965 contesting from the Mirigama electorate, which was her home town. He contested the 1977 general election from

and was defeated by Mahendra Wijeratne. In 2006, he was conferred the national honour of

by President

Mahinda Rajapakse Mahinda Rajapaksa ( si, මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ, ta, மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to ...

Family

He married Sivagami Dassanaike, they had two children, James Peter IV and Chantal.

Bibliography

References

External links

Deshamanya J.P. Obeyesekere
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obeyesekere, J P Health ministers of Sri Lanka Sri Lankan aviators Sri Lankan Buddhists Members of the Senate of Ceylon Members of the 4th Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 5th Parliament of Ceylon Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Alumni of Royal College, Colombo People of the Royal Observer Corps 1915 births 2007 deaths Sri Lanka Freedom Party politicians Ceylonese military personnel of World War II Deshamanya Sinhalese politicians