T. F. Jayewardene

Major Theodore Frederick "Freddy" Jayewardene (25 March 1911 – ?) was a Ceylonese planter and politician. He was the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Labour and Member of Parliament for Colombo South from 1948 to 1956.[1][2]

Hon. Major

Theodore Frederick Jayewardene
Member of the Ceylon Parliament
for Colombo South
In office
November 1948 – February 1956
Preceded byR. A. de Mel
Succeeded byBernard Soysa
Personal details
Born(1911-03-25)25 March 1911
NationalityCeylonese
Political partyUnited National Party
Spouse(s)Philis née Gunesekera
RelationsTheodore Godfrey Wijesinghe (father),
Lena née Attygalle (mother)
ChildrenThileka (daughter)
ProfessionPlanter
Military service
Branch/serviceCeylon Defence Force
RankMajor
UnitCeylon Light Infantry
Battles/warsWorld War II

Early life and family

Born to Colonel T. G. T. F. Jayewardene and Lena Jayewardene née Attygalle, daughter of Mudaliyar Don Charles Gemoris Attygalle. Jayewardene was related to three major political families that would play a significant role in the pre and post Independence era of Ceylon. His cousins Sir John Kotelawala and Dudley Senanayake, became Prime Ministers and Junius Richard Jayewardene became the President of Sri Lanka. Jayewardene who became a planter, businessmen, and rural sociologist.

Military service

Early on in his youth, he joined the Ceylon Defence Force as a volunteer officer and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Ceylon Light Infantry in 1933.[3] Reaching the rank of Major, he saw active service in the World War II.[4]

Political career

A founding member of the United National Party, Jayewardene was first elected to parliament in 1948, as a result of a by-election in the Colombo South electorate in November that year, following the dismissal of the sitting member, Reginald Abraham de Mel.[5] He represented the United National Party and secured 5,997 votes (39% of the total vote) against the independent candidate P. Saravanamuttu.[6] Jayewardena was re-elected at the 2nd parliamentary election, held between 24 May 1952 and 30 May 1952, where he received 10,918 votes (59% of the total vote) and 5,180 votes clear of his nearest rival.[7] Jayewardena was appointed as parliamentary secretary to the Minister for Labour in the First Dudley Senanayake cabinet.[8][5] He lost the seat of Colombo South at the 3rd parliamentary election, held between 5 April 1956 and 10 April 1956, losing to the Lanka Sama Samaja Party candidate, Bernard Soysa by 5,044 votes.[9]

Family

Jayewardene married Philis née Gunesekera, and their daughter Thileka married Cecil Waidyaratne, who became a General and the Commander of the Sri Lankan Army. His brother-in-law who had married his sister Margie was A. F. Wijemanne, who served as the Minister of Justice in the late 1960s.

References
  1. "Hon. Jayewardene, Theodore Frederick, M.P." Directory of Past Members. Parliament of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  2. Goonetilleke, T. V., ed. (1983). Members of the Legislatures of Sri Lanka, 1931-83: Record of Service. Parliament of Sri Lanka. p. 95.
  3. "Ceylon Light Infantry". Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  4. "Ceylon Light Infantry Officer". The International Ceylon Database. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  5. "He gave of his best, but died a disillusioned man". The Sunday Times. 28 May 2000. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  6. "Results of the Parliament By Elections held between 1947 – 1988" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  7. "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1952" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 February 2016.
  8. Ceylon Year Book 1951 (PDF). Department of Census and Statistics, Ceylon. pp. 27–28.
  9. "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1956" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 February 2016.


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