Maithripala Senanayake

Maithripala Senanayake
4th Governor of North Central Province
In office
7 September 1994 – 12 July 1998
PresidentChandrika Kumaratunga
Prime MinisterSirimavo Bandaranaike
Preceded byE. L. B. Hurulle
Succeeded byG. M. S. Samaraweera
Leader of the House
In office
7 June 1970 – 18 May 1977
Prime MinisterSirimavo Bandaranaike
Preceded byC. P. de Silva
Succeeded byRanasinghe Premadasa
Minister of Irrigation, Power and Highways
In office
31 May 1970 – 1977
Prime MinisterSirimavo Bandaranaike
Preceded byC. P. de Silva
Succeeded byGamini Dissanayake
Minister of Industries, Home and Cultural Affairs
In office
1960–1965
Prime MinisterSirimavo Bandaranaike
Preceded byW. J. C. Munasinha
Succeeded byPhilip Gunawardena
Minister of Transport and Works[a]
In office
12 April 1956 – 8 December 1959
Prime MinisterS. W. R. D. Bandaranaike
Wijeyananda Dahanayake
Preceded byMontague Jayawickrama
Succeeded byRobert Edward Jayatilaka
Member of Parliament
for National List
In office
1989–1994
Member of Parliament
for Medawachchiya
In office
1947–1989
Preceded byConstituency created
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Personal details
Born(1916-07-07)7 July 1916
Medawachchiya, Anuradhapura, British Ceylon.
Died12 July 1998(1998-07-12) (aged 82)
Sri Lanka
PartySri Lanka Freedom Party
Other political
affiliations
United National Party
SpouseRanji Handy
EducationSt Joseph's College, Anuradhapura
St. John's College, Jaffna
Nalanda College Colombo
OccupationPolitician
  1. ↑ Minister of Transport and Power from September 1959 to December 1959.

Maithripala Senanayake (7 July 1916 – 12 July 1998) was a Sri Lankan politician and Governor of the North-Central province.[1] He first studied at St. Joseph's College, Anuradhapura then at St. John's Jaffna, where he attained a mastery in the Tamil Language and later at Nalanda College Colombo.

He entered parliament from Medawachchiya Electorate in 1947 when then Ceylon held its first parliamentary elections.

When D.S. Senanayake picked his Cabinet in 1952 this promising young man from Raja Rata, Maithripala Senanayake was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Later he not only resigned from the post he held, but also from the UNP, after submitting resignation to Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake. At the following General Election, he retained the Medawachchiya seat as an Independent.

Following this period, S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike resigned from the UNP, formed the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, and invited Maithripala Senanayake, who was an Independent MP, to join the party.

Senanayake has held many cabinet portfolios and has been Acting Prime Minister 19 times, Leader of the House, Chief Government Whip, and Deputy Leader of the Opposition at various times. In the realm of Foreign Affairs, Maithripala Senanayake has also played a major role, when the then Prime Minister Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike was President of the Non-aligned Movement, he led the Sri Lanka delegation to the 5th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement held in Colombo.

He represented Parliament since 1947 to 1994 becoming the only person in Sri Lanka to represent Parliament for 47 years continuously. In the 1989 election which was the first Parliamentary election to be held under the proportional representation he entered Parliament as a National list member. He was not appointed to Parliament in 1994. However he was appointed the governor of the North Central Province in the same year which he held until his death.

References

  1. ↑ "Hon. Senanayake, Maithripala, M.P." Directory of Past Members. Parliament of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
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