Prins Gunasekera (17 July 1924 – 29 December 2018) was aCeylonese politician,[1] who represented theHabaraduwa electorate in the Galle district.[2]
Gunasekera was born on 17 July 1924 in Kataluwa, a village inHabaraduwa. He was educated at the Kataluwa Government Boys School, Sri Sumangala Vidyalaya,Weligama andAnanda College,Colombo. He obtained a degree from theUniversity of London, as an external student, before entering theCeylon Law College, becoming anAttorney at Law in 1955. Gunasekera worked as a journalist for theLankadeepa newspaper, later becoming its chief sub-editor.
In 1956 he was one of the founding members of theMahajana Eksath Peramuna (People's United Front) where he was elected as the co-secretary to the party andPhilip Gunawardena's secretary. Gunawardena requested that he contest for the seat ofHorana, on behalf of the party at the1956 parliamentary elections but he refused due to his work commitments.
Gunasekera was elected to parliament, representing theMahajana Eksath Peramuna, as the member for the newly created seat ofHabaraduwa, at the4th parliamentary elections held on 19 March 1960.[3] However, as neither of the major political parties managed to obtain a sufficient majority a new election was called. At the subsequentJuly 1960 elections Gunasekera suffered a heavy loss to theSri Lanka Freedom Party candidate,D. S. Goonesekera.[4]
At theparliamentary elections in 1965 he ran as an independent, successfully regaining the Habaraduwa electorate.[5] At the1970 Ceylonese parliamentary election he was re-elected, however this time as the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) candidate.[6] In 1971 he left the SLFP, following differences of opinion withPrime MinisterSirimavo Bandaranaike, and continued as an independent member of parliament, although between 1972 and 1975 he worked with the United National Party members, who were in opposition.[7]
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