Raja Hewavitarne
Rajasinghe Hewavitarne CBE JP (1 November 1898 – 1959) was a Ceylonese businessman and politician.[1]
Rajasinghe Hewavitarne was born on 1 November 1898 in Colombo, the eldest son of Edmund Hewavitarne and Sujatha née Peiris, and the grandson of Don Carolis Hewavitharana.[2]
During the 1915 riots, when Hewavitarne was seventeen his father was arrested and court martialed for treason. His father died five months later in .
Hewavitarne was educated at Dulwich College, London and Coventry Technical College,[3] which included training at the Humber motor vehicle plant in Coventry. He returned to Ceylon and took a position as a partner and engineer at the family company, H. Don Carolis and Sons.[4]
On 30 October 1931 he married Rajakurna, with whom he had two children.[3]
At the State Council elections in 1936 Hewavitarne contested the seat of Matara. On 27 February 1936 he was elected as a Member of the 2nd State Council of Ceylon,[5] where he served on the Executive Committee for Labour, Industry and Commerce.[6] His younger brother, Neil, was also elected to the State Council, representing Udugama.[7]
In the 1949 New Year Honours Hewavitarne was awarded the Order of the British Empire[8] and in the 1952 Queens Birthday Honours was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (Civil Division).[9]
In 1956 he was appointed as Ceylon's Envoy to Burma (Myanmar).[10]
References[]
- ^ "Hon. Hewavitarane, Rajah, M.P." Parliament of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
- ^ "A life of loving and giving - The 80th Death Anniversary of Mallika Hewavitarne". The Sunday Times. 24 July 2016. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
- ^ a b World Biography. 5. Institute for Research in Biography. 1954. p. 521.
- ^ MacMillan, Allister, ed. (2005). Extract from Seaports of India and Ceylon. Asian Educational Services. p. 473. ISBN 9788120619951.
- ^ Jātika Rājya Sabhāva. Pustakālaya (1972). Members of the Legislatures of Ceylon: 1931-1972. National State Assembly Library. p. 64.
- ^ Ferguson's Ceylon Directory. The Ceylon Observer Press. 1946. p. 44.
- ^ Jātika Rājya Sabhāva. Pustakālaya (1972). Members of the Legislatures of Ceylon: 1931-1972. National State Assembly Library. p. 63.
- ^ Ceylon: "No. 38496". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1948. pp. 39–40.
- ^ "No. 39558". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 May 1952. pp. 3053–3054.
- ^ "Ceylon Today". 5. Ceylon Government Information Department. 1956: 247. Cite journal requires
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- 1898 births
- 1959 deaths
- People educated at Dulwich College
- Members of the 2nd State Council of Ceylon
- People of British Ceylon
- Sinhalese businesspeople
- Sinhalese politicians
- Ambassadors of Sri Lanka to Myanmar
- Sri Lankan politician stubs