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Mangala Moonesinghe | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom | |
| In office 2000–2002 | |
| Sri Lankan High Commissioner to India | |
| In office 1995–2000 | |
| Member of theCeylon Parliament forBulathsinhala | |
| In office 1965–1977 | |
| Preceded by | Edmund Samarakkody |
| Succeeded by | O. S. Perera |
| Member of Parliament forKalutara | |
| In office 1989–1994 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Mangala Nath Moonesinghe (1931-07-27)27 July 1931 |
| Died | 23 July 2016(2016-07-23) (aged 84) |
| Nationality | Sri Lankan |
| Political party | Sri Lanka Freedom Party |
| Other political affiliations | Lanka Sama Samaja Party |
| Alma mater | Royal College, Colombo |
| Occupation | Lawyer,politician |
| Profession | Barrister |
Mangala Nath Moonesinghe (27 July 1931 – 23 July 2016) was aSri Lankan lawyer, politician and diplomat. He served as aMember of Parliament forBulathsinhala electorate between 1965 and 1977, and theKalutara electorate between 1989 and 1994. He was Sri LankanHigh Commissioner to India from 1995 to 2000 and to the United Kingdom from 2000 to 2002.[1][2]
Born on 27 July 1931, the son ofSanath Moonesinghe, his paternal grandfather was Jacob Moonesinghe from Walgama, Matara married Dona Engeltina Hewawitharana, younger sister ofAnagarika Dharmapala. He was a cousin ofAnil Moonesinghe and the nephew of Neel Kamal Hewavitharana. He enteredRoyal College Colombo in 1943 and excelled in athletics as a sprinter, pole vaulter and in cricket. After completing his schooling, he went toLondon to study law at theMiddle Temple and was called to the bar as abarrister.[3]
On his return from London, he was enrolled as an advocate of theSupreme Court of Ceylon and started hislegal practice which he continued into the 1980s. He lectured on company law at theCeylon Technical College between 1960 and 1963.[citation needed] In 1975, he was awarded anEisenhower Fellowship to studyspace law atWestern State University College of Law.
Drawn to leftist politics with his cousinAnil Moonesinghe he developed a close association with DrN. M. Perera and DrColvin R. de Silva. Moonesinghe contested the1960 March general elections in theBulathsinhala electorate from theLanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP), but was defeated byBibile Fonseka from theUnited National Party. Although the conditions were favorable in the1960 July general elections, the LSSP selectedEdmund Samarakkody to contest Bulathsinhala and he was elected. By 1965, Samarakkody had left the LSSP and Moonesinghe was selected by the party to contest the Bulathsinhala electorate in the1965 general elections and he was elected to theHouse of Representatives and was a member of the opposition. He was re-elected from Bulathsinhala in the1970 general elections and became part of the governing coalition. He left the LSSP in the mid 1970s and joined theSri Lanka Freedom Party. He was defeated in the1977 general elections. He contested the1989 general elections in theKalutara electorate from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and was re-elected to parliament. In 1991, he chaired the Parliamentaryselect committee on theethnic conflict (known as theMangala Moonesinghe Committee), gaining consensus among the Sinhala and Tamil members of parliament in the committee.[4][3] He contested the1994 general elections, but failed to gain enough preferential votes to be re-elected to parliament, although his party won the election and formed a new government.[5]
The Sri Lanka Freedom Party government ofChandrika Kumaratunga appointed Moonesinghe asSri Lankan High Commissioner to India in 1995 and he served till 2000, when he was appointedSri Lankan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, where he served until 2002, when the Sri Lanka Freedom Party government was defeated in the2001 general elections.[4]
Following his return from the United Kingdom; he served as chair of theOne Text Initiative, Chairman of Marga Institute and was a director of theCarson Cumberbatch & Co. He died in 2016 at the age of 84.[4]
Moonesinghe was married to Jocelyn Granjon and had a daughter. He later married Gnana Coomaraswamy. They had a son and a daughter. They lived atPark Road,Battaramulla, before settling atHavelock City. DrKumaran Ratnam was his brother-in-law.
| Diplomatic posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by ? | Sri Lanka's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom 1995–2000 | Succeeded by ? |
| Preceded by ? | Sri Lanka's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom 2000–2001 | Succeeded by ? |
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