Wijesinghe Jayaweera Mudiyanselage Lokubandara (5 August 1941 – 14 February 2021:Sinhala:විජෙසිංහ ජයවීර මුදියන්සේලාගේ ලොකුබණ්ඩාර), was aSri Lankan politician who wasSpeaker of theParliament ofSri Lanka from 2004 to 2010 and Governor ofSabaragamuwa Province from 2010 to 2015. He was a lawyer by profession, and wrote books, poems, and songs. He held several ministries in thegovernment of Sri Lanka before his appointment as Speaker of the House.[1]
He entered politics from the United National Party under the guidance ofLalith Athulathmudali, a lecturer at the Ceylon Law College. Lokubandara first entered parliament in 1977 representing theUnited National Party (UNP), defeating Dissanayake former Cabinet Minister of Health's son-in-lawW. P. G. Ariyadasa who did not contest the 1977 general election. He was a backbencher in the J. R. Jayewardene government for 10 years. He was initially appointed to the non-cabinet post of Minister of Indigenous Medicine. In 1989, Lokubandara was appointed a Cabinet Minister when he was given the Ministries of Cultural Affairs, Education and Media by PresidentRanasinghe Premadasa.[7] As the Minister of Indigenous Medicine, he was instrumental in introducing green porridge ("Kola Keda") and herbal tea to the society as well as in parliament. According to his concept, Lokubandara was the first to draw arts on the school walls. During his tenure as the Minister, he carried out research on traditional indigenous medicine and Ayurveda and also printed palm leaf books on Indigenous medicine in Sinhala.[8]
He also appointed a committee of astrologers to compile the Sinhala New Year auspicious calendar and to make the Sinhala New Year anointing ceremony as a state sponsored event. During his tenure as the Minister of Education, he also conducted seminars and workshops for scholars to educate students and teachers on the correct writing of the Sinhala language. He also declared 2 March as Sinhala Language Day and special programs were launched on that day.[8] With the defeat of the UNP in the general elections of 1994, Lokubandara became the Chief Opposition Whip of the parliament. He held this position until 2001.[4] A UNP government was formed in 2001, and Lokubandara was appointed the Cabinet Minister of Justice, Law Reforms, National Integration and Buddha Sasana.[7] Then he took steps to publish the law reports which was written in English to Sinhala language.[8]
If there is discrimination in this land which is not their (Tamil) homeland, then why try to stay here. Why not go back home (India) where there would be no discrimination. There are yourkovils andGods. There you have your culture, education, universities, etc. There you are masters of your own fate.
- Mr. W.J.M. Lokubandara,MP in Sri Lanka's Parliament, July 1981.[9]
Lokubandara was elected as the Speaker of Parliament on 4 April 2004,[10] after a controversial secret ballot lasting nine hours. Lokubandara was the candidate of the main opposition group and received 110 votes, while the candidate from the governing partyD. E. W. Gunasekera received 109 votes.[10] His election as 16th Speaker of Parliament was announced at 7.15 pm. After assuming office, he urged the members of the parliament to safeguard democracy and "move away from confrontational politics marching beyond petty party politics".[4]
He was a member of theHela Havula Sinhalese literary organisation founded byMunidasa Cumaratunga. Several books have been authored by Lokubandara, including some onSigiriya. He was also a poet and a songwriter. His works include:[11] During his tenure as the Minister of Culture, he directed the reprinting of Sinhala literary works including:Subhashithaya,Lokopakaraya,Amawathura,Wadan Kavi andSakaskadaya. Then he published Dr. Senarath Paranavithana's book on 'Sigiriya Gee' in English at the Oxford Press. Meanwhile, he published a series of books on the great leaders who emerged in Sri Lanka. He was very fond of the Sinhala language where Lokubandara socialized words such as herbal tea and kola keda which are commonly used in conversations. He also had a knowledge of Pali and Sanskrit terms. For a while, a radio program calledRasa Deepani was presented in a very interesting way.[1] He has also published a book on Sigiriya in English titledThe Mystique of Sigiriya.[8]
