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Sir Lalitha Rajapakse | |
|---|---|
| High Commissioner for Ceylon to the United Kingdom | |
| In office February 1967 – October 1969 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Prime Minister | Dudley Senanayake |
| Preceded by | Gunapala Piyasena Malalasekera |
| Succeeded by | M. V. P. Peiris |
| Minister of Justice | |
| In office 26 September 1947 – 1953 | |
| Prime Minister | D. S. Senanayake Dudley Senanayake |
| Preceded by | Office Created |
| Succeeded by | E. B. Wikramanayake |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Louis Alexander Rajapakse (1900-05-03)3 May 1900 |
| Died | 25 May 1976(1976-05-25) (aged 76) |
| Political party | United National Party |
| Spouse | Chrysobel Rajapakse |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Ananda College, Saint Joseph's College, Colombo, University of London |
| Occupation | Advocate |
| Profession | Barrister |
Sir Lalitha Abhaya Rajapaksa,QC (bornLouis Alexander Rajapakse;[1] 3 May 1900 – 25 May 1976) was aCeylonese lawyer and politician. He was the firstMinister of Justice ofCeylon and a member of theSenate of Ceylon.[1][2][3]
Born Louis Alexander Rajapakse at Herambe Walauwwa in the southern coastal town ofBalapitiya, Rajapakse received his primary and secondary education inAnanda College, andSaint Joseph's College, Colombo.[1] He joined the first batch of students to enter theUniversity College, Colombo, where he was the first cricket captain and won the Obeysekara gold medal in athletics in 1922. He graduated in 1922 with aBA degree from theUniversity of London External Programme and proceeded to London where he attendedUniversity of London. He obtained aBachelor of Laws in 1924, became abarrister havingcalled to the bar in 1924 from theLincoln's Inn.[1] In 1925, he achieved the feat of youngest person at the time to receiveDoctor of Laws (LLD) in the world.[1][3]
On his return to Ceylon 1925, Rajapakse began his legal practice as anadvocate in theUnofficial Bar, mainly in civil law in apex courts. He served as a lecturer and examiner at the Ceylon Law College and was a member of the Council of Legal Education. In 1944, he took silk as aKing's Counsel and was appointedCommissioner of Assize in 1946, an appointment he relinquished quickly and returned to his lucrative legal practice.
Rajapakse was a founding member of theUnited National Party in 1947 and was appointed to theSenate of Ceylon and became the leader of the house. He was soon after appointed by Prime MinisterD. S. Senanayake as the firstMinister of Justice. In 1948 he was appointed to the seven member flag committee that consisted ofS. W. R. D. Bandaranaike,J. R. Jayawardene,John Kotelawala,T. B. Jayah,G. G. Ponnambalam andS. Nadesan.[3] He was knighted in the1952 New Year Honours. He resigned as Minister of Justice in 1953, after Prime MinisterSir John Kotelawala requested his resignation from the cabinet and returned to his legal practice.[1]
In 1965, he actively campaigned for the United National Party, specking of authoritarian actions of theSri Lanka Freedom Party, following its attempts to nationalizeLake House. Following the United National Party victory in the 1965 general elections, he was appointedCeylon's Ambassador to France in 1965. In February 1967 he was appointed theCeylon's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom which he held until October 1969.[4]
Rajapakse died on 25 May 1976, at the age of 76.
Rajapakse married Chrisoble Mendis Gunasekara, her sister Ruby Mendis Gunasekara became the first ladyProctor in Ceylon. Their son Bimal, became a barrister fromLincoln's Inn and they had two daughters, Ramani became a proctor and headed the All Ceylon Women's Buddhist Congress and Vineetha who married Jayantha Gunasekera is aPresident's Counsel.[5]