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Ananda Wahihana Palliya Guruge (28 December 1928 – 6 August 2014[1]), known asAnanda W. P. Guruge, was aSri Lankan diplomat, Buddhist scholar and writer. Guruge was the former Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary ofSri Lanka toUNESCO, France, and United States (with non-resident accreditation to Spain, Algeria and Mexico) from 1985 to 1994. Guruge was adjunct professor of Religious Studies atCal State Fullerton and was the dean of academic affairs atUniversity of the West.[2]
Guruge was educated atDharmaraja College, and went on to graduate from theUniversity of Ceylon in 1947 with aBA first class honors inSanskrit special. Thereafter he gained a Government scholarship to do aPhD at theUniversity of London.
He joined theCeylon Civil Service, taking the civil service exam at the age of 23 and was posted to theJaffna Kachcheri as acadet. During his career he served as the Head of theDehiwala Zoo and theColombo Kachcheri. Eventually he was transferred to theTreasury and from there to thePrime Minister’s Office. From 1952, he served Prime MinistersDudley Senanayake andSir John Kotelawela as the senior Assistant Secretary to thePrime Minister, until he headed the government program to celebrate2500 Buddha Jayanti.Bradman Weerakoon, who was the assistant secretary to the Prime Minister at the time, succeeded Dr. Guruge as senior Assistant Secretary and later Secretary to the Prime Minister. Guruge was appointed the Additional Secretary at theMinistry of Education and Cultural Affairs in 1965.[3]
Active in international Buddhist leadership, Professor Guruge was Vice President of theWorld Fellowship of Buddhists, the Patron of theEuropean Buddhist Union, and the Dean of Academic Affairs and Director of the International Academy of Buddhism atUniversity of the West in Rosemead, California.[4] He was also an adjunct professor ofBuddhism,Hinduism and Peace Studies atCalifornia State University, Fullerton. Dr. Guruge was also the Liaison Officer to theUnited Nations andUNESCO for theWorld Fellowship of Buddhists; and was the Chairman of the World Buddhist University Council. He served as an editor of Hsi Lai Journal of Humanistic Buddhism.
Guruge authored 53 books in Sinhala and English, includingWhat In Brief Is Buddhism,Free At Last in Paradise,Serendipity of Andrew George,Peace At Last in Paradise andThe Unforgettable Dharmapala. He also published over 175 research articles on Asian history, Buddhism and education. He also translated theMahavamsa into English in 1989.[5]
Guruge died inRosemead, California, at the age of 85.[6] Guruge reportedly died on a flight returning to the United States after assisting with school accreditation in Australia.[citation needed]
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