W. J. M. Lokubandara

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Hon.

W. J. M. Lokubandara
වි. ජ. මු. ලොකුබණ්ඩාර
விஜேசிங்க லோகுபண்டார
WJM Lokubandara.jpg
Governor of Sabaragamuwa Province
In office
21 April 2010 – 21 February 2015
PresidentMahinda Rajapaksa
Preceded byJanaka Priyantha Bandara
18th Speaker of the Parliament
In office
22 April 2004 – 8 April 2010
PresidentChandrika Kumaratunga
Prime MinisterRatnasiri Wickremanayake
Mahinda Rajapaksa
Preceded byJoseph Michael Perera
Succeeded byChamal Rajapaksa
Personal details
Born
Wijesinghe Jayaweera Mudiyanselage Lokubandara

(1941-08-05)August 5, 1941
Haputale, Sri Lanka
DiedFebruary 14, 2021(2021-02-14) (aged 79)
, Sri Lanka
NationalitySri Lankan
Political partyUnited National Party
Spouse(s)Malathi Lokubandara
ChildrenRashmin Lokubandara
Udith Lokubandara
Damith Lokubandara
ResidenceNugegoda
Alma mater
Bandarawela Central College
University of Peradeniya

Wijesinghe Jayaweera Mudiyanselage Lokubandara (5 August 1941 – 14 February 2021: Sinhala: විජෙසිංහ ජයවීර මුදියන්සේලාගේ ලොකුබණ්ඩාර), was a Sri Lankan politician who was Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka from 2004 to 2010 and Governor of Sabaragamuwa Province from 2010 to 2015. He was a lawyer by profession, and wrote books, poems, and songs. He held several ministries in the government of Sri Lanka before his appointment as Speaker of the House.[1]

Life and family[]

Lokubandara was born on 5 August 1941[2] in Haputhalegama village, Haputale, Badulla, Sri Lanka.[3] He was educated at Yahala-Bedda School, and later at Bandarawela Central College.[4] He was an Arts Graduate of the University of Peradeniya,[5] and later sat for the External Degree Examination at the University of London where he also received an honorary degree. He then went to law school to study law. Lokubandara was a lawyer by profession and worked as an assistant legal draftsman.[6]

Lokubandara was born to a family with seven children. His parents were Loku Manike and Gunesekara Bandara. He married Malathi, a music teacher, on 1 February 1979. They have three sons; Rashmin, Udith and Damith.[3] Udith Lokubandara was offered the post of District Organizer for Badulla District by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, while the post of Organizer for Haputale electorate was offered by the United National Party.[7]

Lokubandara died on 14 February 2021 at the age of 79 while being treated for COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka at the Infectious Disease Hospital in Angoda becoming the first high profile Sri Lankan politician to succumb to COVID-19.[8]

Political career[]

He entered politics from the United National Party under the guidance of Lalith Athulathmudali, a lecturer at the Law College. Lokubandara first entered parliament in 1977 representing the United National Party (UNP), defeating Dissanayake former Cabinet Minister of Health's son-in-law W. P. G. Ariyadasa who did not contest the 1977 general election. He was a backbencher in the J. R. Jayewardene government for 10 years. He was initially appointed to the non-cabinet post of Minister of Indigenous Medicine. In 1989, Lokubandara was appointed a Cabinet Minister when he was given the Ministries of Cultural Affairs, Education and Media by President Ranasinghe Premadasa.[6] As the Minister of Indigenous Medicine, he was instrumental in introducing green porridge ("Kola Keda") and herbal tea to the society as well as in parliament. According to his concept, Lokubandara was the first to draw arts on the school walls. During his tenure as the Minister, he carried out research on traditional indigenous medicine and Ayurveda and also printed palm leaf books on Indigenous medicine in Sinhala.[9]

He also appointed a committee of astrologers to compile the Sinhala New Year auspicious calendar and to make the Sinhala New Year anointing ceremony as a state sponsored event. During his tenure as the Minister of Education, he also conducted seminars and workshops for scholars to educate students and teachers on the correct writing of the Sinhala language. He also declared 2 March as Sinhala Language Day and special programs were launched on that day.[9] With the defeat of the UNP in the general elections of 1994, Lokubandara became the Chief Opposition Whip of the parliament. He held this position until 2001.[4] A UNP government was formed in 2001, and Lokubandara was appointed the Cabinet Minister of Justice, Law Reforms, National Integration and Buddha Sasana.[6] Then he took steps to publish the law reports which was written in English to Sinhala language.[9]

Speakership[]

Lokubandara was elected as the Speaker of Parliament on 4 April 2004,[10] after a controversial secret ballot lasting nine hours. Lokubandara was the candidate of the main opposition group and received 110 votes, while the candidate from the governing party D. E. W. Gunasekera received 109 votes.[10] His election as 16th Speaker of Parliament was announced at 7.15 pm. After assuming office, he urged the members of the parliament to safeguard democracy and "move away from confrontational politics marching beyond petty party politics".[4]

Literary work[]

He was a member of the Hela Havula Sinhalese literary organisation founded by Munidasa Cumaratunga. Several books have been authored by Lokubandara, including some on Sigiriya. He was also a poet and a songwriter. His works include:[11] During his tenure as the Minister of Culture, he directed the reprinting of Sinhala literary works including: Subhashithaya, Lokopakaraya, Amawathura, Wadan Kavi and Sakaskadaya. Then he published Dr. Senarath Paranavithana's book on 'Sigiriya Gee' in English at the Oxford Press. Meanwhile, he published a series of books on the great leaders who emerged in Sri Lanka. He was very fond of the Sinhala language where Lokubandara socialized words such as herbal tea and kola keda which are commonly used in conversations. He also had a knowledge of Pali and Sanskrit terms. For a while, a radio program called Rasa Deepani was presented in a very interesting way.[1] He has also published a book on Sigiriya in English titled The Mystique of Sigiriya.[9]

  • The Mystique of Sigiriya[12]
  • Sigiri Gee Siri[13]
  • Rasadipani
  • Sastriya Vadalipi
  • Chanda Dayakaya Wetatai
  • Garu Kathanayakatumani: Mati Sabaye Kala Kata

See also[]

  • List of political families in Sri Lanka
  • Hela Havula

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "Scholar lost due to Covid". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  2. ^ "Wijesinghe Jayaweera Mudiyanselage Lokubandara". The Parliament of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 21 June 2009.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b "There [sic] lives are lost in 'simplicity'". The Sunday Observer. 25 May 2008. Retrieved 21 June 2009.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c Rajaratnam, T.C. (14 December 2008). "The role of the Speaker of Parliament". The Sunday Observer. Retrieved 21 June 2009.
  5. ^ The Role of the Speaker of Parliament: W. J. M.Lokubandara – Lawyer, Poet, Song Writer, Author, Humanist & Philosopher
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b c Jeyaraj, D. B. S. (25 April 2004). "The 16th Speaker of independent Sri Lanka". The Sunday Leader. Retrieved 21 June 2009.
  7. ^ "Speaker's son weighing SLFP, UNP offers". The Sunday Times. 31 May 2009. Retrieved 21 June 2009.
  8. ^ "Former Speaker W. J. M. Lokubandara passes away". The Morning. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "WJM shakes country for 9 hours". Silumina. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b "Speakers". The Parliament of Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 25 July 2009. Retrieved 21 June 2009.
  11. ^ "Books by author Vi Ja Mu Lokubandara". AllBookStores.com. Retrieved 21 June 2009.
  12. ^ "The Mystique of Sigiriya: Whispers of the Mirror Wall". Sunday Observer. 10 February 2008. Retrieved 21 June 2009.
  13. ^ Meegaskumbura, P. B. "The Sigiriya Poetry and the Aesthetics of the Popular Poetic Tradition". The Island. Retrieved 21 June 2009.
Political offices
Preceded by
Janaka Bandara
(as Acting Governor) 		Governor of Sabaragamuwa
2010–2015 		Succeeded by
Marshal Perera
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