Wijeyananda Dahanayake

Wijeyananda Dahanayake (; ; 22 October 1902 – 4 May 1997) was a Sri Lankan politician. He was the Prime Minister of Ceylon from September 1959 to March 1960.

Born as one of the twin children to a conservative family in Galle, Don Wijeyananda Dahanayake was educated at Richmond College, Galle and S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia. He became a teacher at St. Aloysius' College, Galle before entering active politics having been elected to the Galle Municipal Council in 1939 as a leftist and served as Mayor of Galle. In 1944, he was elected to the State Council of Ceylon and was thereafter elected to the House of Representatives. He served as the member of parliament from Galle from 1947 to 1977, with a brief interval in 1960. In 1956, he was appointed to the Cabinet of Ministers as the minister of education. He unexpectedly succeeded S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike as prime minister when the latter was assassinated on 26 September 1959. His tenure as the caretaker prime minister was short as he was unable to keep together the alliance formed by Bandaranaike. He dismissed the Cabinet of Ministers and called for fresh elections, for which he formed his own party. Although he lost his parliamentary seat in the 1960 March elections, he regained it in the general election that followed two months later. Sitting in the opposition from 1960 to 1965, he served as Minister of Home Affairs from 1960 to 1965 and again sat in opposition from 1970 to 1977. He then served as Minister of Co-operatives from 1986 to 1988. He is noted for having contested from almost every major party of his time and has the record for the longest speech in parliament, lasting thirteen and half hours.

Early life and education

The young Wijeyananda Dahanayaka attended the well known Richmond College, in Galle, Sri Lanka.

He was born as a twin in Dangedera, Richmond Hill, Galle and was named Don Wijeyananda Dahanayake after the Wijayananda Pirivena. His father was Don Dionesius Panditha Sepala Dahanayake, was a Muhandiram, who later served as the Kackckeri Mudliyar of Galle and was a scholar in oriental languages. His twin brother was Kalyanapriya Dahanayake.

Dahanayake received his education first at Rippon Girls' School, Galle] and then at the Government English Training School on Thurstan Road, Colombo; before moving to Richmond College, Galle and S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia for his secondary education.

Teaching career

He joined the teaching staff of St. Aloysius' College, Galle, where he taught English, mathematics, history and geography and received training at the teaching college in Maharagama. In addition he coached the college athletics and the junior cricket teams and organized the English Literary Union and the Debating Society. He also organized student protests against the British colonial administration.

Political career

Early years

Dahanayake became active in pre-independence politics while serving as a teacher and switched to full-time politics. As a member of the Trotskyite Lanka Sama Samaja Party, he was elected to the Galle Municipal Council from the Kumbalwella Ward, which he held until 1944. He was elected the first Mayor of Galle in 1939 and served till 1941. When World War II started in the far-east, the Lanka Sama Samaja Party refused to support the British war effort. Dahanayake was prosecuted by the police for organising a strike during the height of war, which angered the British colonial administration. He represented himself in court without a lawyer and won against the crown prosecution. In parliament, he gave a thirteen and half-hour speech during the first budget speech, which is the record for the longest speech. He later re-joined the Lanka Sama Samaja Party under Dr N. M. Perera and successfully contested the 1952 general elections from the Lanka Sama Samaja Party and retained his seat. He was expelled from the party for hosting a reception for the Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake's visit to Galle.

Return to parliament

He successfully contested the July 1960 general elections from the Lanka Prajathanthravadi Pakshaya in Galle and was elected to parliament defeating W. D. S. Abeygoonawardena. Dahanayake took his seat in the opposition and, in 1963, was called before the Commission of Inquiry into the assassination of S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike to give evidence. That same year he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Vidyodaya University and subsequently adopted the title "Dr. Wijeyananda Dahanayake". In 1964, Dahanayake attracted national attention when he attempted to enter the Parliament chambers wearing only a span cloth (known locally as an amude) to protest the government of Prime Minister Sirima Bandaranaike, which had imposed textile rationing—limiting citizens to just two yards of fabric per month—due to a foreign exchange shortage. He was prevented from entering the chamber, but photographs of Dahanayake in his amude appeared in newspapers the following day, making the incident widely publicized.

Personal life

Dahanayake was known for his simplicity and modest lifestyle. Upon being appointed prime minister, he moved into Temple Trees carrying his personal belongings in just two old suitcases from his room at Srawasthi Mandiraya. Finding the Prime Minister’s bedroom too large for his taste, he had it partitioned to make it more modest. After his electoral defeat and subsequent resignation from the post of prime minister, Dahanayake once again packed his belongings into the same two suitcases and left Temple Trees for Galle. He remained a bachelor throughout his life.

Electoral history

+ Electoral history of Wijeyananda DahanayakeElectionConstituencyPartyVotesResult 1947 parliamentary Galle Bolshevik–Leninist Party Elected 1952 parliamentary Galle Lanka Sama Samaja Party Elected 1956 parliamentary Galle Mahajana Eksath Peramuna Elected 1960 (March) parliamentary Galle Lanka Prajathanthravadi Pakshaya Not elected 1960 (July) parliamentary Galle Lanka Prajathanthravadi Pakshaya Elected 1965 parliamentary Galle Sri Lanka Freedom Socialist Party Elected 1970 parliamentary Galle United National Party Elected 1977 parliamentary Galle Nationalities Unity Organisation Not elected 1979 parliamentary by Galle United National Party Elected