Dayasena Pasqual | |
|---|---|
| Member of theCeylon Parliament forMatugama | |
| In office 1956–1977 | |
| Preceded by | Wilmot A. Perera |
| Succeeded by | Reginald V. Wijegunaratne |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Dayasena Turnolius Pasqual (1912-06-09)9 June 1912 Uragoda, Ceylon |
| Died | 22 May 2013(2013-05-22) (aged 100) Matugama, Sri Lanka |
| Party | Sri Lanka Freedom Party |
| Alma mater | National School,Matugama;Ananda Sastralaya, Kotte;Ananda College, Colombo |
| Occupation | teacher, educational administrator, politician |
Dayasena Turnolius Pasqual (9 June 1912 - 22 May 2013) was a Ceylonese politician.[1][2] He represented theMatugama electorate in Parliament for 21 consecutive years from 1956 to 1977.
Pasqual was born in Uragoda (a small remote village), the eldest of thirteen children.[3] He attendedAnanda Sastralaya, Kotte,[3][4] andAnanda College, Colombo[5]
Once he graduated from high school he went on to teach at Ananda Shastralaya[6] He foundedAnanda Sastralaya, Matugama in February 1942.[6][4]
In 1943 he was elected to the Horawala - Dodango - Matugama Village Council and subsequently its chairman in 1944.[6]
Pasqual ran as theSri Lanka Freedom Party candidate in theMatugama electorate, at the3rd parliamentary election held between 5 April 1956 and 10 April 1956. He polled the second highest margin at the election,[6] receiving 25,798 votes (70.7% of the total vote), 19,609 votes ahead of theUnited National Party candidate, A. C. Gooneratne.[7]
In 1957 he was appointed the General Manager of the B.T.S. Schools, a position he held for a year until 1958.
In September 1959 he was appointedParliamentary Secretary to theMinister of Finance in theDahanayake cabinet, until March 1960.[4] He was re-elected at the4th parliamentary election, held on 19 March 1960, polling 7,099 votes (28.6% of the total vote).[8] At the subsequent5th parliamentary election, held on 20 July 1960, he retained his seat, receiving 14,790 votes (61.8% of the total votes).[9]
Following the election he was appointed the DeputyMinister of Local Government and Housing in theFirst Sirimavo Bandaranaike cabinet, serving from July 1960 until March 1965.[4][10] At the6th parliamentary election, held on 22 March 1965, he was re-elected, polling 18,122 votes (56.2% of the total vote).[11]
At the7th parliamentary election held on 27 May 1970, he was re-elected, receiving 24,718 votes (63.7% of the total vote) and 10,720 votes ahead of his nearest rival.[12] In 1975 he was appointed DeputyMinister of Justice in theSecond Sirimavo Bandaranaike cabinet.[4]
In July 1977, at the8th parliamentary election, he was unable to retain the seat for a sixth term, as he was defeated by the United National Party candidate,Reginald V. Wijegunaratne. Wijegunaratne receiving 25,484 votes (55.1% of the total vote) to Pasqual's 10,497 votes (22.7% of the total vote).[13]
The Matugama electoral district was replaced by theKalutara multi-member electoral district at the1989 general elections, and Pasqual at the age of 77 chose not to run.
In September 2010 he received the Neela Udara Award fromPresidentMahinda Rajapaksa. Pasqual died 22 May 2013, at the age of 100.
{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help){{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help){{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help).svg)