Deshamanya Noel Wimalasena | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 1st Governor of Sabaragamuwa | |
| In office 30 April 1988 – 1993 | |
| Preceded by | Office created |
| Succeeded by | C. N. Saliya Mathew |
| 14th Mayor of Kandy | |
| In office 1963–1963 | |
| Preceded by | SirBennet Soysa |
| Succeeded by | Edward Lionel Senanayake |
| Member of Parliament forSenkadagala | |
| In office 1965–1977 | |
| Preceded by | Shelton Ranaraja |
| Succeeded by | Shelton Ranaraja |
| In office March 1960 – July 1960 | |
| Succeeded by | Shelton Ranaraja |
| High Commissioner to the United Kingdom | |
| In office 1977–1981 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Nanediri Wimalasena (1914-03-23)23 March 1914 Kandy, Sri Lanka |
| Died | 5 May 1994(1994-05-05) (aged 80) Colombo, Sri Lanka |
| Political party | UNP |
| Spouse | Prema Wijesekera née Fernando |
| Children | Mangala, Vajira, Sanjani |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | lawyer, politician, diplomat |
DeshamanyaNoel Wimalasena (23 March 1914 – 5 May 1994) was a Sri Lankan lawyer, politician and the firstGovernor ofSabaragamuwa.
Nanediri Wimalasena was born on 23 March 1914[1] in Kandy, Sri Lanka. He attendedAnanda College, Colombo, theCeylon University College and theCeylon Law College.
In 1946 Wimalasena was elected to theKandy Municipal Council, serving as Deputy Mayor in 1946 and asMayor in 1963.
In March 1960 he ran as theUNP candidate forparliament in theSenkadagala Electoral District. He was successful, securing over 48% of the vote.[2] However, as neither of the major political parties managed to obtain a sufficient majority in theelection a new election was called. At theJuly 1960 election Wimalasena lost by a narrow margin of 25 votes to theSLFP candidate,Shelton Ranaraja.[3]
At the1965 parliamentary elections, Wimalasena won the seat of Senkadagala, defeating the sitting member, Ranaraja. Wimalasena served as theParliamentary Secretary to theMinister of Finance between 1965 and 1970 in theThird Dudley Senanayake cabinet and between 1966 and 1970 was the Governor of theAsian Development Bank (Sri Lanka). He retained the seat in the subsequent1970 election with over 50% of the vote[4] however chose not to run in the 1977 election.
In December 1977 he was appointed as theSri Lankan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, serving until January 1981. Upon his return to Sri Lanka he was the Deputy Director-General for the Greater Colombo Economics Commission.
On 30 April 1988 he was appointed as the firstGovernor of Sabaragamuwa, serving until 1993, when he was succeeded byC. N. Saliya Mathew,[5]
In 1993 he was awardedDeshamanya, the second-highest national honour of Sri Lanka.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Office created | Governor of Sabaragamuwa 1988–1993 | Succeeded by |
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