Jinadasa Niyathapala
Polthutuwe Arachchige Jinadasa Niyathapala (Sinhala: පොල්තුටුවේ ආරච්චිගේ ජිනදාස නියතපාල) (11 April 1929 – 29 January 2018) was a veteran Sri Lankan politician[1][2] and a former member and Senator of the Parliament of Sri Lanka[3][4][5] and former General Secretary of the United National Party.[6] A section of the Nawala Road was renamed as the Jinadasa Niyathapala Mawatha in recognition of services rendered by Niyathapala to Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte.
Jinadasa Niyathapala | |
---|---|
MP of the Parliament of Sri Lanka for Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte and Colombo District | |
In office 1960 – 1967 | |
In office 1989 – 1994 | |
General Secretary of the United National Party | |
In office 1973 – 1975 | |
Senator of the Parliament of Sri Lanka | |
In office 1967 – 1971 | |
Opposition Leader of the Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte Municipal Council | |
In office 1997 – 2000 | |
Councillor of the Colombo Municipal Council | |
Former Editor in chief of Siyarata, Dinapatha, Dasadesa, Yukthiya, Siyapatha, Parewe & Ceylon Guardian newspapers | |
Personal details | |
Born | Ratnapura, Sri Lanka | April 11, 1929
Died | 29 January 2018 88) Colombo, Sri Lanka | (aged
Nationality | Sri Lankan |
Political party | United National Party |
Other political affiliations | Sri Lanka Freedom Party |
Spouse(s) | Hilda Niyathapala |
Alma mater | Thurstan College |
Early life and career
Born in Ratnapura in the year 1929 and then having completed his education at Thurstan College, Jinadasa Niyathapala ventured in to journalism by having started as a freelance journalist and then becoming the founder and Editor-in-Chief of the Siyarata (Sinhala: සියරට), Dinapatha (Sinhala: දිනපතා), Dasadesa (Sinhala: දසදෙස), Yukthiya (Sinhala: යුක්තිය), Siyapatha (Sinhala: සියපත) (Daily), Parwe (Tamil: பார்வே), Ceylon Guardian (English), Thiraya (Sinhala: තිරය), Tharuwa (Sinhala: තරුව) and Cinema (Sinhala: සිනෙමා) newspaper publications.
Early political career
Jinasada Niyathapala started his political career in 1946 through the United National Party's Youth movement. In 1949 he held the position of Secretary General in the United National Party's youth movement. He was an active member of the All Island Youth Movement and from 1949 held the position of Deputy Chairman with Sir John Kotelawala holding the position of Founding Leader.
In 1958 Jinadasa Niyathapala was appointed to the United National Party Working Committee by Dudley Senanayake, making him the youngest member of the committee at 29 years old. The same year he was also assigned as United National Party's chief organiser of the Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte seat.
Jinadasa Niyathapala was also the editor-in-chief of United National Party's official publication Siyarata (Sinhala: සියරට).[6]
UNP General Secretary
Jinadasa Niyathapala was appointed as the General Secretary of the United National Party in 1973 by J. R. Jayewardene. He also held the position as the Secretary for the Asian region in the World Freedom Movement.
Parliament and Senate days
Jinadasa Niyathapala was elected to Parliament of Sri Lanka in 1960 through the Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte seat, being part of the first batch of United National Party MPs to enter parliament and making him the youngest United National Party MP to be elected at that time. In 1967 Jinadasa Niyathapala entered the Senate of Ceylon as a Senator and held the position for 4 years.[7]
Kotte Municipality Council
After rejoining UNP in 1994, Jinadasa Niyathapala was appointed as United National Party's chief organiser of Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte. In 1997 he held the position as the Opposition Leader of the Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte Municipality Council.
Other political activities
Jinadasa Niyathapala was the founding co-secretary of the Mawbima Surakeeme Viyaparaya (Motherland Protection Front) and one of the founding members and former president of the Hela Urumaya.
References
- "Veteran politician Jinadasa Niyathapala passes away". Daily News. 30 January 2018. Retrieved 2018-02-13.
- "Parliament". dailynews.lk. August 7, 2010. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
- "Indo Lanka Accord Marks 28 years". lankaweb.com. July 28, 2015. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
- "13th amendment by arm twisting". nation.lk. August 8, 2015. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
- "The Sajith solution". thesundayleader.lk. April 25, 2010. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
- "Men and Memories - the mighty atom". island.lk. August 17, 2005. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
- "Historical Facts". Taylor & Francis. February 2, 1976. doi:10.1080/00472337685390321.
- 9th Sri Lankan Parliament
- List of Senators of Ceylon