Nissanka Wijeyeratne නිශ්ශංක පරාක්රම විජයරත්න | |
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| 17th Diyawadana Nilame of the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic | |
| In office 1975–1985 | |
| Preceded by | Heen Banda Udurawana |
| Succeeded by | Neranjan Wijeyeratne |
| Minister of Education | |
| In office 1977–1980 | |
| Preceded by | Badi-ud-din Mahmud |
| Succeeded by | Ranil Wickremasinghe |
| Minister of Higher Education | |
| In office 1978–1980 | |
| Succeeded by | J. R. Jayewardene |
| Minister of Justice | |
| In office 1980–1988 | |
| Preceded by | K. W. Devanayagam |
| Succeeded by | Vincent Perera |
| Asia-Pacific Representative to the UNESCO Executive Board | |
| In office 1987–1989 | |
| Member of Parliament forDedigama | |
| In office 1977–1988 | |
| Preceded by | Rukman Senanayake |
| Succeeded by | Constituency Abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 14 June 1924 |
| Died | 7 January 2007(2007-01-07) (aged 82) Kandy, Sri Lanka |
| Resting place | Family Cemetery at Meeduma,Rambukkana, Sri Lanka |
| Nationality | Sri Lankan |
| Party | United National Party |
| Spouse(s) | Nita Wijeyeratne (née Dullewe) |
| Children | Neranjan,Mano,Anuradha, Lankesh, Nishangani |
| Alma mater | Royal College, Colombo 7, University of Ceylon |
| Occupation | Politics,Diplomat |
| Profession | Civil service |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Ceylon |
| Branch/service | Ceylon Army Volunteer Force |
| Years of service | 5 |
| Rank | Second lieutenant |
| Unit | Ceylon Artillery |
Deshamanya Nissanka Parakrama Wijeyeratne (Sinhala:නිශ්ශංක පරාක්රම විජයරත්න) (14 June 1924 – 7 January 2007), known asNissanka Wijeyeratne, was aSri Lankan politician,civil servant,diplomat and English language poet. He was also the 17thDiyawadana Nilame (chief lay custodian) of theSri Dalada Maligawa, Kandy from 1975 to 1985.[1] At the time of death, he was serving as thechairman ofThe Law and Society Trust in Sri Lanka.[2]
Nissanka Wijeyeratne was born on 14 June 1924 to a leading family[3] fromSabaragamuwa inSri Lanka.He was the second son of Sir Edwin and Lady Leela Wijeyeratne, of BuddenipolaWalauwa,Kegalle.SirEdwin Wijeyeratne was a former Cabinet Minister of Home Affairs and Rural Development.[4] His elder brother,Tissa Wijeyeratne, a barrister by profession, had served as Sri Lankan ambassador toFrance andSwitzerland,[5] Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Defence, and as the senior adviser on foreign affairs to Prime MinisterSirimavo Bandaranaike. Nissanka Wijeyeratne also had one younger brother, Dr Cuda Wijeyeratne, who is aconsultant psychiatrist.
Wijeyeratne completed his primary and secondary education at theRoyal College, Colombo. He then pursued further studies at theUniversity of Ceylon where he earned aBA Honours inhistory. He also had a scholarly interest inSri Lankansociology, as well as inreligious philosophy.
Nissanka Wijeyeratne, after leaving university, served for a brief period for theCeylon Artillery Volunteers as a (reservist)Second Lieutenant and successfully sat theCeylon Civil Service (CCS) Examination. Those were the days when only six were recruited in a year to the civil service as compared with the fifty to hundred now recruited annually to theCeylon Administrative Service, which replaced the former Ceylon Civil Service. As a member of that Ceylon Civil service, he held several positions includingpermanent secretary to the Ministries of Information, Broadcasting, Transport and Cultural Affairs,Government Agent inAnuradhapura,Mannar andJaffna and Assistant Government Agent inGalle. He was also the Chairman of the Anuradhapura Preservation Board. Wijeyeratne retired from theSri Lanka Administrative Service in 1973.[6] He served as member of the Executive Board ofUNESCO from 1987 to 1989.[7]
The present nationalemblem of Sri Lanka was created in 1972 under the ideas and guidance of Nissanka Wijeyeratne. At the time, he was Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and Chairman of the National Emblem and Flag Design Committee.[8]The designer of the emblem wasVenerableMapalagama Wipulasara Maha Thera and Art Work by S.M Seneviratne. During the same year (1972), four leaves of theBo tree were added to the four corners of theSri Lankan National flag under the direction of Nissanka Wijeyeratne. Before 1972, the corners of the flag were occupied by symbols depicting spearheads. The four Bo Leaves added by Wijeyeratne reflect the core principles of Mettha (loving kindness), Karuna (compassion), Upeksha (equanimity), and Muditha (happiness).
During his public service career, Nissanka Wijeyeratne was Government Agent ofAnuradhapura District from 1958 to 1962.He was arguably the best-known of all government agents of his time. His stature ensured that the voice of Anuradhapura was heard at the highest levels in Colombo. Apart from beingGovernment Agent, he was Chairman of the Anuradhapura Preservation Board. This was the time when the city of Anuradhapura was in a period of historic transition. The new town ofAnuradhapura was being built, and the residents of the old town were being transferred to the new town. It was a time of some tension and excitement. He managed this process of change with courage and remarkable political skills. While in Anuradhapura, he unveiled a memorial forH. R. Freeman, a popular British Government Agent who later was elected by the people of the district to represent them in the1st State Council of Ceylon.[9] Coming events cast their shadows before. A striking feature of Wijeyeratne's Anuradhapura days was his great ability to see the bigger picture and focus on the key issues, and delegate responsibilities to his staff officers. He was never one to be enmeshed in detail. He also set up the Sacred City of Anuradhapura, shifted the urban city to the newly created Anuradhapura town, and is responsible for the establishment ofAnuradhapura Airport.
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Nissanka Wijeyeratne served asDiyawadana Nilame (Chief lay Custodian) ofTemple of the Tooth,Kandy for 10 years. He was elected to the post in 1975. Wijeyeratne was the first low countryGovigama person in the history ofSri Lanka who successfully challenged the KandyanRadala hierarchy for that post.. During his tenure as Diyawadana Nilame, he introduced administrative methods to Sri Dalada Maligawa and established the Gold Museum, and reorganised the Kandy Perahera. He established the KandyEsala Perahera Fund. He was followed by his eldest son, Neranjan Wijeyeratne, who was first elected as Diyawadana Nilame in 1985, and then re-elected in 1995.[6]
Wijeyeratne was a long-standing member of theUnited National Party. In 1976 appointed as chief organizer for theDedigama electorate, which he won in the 1977 parliamentary elections.[10] He subsequently served as Cabinet Minister of Education, Higher Education & Justice in PresidentJR Jayawardene's government.
As Cabinet Minister of Education and Higher Education,[11] Wijeyeratne introduced the Universities Act No. 16 of 1978 to Parliament.[6] TheUniversity of Ceylon was the only university inCeylon from 1942 until 1978. As a result of this Act, it was separated into five independent universities:University of Colombo,University of Peradeniya,University of Sri Jayewardenepura,University of Kelaniya,University of Moratuwa, andUniversity of Jaffna. He also proposed the establishment of theUniversity of Ruhuna[12] and theOpen University of Sri Lanka.[6] The right for school children of ethnic minorities to wear a uniform that depicts the tradition and the ethnic identity to minority ethnicities and religions had been granted by Wijeyeratne in 1980.[13][14]
The new superior court complex in Colombo was established by Wijeyeratne with Chinese Government aid during his tenure as the Cabinet Minister of Justice.[6] He established the Sri Lanka Cultural Triangle with aid from UNESCO for preservation of National Heritage Sites in Sri Lanka,[6] and proposed the Sri Lankan President's Fund, which provides health and education assistance to the needy and underprivileged.[6] One of his major personal achievements was the enactment of the Mediation Board Act No.72 of 1988.
In the 1990s, Nissanka Wijeyeratne was appointed as Sri Lankan Ambassador to theSoviet Union, where he served as the head of the Sri Lanka Diplomatic Mission inMoscow for a period of three years. Wijeyeratne's global perspectives lay not only inRussia but also from his associates inUNESCO (of which he was at one time an executive committee member).[15] His deep interest in scholarship lay behind the proposal he made at UNESCO for the revival of the ancient library ofAlexandria.[16]
A collection of over two decades of Wijeyeratne's English poems was published in a book titledඅපේ අප්පච්චි: An Anthology of Our Father's Poems in 2001 (Vijitha Yapa Publications,ISBN 978-9558095065). His poetry captures diverse issues ranging from political events to various personalities and incidents as he saw them during his prominent role in public affairs.[17][18]
He married Nita Dullewe, the only child of Tinnie and Mallika Dullewe of Meeduma Walauwa, Rambukkana.[6] Nissanka Wijeyeratne and his wife Nita had five children: Neranjan, Mano, Anuradha, Lankesh, and Nishanganie.
Neranjan Wijeyeratne (eldest son of Wijeyeratne). He was the former leader of the opposition in theKandy Municipal Council and was the formerDiyawadana Nilame (Chief Lay Custodian) of theTemple of the Tooth,Kandy. He served asDiyawadana Nilame for a total of 20 years.
Mano Wijeyeratne (second son of Wijeyeratne) was ex Member of Parliament fromKegalle District and former Minister of Enterprise Development, wasCoordinating Secretary to thePresident andSri Lanka Freedom Party chief organiser for theDedigama Electorate inKegalle District. He had also served as Minister of Plantation Services under PresidentD B Wijetunga's Government.
Anuradha Dullewe Wijeyeratne (third son) entered into active politics in 1988 as aUnited National Party Member of the Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council in Ratnapura. He also served as a MemberUnited National Party National Executive Committee. He was Acting Diyawadana Nilame (Acting Chief lay Custodian) ofTemple of the Tooth Kandy on several occasions for three decades, appointed by the Commissioner ofBuddhist Affairs with recommendation from Mahanayaka Theras of the Malwatte and Asgiriya Chapters.
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