Justin Wijayawardhene

Justin Wijayawardhene (18 November 1904 – 14 January 1982) was a Sri Lankan teacher, author and member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka.

Hon. Justin Wijayawardhene MP
Matara
In office 30 March 1960 – 23 April 1960
Preceded by	Mahanama Samaraweera
Succeeded by	Mahanama Samaraweera
Personal details
Born	Kotavila Vithanage Charles Justin Wijayawardhene 18 November 1904 Matara, Sri Lanka
Died	14 January 1982 (aged 77)
Nationality	Sri Lankan
Other political affiliations	United National Party
Alma mater	St. Thomas' College, Matara, Mahinda College, Galle
Occupation	teacher, author, politician
Ethnicity	Sinhalese

Early life and education

Kotavila Vithanage Charles Justin Wijayawardhene was born in Matara on 18 November 1904[1] and received his primary school education St. Thomas' College, Matara before attending Mahinda College in Galle. [2][3]

Early career

He then became a teacher and taught at Rahula College, Matara.

Political career

In collaboration with S. A. Wickramasinghe he established the Matara Sinhalese Youth Association. He became the joint secretary of the Matara Branch of the Ceylon National Congress and was also the Secretary of the Sinhala Maha Sabha.[2]

Wijayawardhena was a founding member of the United National Party and in March 1960 successfully ran in Matara Electoral District at the fourth parliamentary elections gaining just over 36% of the vote.[3][4] However as the election left neither of the country's two major parties with a majority, another election was called. At the subsequent July election Wijayawardhena was defeated by the SLFP candidate, Mahanama Samaraweera by 2,905 votes.[5]

At the sixth parliamentary elections held in March 1965, Wijayawardhena ran again however this time in the Kamburupitiya Electoral District. He was again unsuccessful, losing by over 4,500 votes to Percy Wickremasinghe.[6]

Wijayawardhena was an author and also translated the works of Leo Tolstoy into Sinhalese. Wijayawardhena died on 14 January 1982 at the age of 77.[2]

References

1. "Hon. Wijayawardhene, Kotavila Vithanage Charles Justin, M.P." Parliament of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
2. "Appreciation: Justin Wijayawardhena". The Island. 10 January 2007. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
3. Parliaments of Ceylon. Associated Newspapers of Ceylon. 1960. p. 95.
4. "Result of Parliamentary General Election 19 March 1960" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka.
5. "Result of Parliamentary General Election 20 July 1960" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka.
6. "Report on the Sixth Parliamentary General Election of Ceylon, 22d March, 1965". 20. Government Press. 1966: 43. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)